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The Power Paradox

The Power Paradox

How We Gain and Lose Influence

Summary

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

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

About the author

Dacher Keltner

Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the faculty director of the Greater Good Science Center. A renowned expert in the science of human emotion and consultant to Pixar's Inside Out, Dr Keltner studies compassion and awe, as well as issues of power, status, inequality and social class. He is the author of The Power Paradox and the bestselling Born to Be Good, and the co-editor of The Compassionate Instinct.
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