[09:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=554) - people tend to have deep misconceptions in mind about power that prevent them from understanding power for what it is - the first misconception is this idea that somehow power would be a possession - what people want to know is what's the list of personality traits that make people powerful in any situation [09:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=586) - that's the belief that somehow you have these traits, you possess them or you don't, and if you have them good for you because then you're powerful and if you don't too bad because then you'll never be powerful; so some people think it's about charisma others think it's about good looks but they want to know what the list is - the second misconception about power is this idea that power is only for the people at the top, that it's only for the top executives, the ceos, the prime ministers, the presidents, the generals, and so on [10:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=613) - the third misconception that is probably the most widespread is this idea that power is dirty - when you put all these 3 misconceptions together, the result is that most people reject power on the basis that they don't have certain traits, they do not occupy a position at the top of a hierarchy, or they think power is morally reprehensible [10:43](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=643) - if we do not understand power then we cannot have the impact that we aspire to - and then we get frustrated, and when people get frustrated they turn their back on power - they leave it to others to make decisions and to concentrate ever more power in their hands - the issue is that if we individually do not understand power then how can we possibly get organized collectively? [11:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=677) - this is the 15th year in a row that democracy has been declining across the globe [11:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=709) - based on our research, when people understand power dynamics, they become much more effective leaders and much more effective change makers - the other thing we've seen is that power dynamics can be learned [12:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=740) - the purpose of the book is to democratize access to knowledge about power to help everyone uncover the fundamentals of power across three levels: interpersonal, organizational and societal [13:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=831) - power resides in control over access to valued resources reframing of power - power is relative - powerr is for all - power is energy [23:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=1386) - power can poison because of hubris (overconfidence and sense of invincibility): - we start becoming more overconfident - we start thinking we're better than others - we deserve to be there - some of us develop a sense of invincibility - it's the well-known trap of hubris [23:34](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=1414) - a 2nd way power can poison is "self-focus": - it becomes harder for us to put ourselves in the shoes of others (lack of interest in others) - we start seeing everything through our lens (lack of perspective taking) - there are power antidotes - the antidote to hubris is humility (awareness of our impermanence) - antidote to self-focus is empathy (awareness of our interdependence) [24:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=1446) - when the antidotes are in place: - people can see power as a responsibility - they adopt a collective orientation - they can pursue a much higher purpose - now i wish we could stop there but it would be incredibly naive to stop there [26:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=1567) - can't stop there - need to double down on empathy and humility [26:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=1593) - put in place structures of power sharing - processes of accountability [28:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=1719) - we need agitators who raise public awareness of the problem - we also need the innovators who develop actionable solutions to address the grievances - we also need orchestrators who enable coordination and ensure the adoption at scale of innovation [37:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=2242) - human beings have two fundamental needs: the need for safety and the need for self-esteem - dictators control our access to resources we need for safety and self esteem and in doing that they force us to comply with whatever rules they want to have us follow [40:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HvVXJj5ws8&t=2435) - what you need to do if you want to be effective is you need to communicate - you need to organize - and you need to evaluate progress towards change adoption - now the way in which you're going to do that if you're an agitator, innovator, or orchestrator is slightly different and the traps you're likely to face are slightly different but it is critical for you to be thinking about how you communicate the framing so that you engage people