The Seven Rules of Power
Seven learnable skills for building influence and advancing a career, whether you like it or not
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 95%
A sequence of seven power-building rules drawn from decades of social-science research. Pfeffer frames power not as a personality trait but as a set of masterable skills that predict salary, promotion, career satisfaction, and lower stress. The rules move from internal blockers to external tactics to the reassurance that success ultimately excuses the methods.
Origin
Developed by Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford GSB, distilled from his 'Paths to Power' course and his book 'The Seven Rules of Power' (his fourth book on power). Draws on Gerald Ferris's empirical work on political skill.
Core principles
- 01Power is a tool, not a moral quality — confusing the tool with how it has been misused keeps good people out of power
- 02Political skill correlates with salary, promotion, career happiness, and reduced stress
- 03These are skills that can be mastered, not fixed personality traits
- 04'If you want power to be used for good, more good people need to have power'
- 05Suspend judgment of anyone on your critical path — you need their cooperation regardless of whether you like them
How to run it
- 1
Get out of your own way
Stop sabotaging yourself with the belief that power is dirty, with imposter syndrome, and with excessive worry about being liked. Drop self-disempowering language like preemptory apologies ('I don't know if this is useful, but...').
Pro tip Prioritize competence and respect over being liked; just don't actively try to be disliked.
Watch out If you signal that you don't think you deserve your job, others will conclude you don't deserve it either.
- 2
Break the rules
Do the unexpected to stand out and become memorable. The rules were made by those the rules already favor, so violating convention is how disruptors — and individuals — differentiate themselves. A key rule to break: 'don't ask.' Ask for help, deals, or opportunities.
Pro tip When you ask and they say no, you are no worse off than if you had never asked. Get over your ego and ask.
Watch out People overestimate how many people they'll have to ask before getting help — the fear is larger than the reality.
- 3
Appear powerful (show up in a powerful fashion)
Master body language and presence. People respond first to how you look, second to how you sound, and least to what you actually say. Command of the material and physical presence can make a small person feel large.
Pro tip Watch the presidential debates with the sound off to see how much appearance dominates content.
Watch out Reading from notes destroys eye contact and makes you look scripted and insincere, as it did for BP's Tony Hayward.
- 4
Build a powerful brand
Differentiate yourself so decision-makers know who you are — no one promotes someone they can't recognize. Do something that creates value for the firm and visibility for you. Reframe self-promotion as amplifying your team's impact or scaling your knowledge.
Pro tip Combine substance with visibility: visibility without substance exposes you as useless, but substance without visibility means no one knows what you've got.
Watch out There are fewer positions at the top than the bottom; if no one knows who you are, you cannot be chosen.
- 5
Network relentlessly
Build a broad social network with generosity as the first principle. Become a broker who connects people who benefit from being connected, and deliberately cultivate weak ties who give you access to non-redundant information.
Pro tip List 10 people who — if you knew them and they knew you — would matter for your goals, then plan how to meet each one.
Watch out People find networking 'dirty' only because they think of it as taking; reframed as connecting and helping, it becomes benign.
- 6
Use your power
Power is self-perpetuating: mobilize your resources to make things happen, and you'll be given more resources and opportunities. Success attracts people, and visibly holding power causes others to follow your lead.
Pro tip The more you get done, the more you'll be asked to do and the more resources you'll receive to do it.
Watch out Ambivalence about using power — like the promoted manager who tells colleagues she isn't sure she deserves the job — guarantees you'll do poorly in the role.
- 7
Success excuses almost everything
Once you acquire power, what you did to get there will be forgiven, forgotten, or both. Life is not homeostatic; it is self-fulfilling — believing someone is powerful makes them more powerful. This should reduce the fear (the 'myth of Icarus') that ambition will get you brought low.
Pro tip People want to be close to money, power, and success, and will overlook your flaws to be near you.
Watch out This describes how the world is, was, and will be — not how it should be; the rule is descriptive, not a license to behave badly.
In the wild
An older MBA student made his class power project getting appointed head of economic policy for the 2012 Romney campaign. He was offered the job, turned it down, then rose through the Transportation Department.
→ Six years out of business school he was effectively running the $6 trillion US budget as deputy director of OMB.
Wanting to be hired at Foursquare, Walker was ignored by the founder after sending emails, so he simply started signing up partnerships himself.
→ After he signed up Starbucks, the founder decided he had to hire him.
The senator who said nasty things about Trump became one of his biggest allies, explaining 'I want to be relevant' because he needs the president to pass legislation.
→ Illustrates rule seven and suspending judgment: needing someone on your critical path outweighs personal dislike.
Common mistakes
Treating power as inherently dirty
Deciding power is evil means you won't do what's needed to succeed — the tool is confused with its misuse.
Preemptory apology and self-disempowering language
Prefacing comments with apologies or doubt leaks the belief that you don't deserve your position, and others adopt that belief about you.
Refusing to network because it feels icky
Missing a broad network means missing non-redundant information and the referrals that produce the best jobs and opportunities.
Is it for you?
Best for
Ambitious professionals — ICs through CEOs — especially those from underrepresented backgrounds where the world is stacked against them, who want to advance but feel uncomfortable with 'office politics'
Not ideal for
Someone who explicitly prioritizes autonomy and freedom over advancement, since acquiring real power costs privacy and control of your own time
From the transcript
“The seven rules of power. Get out of your own way, break the rules, show up in a powerful fashion, create a powerful brand, network…”
“This is not about personality. These are skills that can be mastered.”
“If you want power to be used for good, more good people need to have power.”
“the realities of what it takes to get power bear almost no resemblance to what you're taught in Sunday school”
“No one is going to promote Lenny if they don't know who the hell you are.”
From the episode
The paths to power: How to grow your influence and advance your career
Jeffrey Pfeffer (author of 7 Rules of Power, professor at St