“Power is a tool. You know, it’s like fire.”
Jeffrey Pfeffer is a Stanford Graduate School of Business professor, creator of the Paths to Power course, and author or co-author of 16 books, including 7 Rules of Power.
The free conversation ends as Pfeffer turns from personal power to the money inside employer-sponsored health care. In the full conversation, he explains how conflicted intermediaries profit from opacity, what plan fiduciaries may be missing, and why lawyers should follow the money.
We begin with power, agency, self-advocacy, and why good work remains invisible unless someone makes it visible. Pfeffer also explains why relationships and distribution may become more valuable as AI makes products easier to reproduce.
The full conversation then turns to employer-sponsored health care: ERISA fiduciary responsibility, conflicted intermediaries, direct contracting, cash prices, unpaid claims, prior authorization, Dr. Bryant Lin’s experience with the health care system, and why Pfeffer tells lawyers to follow the money.
Paid subscribers can watch the full episode below.
