What Makes People Powerful

new book delves into the skills that separate the alphas from the omegas.

 

In Pictures: What Makes People Powerful

SAN FRANCISCO -- Why are some people incredibly powerful? Are there certain traits that we can learn from the Steve Jobses of the world?
A new book from Stanford University professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, Ph.D., delves into this very issue. Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, released his book, Power: Why Some People Have it and Others Don't last month. Pfeffer's argument is that there's a crucial skill set that separates alphas like Steve Jobs and Google ( GOOG - news - people ) cofounder Larry Page from the omegas--and that potentially matters more than I.Q., charisma, and even hard work.

 "It's insufficient to presume that success is based on the quality of your work and job performance," Pfeffer said. "Your success involves your ability to deal with workplace politics." Pfeffer supports the thesis of his book by citing peer-reviewed studies and his own research.....