Jeffrey Pfeffer

Political and power skills are directly correlated with tangible career outcomes like salary increases and promotions.

"The reason why you should pay attention to this is because it leads to a lot of good things, salary, getting promoted, being happy in your career, being less stressed."

Visibility and brand recognition within an organization are prerequisites for promotion; competence alone is insufficient.

"There are many ways to get promoted, but I will guarantee you one thing, no one is going to promote Lenny if they don't know who the hell you are. So it is not sufficient for them to know who you are...."

A structured group of advisors (a personal board) provides the necessary guidance, emotional support, and accountability for career growth.

"get a personal board of directors like they talk about in the Wall Street Journal. In other words, get people who will give you advice, give you social support, and hold you accountable."

Exceptional presentation and persuasion skills are learned behaviors that can be developed through coaching and practice, regardless of natural personality.

"Steve Jobs couldn't convince you to buy water if you were dying of thirst. He could not give a presentation to save his life. And Regis McKenna and his team took Steve Jobs under their wing and create..."

Presenting without notes signals total mastery of the subject matter and projects a higher level of authority and power.

"I never appeared before Congress with notes. I wanted them to believe, which was by the way, true, that I was in complete control and complete mastery of the material, and that I did not need notes or..."

High-level networking and power acquisition often involve finding others to execute tactical tasks, freeing you for strategic relationship building.

"oftentimes I can find other people to do the work I was doing. So instead of basically spending time doing my job, I networked first within Netscape."