Power & Influence

Power is the ability to get people to do something they did not want to do and make them happy that they did it (Winston Churchill). Power and influence processes are pervasive and important in organizations, and influence is a key mechanism by which things get done. Therefore, you need to be able to understand power and politics, and to act on that knowledge. In short, you need to be not only good technicians, but also good politicians. This course has four very concrete objectives bearing directly on what you are doing currently: 1) To help you articulate clearly your political objectives in your current work or in your next endeavor if you are making a current career switch. 2) To help you map out the political landscape in your job, which you will need to navigate politically in order to attain your political objectives. 3) To understand the bases of power you have, and whether they are sufficient to attain your political objectives or whether you need to develop more power. 4) To help you develop a concrete political action plan that you will start implementing during the course. A plan that specifies, carefully, the political influence tactics you will need to employ to reach your objectives."