New Power summary

So what exactly differentiates the values underlying new power from those underlying old power? Well, it’s sort of like the conflict between the worldviews of a parent and a child. The experienced, authoritative parent is always irked when their child, fresh-faced and full of idealism, attempts to influence the parenting process. By trying to change habits or question received wisdom, the child proposes new values.

And the values of old power and new power clash in multiple ways.

When envisaging your dream house, you probably don’t put much imaginative effort toward visualizing the foundations propping it up. Well, it’s the same with power systems; we tend to pay attention to their values, not the models they rest on.

So what’s the difference between the models for old and new power?

How do you communicate with your target audience? It’s a question as old as business itself. Influencers and advertisers seek techniques to implant their ideas into people’s heads, but for years influencer techniques went unchanged.

That’s partly because before digital communication, our main cultural influences were largely shared.

What use is new power if it’s hoarded by corporations like Facebook, Uber and Airbnb? Well, the truth is new power can’t be hoarded. Anyone can harness the potential of new power for their own ends, but first you need to build a crowd.

This involves five steps: find, build, lower, move and harness.

They say the world is built on compromise. A situation agreeable to you is often disagreeable to others, and today’s critical business moments usually hinge on your ability to juggle the desires of essential stakeholders.

In a new-power community, there are three stakeholders, all in a triangular-shaped dynamic.

Like the sun, the key actor triangle doesn’t float aimlessly in a vacuum devoid of context or environment. Instead, it’s orbited by a host of secondary actors, influencing the triangle’s dynamic and the organization’s fate in general.

This means that maintaining a well-balanced triangle isn’t enough to create a successful new-power community. You must also cultivate a small ensemble of other players and partners. These include institutional funders, the media, NGOs, celebrities or influencers and the general public.

Old power and new power are colliding in our current world. The leaders that stand out are embracing old techniques, but harnessing three new leadership tools: signaling, structuring and shaping.

Pope Francis, for instance, is a startling new-power leader. He uses his unorthodox actions – like washing a refugee’s feet – to demonstrate personal values to subordinates within his ultratraditional organization. These actions signal desirable behaviors to adherents.