Power, for All: How It Really Works and Why It’s Everyone’s Business

Power isn’t just the purview of the wealthy and influential—anyone can learn to own and wield it, argue Harvard Business School professor Battilana and University of Toronto professor Casciaro in their impassioned if vague debut. They present three myths that prevent people from obtaining power (here defined as “the ability to influence others’ behavior”): that it can only be achieved through innate traits, that it’s reserved for the prominent, and that it’s morally questionable. Through 100 interviews with people who had “intriguing and diverse paths to and through power,” the authors explore how people can grasp power both individual and systemic. They speak with Lia Grimanis, who runs a nonprofit that helps homeless women, Polish Holocaust survivor Miriam Rykles, and activists in the Occupy and Black Lives matter movements to describe a new kind of power that’s “networked, informal, collaborative, transparent, and participatory.” Readers are encouraged to make their own “power map” of networks and develop a mindset that includes empathy and humility. But while the authors ask worthy questions, their concept of “power” winds up being so nebulous that it’s hard to find an entry point into their argument. While the “power is for all of us” angle has potential, this one doesn’t quite satisfy. (Aug.)