How to gain power and influence
1. Quotable quote
"Power is clearly linked to position and rank. But to a certain degree it has to be earned. You can give orders to your subordinates but you are going to get more out of them if you obtain their willing cooperation rather than their grudging submission. Power is bestowed upon you as manager but you have to justify your use of it - As Mary Parker Follett wrote: 'Our task is to learn how to develop power. Genuine power can only be grown; it will slip from every arbitrary hand.'"
2. Viewpoint
"Power has a legitimate basis if it comes from expertise, positional authority, or personality. But power is illegitimate if it is ultra vires (beyond what is officially authorised); if it arises from nepotism or unlawful benefits; if it is based on the blackmail of colleagues, superiors or subordinates; if it is unconscionable because of a difference in the strength of position; or if it involves deceit and misrepresentation."
3. Viewpoint
"Despite the bad odour that clings to the very notion of power because of the misuses to which is has been put, power in itself is neither good nor bad. It is an inescapable aspect of every human relation-ship, and it influences everything from our sexual relations to the jobs we hold, the cars we drive, the television we watch, the hopes we pursue. …
