Works
- Influence Without Authority, 1990
In Tactics of Organizational Politics
Ideas
Currencies of exchange. Cohen and Bradford build influence on exchange: people cooperate when they receive something they value in return, and each person trades in particular currencies. They group currencies as inspiration-related, task-related, position-related (recognition and visibility among them), relationship-related, and personal, and rest the model on a law of reciprocity.
What it explains
Cohen and Bradford explain how people without formal authority win cooperation: by finding out what the other party values and paying in that currency, including recognition and credit. Their book is a practitioner guide for managers.