The New Power Base Selling: Master The Politics, Create Unexpected Value and Higher Margins, and Outsmart the Competition

Three Types of Power Bases

The first important point to understand about Power Bases is that organizations have multiple Power Bases—because organizations have multiple Foxes. Figure 5.1 outlines three distinct types of Power Bases that sellers must become proficient in navigating. Notice that the diagram also shows three Foxes, since each distinct Power Base revolves around a distinct Fox. Individuals in the diagram are characterized in terms of their authority and influence.

Figure 5.1: Three Types of Power Bases

The Enterprise Power Base

The first type is the Enterprise Power Base, the group that sets the entire organization’s direction and priorities, while also shaping its culture. It typically sits at the top of an organization chart with its members representing a subset of the corporate leadership team, starting with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). As seen in Figure 5.1, it may also include influential people from certain business units or departments who can be at lower levels on the organization chart. It might also include individuals on the board of directors to whom the CEO reports.

We address how to identify who is in a Power Base in the next chapter, but a key point to make here is that it is absolutely crucial not to make general assumptions about who is in or out of a Power Base. For example, it is uncommon, but possible, for an organization’s CEO to be absent ...