The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence

by Dacher Keltner (Author), Prof. Dacher Keltner (Author), Prof. Dacher Keltner (Author)

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A revolutionary rethinking of everything we know about power It shapes every interaction we have, whether we're trying to get a two-year-old to eat green vegetables or ask for a promotion at work. But how do we really gain and maintain power - through coercion or cooperation? What does it do to our behaviour? And what makes us lose power? In twenty revolutionary 'power principles', renowned psychologist Dacher Keltner turns everything we thought we knew about influence and status upside down, redefining power for our times. 'Keltner is the most interesting psychologist in America. It's only a matter of time before his ideas spread everywhere' Michael Lewis 'Sheds light on human power's dark side, as well as its redeeming qualities. Everyone can learn from this wise book' Susan T. Fiske, author of Social Cognition 'A lively description of how true power is like a return on a social investment in others' Frans de Waal, author of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? 'Lively and intriguing ... A much-needed dose of positivity' Prospect

Synopsis

A revolutionary rethinking of everything we know about power It shapes every interaction we have, whether we're trying to get a two-year-old to eat green vegetables or ask for a promotion at work. But how do we really gain and maintain power - through coercion or cooperation? What does it do to our behaviour? And what makes us lose power? In twenty revolutionary 'power principles', renowned psychologist Dacher Keltner turns everything we thought we knew about influence and status upside down, redefining power for our times. 'Keltner is the most interesting psychologist in America. It's only a matter of time before his ideas spread everywhere' Michael Lewis 'Sheds light on human power's dark side, as well as its redeeming qualities. Everyone can learn from this wise book' Susan T. Fiske, author of Social Cognition 'A lively description of how true power is like a return on a social investment in others' Frans de Waal, author of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? 'Lively and intriguing ... A much-needed dose of positivity' Prospect

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More Information

Format: paperback
Publisher: Penguin
Published:
ISBN 10: 0718197631
ISBN 13: 9780718197636
Book Overview: A paradigm-shifting account of the power dynamics that shape everyday life - from the board room to the dinner table, the playground to the bedroom.

Media Reviews

There cannot be many business school academics with a hotline to Hollywood. But Dacher Keltner has become something of a go-to guy for Tinseltown since advising on Inside Out ... Prof Keltner is in demand for his work on decoding emotions, which has culminated in a book explaining how people gain and lose power, based on the studies of executive behaviour he has undertaken over 20 years * Financial Times *
Lively and intriguing ... The Power Paradox delivers a much-needed dose of positivity in the study of how managers and leaders can get the best out of their workers and populations * Prospect *
The Westminster old guard sat all around him may not realise it, but Dacher Keltner and his ideas may pose a severe challenge to their way of doing business. And it gets worse: as he and his cohorts render them obsolete, they will rub it in by being nice to them -- Archie Bland * Guardian *
Dacher Keltner is the most interesting psychologist in America. He's busy changing the minds of Americans about how power works, how inequality works. It's only a matter of time before his ideas spread everywhere. And unlike most psychologists I know, he's not a weirdo -- Michael Lewis, author of 'The Big Short', 'Flash Boys', and 'Boomerang'
The Power Paradox brings clarity to our confusion, brimming with evidence-based insights into powerlessness, the selfish uses of power, and the best kind: power that furthers the greater good. Dacher Keltner's brilliant research gives us a lens that lets us see afresh hidden patterns in society, politics, and our own lives. No doubt this will be one of the most significant science books of the decade -- Daniel Goleman, author of 'Emotional Intelligence' and 'A Force for Good: The Dalai Lama's Vision for Our World'
Keltner shares insights into many aspects of power, including afternoon tea in Britain and how Lincoln won the presidency ... Provocative and intriguing -- Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of 'Half the Sky: How to Change the World'
That power is not taken but given is true for most human relations today. It has ancient roots in primate behavior. Dacher Keltner applies a lifetime of research to this topic, offering a lively description of how true power is like a return on a social investment in others -- Frans de Waal, author of 'Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?'
With personal insight and the latest science, Keltner is both realistic and idealistic: The Power Paradox sheds light on human power's dark side, as well as its redeeming qualities. Everyone can learn from this wise book -- Susan T. Fiske, Professor of Psychology at Princeton and author of 'Social Cognition'
Dacher Keltner's focus on power as doing good for others is a refreshing change from a Machiavellian perspective and helps us to better understand what the - much more fulfilling - target of ambition should be -- Kate Pickett, co-author of 'The Spirit Level'

Author Bio

Dacher Keltner is Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. A renowned expert in the biological and evolutionary origins of human emotion, he has received numerous prizes for his research, which has been covered in The New York Times, Newsweek, the BBC and CNN. He is the bestselling author of Born to Be Good and has served as a consultant to Google, Facebook, and on the award-winning Pixar film, Inside Out. In 2008, the Utne Reader listed him as one of the fifty visionaries changing the world.