Back in the 60's there was a book called "Power". It dealt with the history and trappings of power and how we have lorded it over each other down through the centuries.

It started off by telling readers that if they wanted to understand power they had to get over the notion that we were not supposed to want any. People who want power are often seen to be self-centered, overbearing and greedy which, of course, they are.

I find the quest for power and influence to be as strong as any of the drives. We come by it honestly though, including its trappings.

Did you know, for example, why a formal board room is set up as it is? According to Hoyle, or whoever wrote the book on meetings, the senior person sits at the very head of the table. To his left, and in descending order, sits the hierarchy of the organization until you work all the way around the table so that the most junior person in the room is at the leader's right. (Thus, "right hand man" which was originally a "go-fer" position.)

This array dates back to the Viking warlords meeting around the grog table and was based on the concept that most people were right handed. This meant that when the debates became heated, a senior member could withdraw his dagger with his right hand and stab the man to his left with relative ease. It was a more difficult chore, however, to withdraw your dagger with your right hand and stab the man to your right with it because you could not get up a powerful thrust and had to work like you were chipping ice instead of cutting cornstalks.

Some of our more "chivalrous" notions came from a similar time. When Europeans were broken into tribes, some of which were seasonally nomadic, the concept of "women and children first" was borne. It came up twice a year when the inhabitants of a gated community would leave en masse for more pleasant climes. Lacking radar they were never certain that the envious tribe upstream might not be lurking in ambush. So who was filed out of the village first to see if an ambush awaited? You guessed it. The most expendable members of the community-the women and children.

The author of "Power" closed with a modern-day power play that he suggested could be used effectively in the corporate world if you are strying to establish your dominanace over a rival or co-worker. It is actually an exercise in intimidation.

What you do is to walk into their office or cubicle and ask to use their phone. Once the phone is in your hand, you begin to dial, then stop and stare at the other person as if to say that you assumed he knew you meant you needed privacy for the call. After he leaves, sit behind his desk and launch into an animated conversation. You might even choose to prop your feet on his desk. There does not have to be anyone on the other end and, in fact, the author suggests you keep talking until the person who sits there works up the courage to come back into the room. The primary goal here is to let them see you seated at their desk, holding their phone (the modern power symbol) chatting away merrily after asking them to leave you alone in their office.

There. No go git you some power.