Influence Without Authority (2nd Edition) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), David L. Bradford (Author) "This is a book about influence-the power to get your work done..." (more)
Key Phrases: Practical Applications of Influence, Know What They Want, Making Mutually Profitable Trades (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This guide by management consultant Cohen and Stanford University Graduate School of Business professor Bradford skillfully demonstrates, with numerous examples, how managers and other employees can achieve their career objectives--as well as those of their companies--by forming mutually advantageous alliances. Urging patient planning of strategies, the authors offer advice on coping with turf rivalries, handling delicate inter-level relations and tips on how to bypass rules and foster managerial flexibility and innovation. Macmillan's Executive Program dual main selection; Fortune Book club alternate.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Cohen and Bradford are business professors, the former at Babson College and the latter at Stanford, and both have extensive backgrounds in management consulting. Here, they have devised a number of scenarios to illustrate situations in which particular techniques of influencing co-workers can be utilized to effect a desired result. Very few real-world examples are employed, leaving the reader searching for some concrete applications of the techniques discussed. Consequently, the book reads more like an academic text on influence. Readers would be better served with Dale Carnegie's classic How To Win Friends and Influence People or Harvey MacKay's Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive ( LJ 4/15/88). Recommended for academic and large public libraries.
- Richard Paustenbaugh, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (March 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471463302
• ISBN-13: 978-0471463306
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,558 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Effective change management . . ., November 29, 2005

By	Dave Kinnear "the Rational Taoist" (Lake Forest, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm honored to have received a couple of books for review from Wiley publishing. Influence without Authority by Allan Cohen and David Bradford (second edition) is a classic. Between the covers of this book are not only ideas about the art of getting work done through people, but a host of useful case studies and resources.

One of my first major change management projects, some 12 years ago now, lead me to believe that there had to be a better way to accomplish the cross functional negotiations that need to happen in any major change initiative. Here, in this book, are the explanations for both what worked and what didn't work on that project. Many of the principles listed not only got my head nodding "yes!" but also help me to understand how the hard learned lessons over the past 12 years fit into the overall picture of influencing colleagues, clients, and their employees.

The Cohen-Bradford Model of Influence, while appearing simple, was a bit more difficult to really comprehend. It comprises six "steps" pictured as an inward spiral, and starts at the "outside" with "Assume all are potential allies." Then moves inward with "Clarify your goals and priorities," "Diagnose the world of the other person," "Identify relevant currencies, theirs, yours," "Dealing with relationships," and finally at the center "Influence through give and take." Essentially, this text deals with explaining how this model is applied in a practical manner. Most important is the concept that while for small things, we can and often do intuitively understand the give and take in a transaction, for large complex transactions we need to be more methodical and think through our process, goals, interests and those of our allies. Hence, the model.

Of particular interest to me was this text's recognition that organizational change can be very complicated, and so dedicated several chapters to that process alone. Between these chapters, the case studies providing real life examples, and yes, the model itself, this book is invaluable to those either in or consulting to organizations wanting to move forward - because that means managing complex change and the need to influence people as well as leading them.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bean Counters --- Currency IS important, April 13, 2006

By	Susan C. Van Abs "forever dieter" (groton, ma) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is excellent in content. There are so many pressures that cause people to behave certain ways in organizations. Everyone has their expectations and currency (teeth in the game) that drives their working relationships with others.

After reading this book, I understood the behaviors of others I've worked with. Culture, expectations of the boss, possible promotions, etc. really do influence behaviors of others in organizations. If you really take time to prepare and look at the stakeholders in a particular situation, and try to figure out what currencies people expect, it is easier to come to a consensus.

So many organizations today are consensus driven, it is important to understand the drivers. Sometimes these drivers, like company culture and decisions based on consensus, can cause harmful situations like "Group think" - that happened during the Challenger diaster and the defective "o" rings. Perhaps that disaster could have been diverted if the stakeholders had prepared and understood the currencies involved.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good info on how to be effective in team-based organizations, July 19, 1998

By	Brad Einarsen ([e-mail]) (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Influence Without Authority (Paperback)

This book covers how to use the natural human laws of reciprocity with others in your organization to achieve maximum productivity. More importantly the book also promotes the attitude of looking on everyone in your organization as allies (people you like) and potential allies (people you don't). Highly recommended.