How To Win At Work
My Notes on Power (MasterClass with Jeffrey Pfeffer)
Once during an interview, someone asked me what drives me more: power, money, or results.
I dismissed power instantly.
Because I truly believed I didn’t care about it.
Later, I learned the hard way:
When I don’t have power, I don’t perform well.
Not because I want to control people—
but because power, at its core, is the ability to influence your environment, protect your ideas, and actually execute the work that drives results (which is my primary driver).
The truth is, I spent most of my career in roles where I naturally had power—either through relationships, brand, or reputation. I took it for granted. I never had to consciously take power, because it was always there.
Until it wasn’t.
I suddenly found myself in a powerless position, and instead of collapsing under it, I treated it as a signal:
“I need to learn power as a skill.”
Inside the MasterClass, Prof. Jeffrey Pfeffer said:
“Power is 20% granted, 80% taken.”
And that line hit me like a train.
So I committed to studying it.
I took the class. I listened to his podcast with high-level executives.
I started reading the books of his guests.
And let’s just say—I’m hooked.
Power is not a dirty word.
Power is capacity. Power is protection. Power is the ability to turn intention into action.
And I want mine back.
Not to dominate.
But to create, to lead, and to make sure important things don't get buried by those who happen to hold the key.
Below are my raw notes—organized but kept as close to the professor’s original language as possible.
Jeffrey Pfeffer — The Power Playbook: How to Win at Work
(Organized Notes & Direct Quotes)
🔥 The Nature of Power
“Power is key to personal success.”
“Power, like any tool, can be used for evil or for good.”
“If you want to change lives or organizations, you’re going to need power. Because if change could happen without it, it already would have.”
“Getting power entails doing things that don’t come naturally.”
🧭 What Power Is
“Typically in the world, there are differences of opinion, and power is your ability to make things come out the way you want them to.”
🧩 Person–Job Fit
Two questions:
1. Do you have the skills to do the job?
2. Does your persona as it currently is fit the culture of the organization?
When considering a job:
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Do I have access to people at the highest level?
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Is my performance going to matter?
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Am I being recruited into a role that leads somewhere—or is it a dead end?
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Never take a job where you are programmed to fail.
And it’s quite fair to ask those kind of questions in the interview
“Google the position and see what happened to people before you.”
🛑 If a Job Doesn’t Fit
“10–15% of your time needs to be spent ensuring you have an exit.”
“You can spend the same effort fixing a bad situation or finding a better one.”
“You are better off finding situations where you have a higher chance of success.”
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📈 Where to Work if You Want Power
Tip 1: Work in departments that historically produce senior leadership.
Tip 2: Go where the organization’s critical issues are.
Tip 3: Work in a position with visibility, connections, and industry-facing relationships.“Ask these questions in the interview. It’s fair.”
🗺 Social Power Map
Study your org chart, but also the real flows of influence:
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who talks to leaders
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who has access
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who keeps calendars
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who is trusted
“If senior management is in the office, you should be in the office.”
“It’s your responsibility to make sure your boss knows what you’re doing.”
Not bragging—informing.
🎯 What Gets You Promoted
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Job performance
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Power skills
Keith Ferrazzi:
“You are not responsible for your career. Other people are—those who can promote you.”
When bosses decide on promotions, they evaluate:
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how you perform
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how you make them feel
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whether you're likable
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whether you're collaborative
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whether you're a “good subordinate”
Maya Angelou:
“People will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
💬 Flattery & Influence
“Flattery works.”
“People are motivated to believe the wonderful things you tell them.”
Rules:
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Don’t criticize people with more power.
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Make your good idea sound like your boss’s idea.
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Ask for help — it creates bonding.
🚪 First Impressions
“First impressions form in ten seconds.”
“If the first impression is that you’re brilliant, people coat everything you do as brilliant.”
How people judge you:
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How you look
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How you sound
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What you say (least important)
Presence:
“Stand tall. Reach out first. Move toward people.”
Confidence:
“People assume lack of competence if you show lack of confidence.”
Use pauses:
“Silence makes others reveal insecurity.”
🌟 Leadership & Presence
“Your job as a leader is to inspire confidence.”
“Attitudes follow behavior.”
🪪 Brand
Your brand is:
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the stories you tell
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your narrative (“2–3 sentences about your path”)
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what you post
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how you look
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your Zoom background
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what you repeat, consistently
“If you don’t tell your story, someone else will.”
“Decide what your brand is and be consistent.”
🤝 Networking
“Most people don’t spend enough time networking.”
“Spend a tiny bit less time doing your job and a tiny bit more connecting with people.”
Weak ties matter:
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They give new information
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They expand your world
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They open doors
Ronald Burt (Structural Holes):
“People in bridging positions outperform everyone.”
Networking:
“An act of generosity—connecting people who need to meet.”
🧨 Power & Rule-Breaking
“Those who advance are not the rule followers, but those who break social convention.”
“People who break rules appear more powerful.”
“If you want an exceptional career, you will have to take risks.”
Don’t apologize:
“Turn it into ‘Thank you for…’ and fix the mistake.”
🛡 Protecting Your Power
“Good leaders must be feared and loved. If you must choose—be feared.”
“Don’t wait. Move first.”
“Power is 20% granted, 80% taken.”
“Most people wait. Power favors those who move first.”
🎭 Once You Have Power
“Nobody is fighting to stay at the bottom.”
“The higher you rise, the more people want your role.”
Leave rivals a path out:
“Strategic outplacement is powerful—get rivals great jobs elsewhere.”
⏳ Time Management & Delegation
“As responsibilities grow, so does the danger of becoming overcommitted.”
You must:
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say no to non-critical tasks
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delegate
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stay curious
“The way people lose power is they go to sleep.”
“Smart leaders never stop doing what got them the job in the first place.”
Final thoughts: go hear it for yourself
These are my notes. They’re filtered through my experiences, my stories, and the exact moment in life where I found myself suddenly without power.
If you take the same class, you’ll hear different things.
You’ll pause on different lines.
You’ll underline quotes I barely noticed—and maybe skip the ones that rearranged my world.
That’s why I really recommend watching the full “How to Win at Work” MasterClass with Jeffrey Pfeffer (this is my affiliate link). It’s just a little over an hour, but if you watch it once and actually apply it, it can genuinely change the trajectory of your career:
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how you choose roles
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how you think about bosses
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how you protect your ideas
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how you move when no one’s “giving” you power
Because if power is 20% granted and 80% taken, then learning how to take it thoughtfully, protect it, and use it for good is one of the most practical skills you can build.
These notes are here for me to come back to—and for you to borrow from.
But the real shift happens when you sit with the material yourself and decide:
👉 Where am I giving my power away?
👉 Where do I need to move first, not wait to be chosen?
If this class lands for you even 50% as strongly as it did for me, the way you think about work—and your place in it—won’t be the same.
