In a faded Composition Notebook, I found a few paragraphs from a Power and Politics class. When taking notes (at this point in my life), I wrote down almost everything (verbatim from the teacher or coach), but rarely did I go back and look again. Habit. Just writing it down, perhaps, allowed me to do a bit of recall for the test. Now, fifteen-plus years later, I’m taking another look. It’s somewhat handy I have the detail, easy to piece together the point. I don’t remember the professor, but the topic was power bases. Google defines it as follows:
Pow·er base:
a source of authority, influence, or support, especially in politics or negotiations.
“the party’s power base was confined to one province”
Other translations (It’s cool to see how words in other languages/translations look on the page):
電基地
قواعد السلطة
בסיס כוח
बिजली ठिकानों
And here were my notes:
- How do you know when to make a move in an organization? Weigh carefully, but, note Fortune Favors the Bold.
- There will come a time when you move forward or move out. Always be looking for opportunity.
- Are you building the power base you need? Do you know the right people? Have support with your current team? Are the results and track record there to support your ambitions?
- How do you drive more impact in the organization? Looking at your peers, who has more impact right now?
Things to ponder here. But, the power base is relative to your goals.
Other Stuff:
- The picture is from the Stage in Downtown Nashville, TN. What does this have to do with power bases? Well, I rarely go to the downtown bars. But they are a collection of social structures. Who goes after work? Who stays late? Who dances? And, who tries to define themself amongst their managers and peers.
