Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Disappointment September 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is probably the gap between expectations and the actual content of the book that made me write this review. The table of content is leaving you salivating - all the right things seems to be here, delivered in scientific-but-entertaining way.
Unfortunately the content is different. The author remarks in introduction, that he just felt it is time to write something (it is not direct quotation, of course), and you can tell this after a few initial chapters.
Ok, to make a long story short:
1. There is no single, well thought-out theory of power and leadership behind this book. What you can see instead, is a magpie approach, which turns the book into a hodge-podge of loosely-connected ideas, and many of these directly contradict each other. Also, as a quick look at the bibliography will make clear, many of these ideas were not state-of-the-art even at the date of the publication of Mr. Pfeffer's book.
2. Another distracting feature is author's propensity to enliven the narrative with anecdotes taken mainly from 3 biography books (on Johnson, Kissinger and Moses). One can not help by wonder if this reflects precious few reading opportunities the author has had lately.
3. Author uses terms (even the most fundamental - like authority, power, influence, resource) loosely, and frequently either without defining them or doing this sloppily. While seemingly minor, this fault leads to deficiency in his analysis. For example, Mr. Pfeffer fails to distinguish between formal authority and informal power.
Ok, you probably got an idea. But mind you, the book has its virtues. The ideas about power of functions (with heart-gladdening lampooning of Finance) are quite original. Pointing out that good work will bring you little good in career terms is, although by no means original, very refreshing in our time of domination of transformational leadership theories.
So I rated it with 2 stars. Have a glance on it in a library, but do not buy it unless you decide you like it and need it.
 Eye opener June 16, 2008
Good book that provides insight into how to diagnose and use power in an organization. Good for politics and business.
Older but still very relevant January 10, 2007
Although much of the research described in this book was conducted some years ago, the conclusions are still very relevant. Pfeffer writes well, & the book is very readable. He also goes beyond the research at times to furnish the reader with suggestions that can be very useful for anyone who is part of an organization of any type. Power is a very real phenomenon, & members of organizations (and who isn't?) need to understand how it works & how to deal with it.
A classic, in the HBR style July 5, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a must-have for any manager's bookshelf. It delves into a topic cited widely in management literature, but seldom covered in depth.
Frameworks for describing and explaining power in business are suggested, with numerous illustrations.
My only disappointments with the book are (a) the lack of empirical generalisations as a basis for the framework (in the HBR style, anecdote counts more than empirical generalision) and (b) the absence of practical advice on what to do with the framework.
Nevertheless, this is still a unique contribution to a very important subject and it is highly recommended.
 Eye-opening read February 25, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although I am not 100% on board with Pfeffer, he sure did get me thinking about how to recognize behaviors that may be related to power. He also gives excellent (although dated) real-life examples of how leaders used and failed to use politics, and the results of each. If you think politics in organizations stinks, read this book to get a different take. You may just discover some tools that will help you help others.
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