#23: "Influence, not attention"

The Office Hours Interview: Amos Barshad

Amos Barshad is a writer whose work has been featured in the New York Times, The FADER, Vice and is an alum of ESPN’s dearly-departed Grantland. His first book, No One Man Should Have All That Power, was published in April and centers on a topic that’s relevant to all of us: Power. 

The book focuses on the “Rasputin”, the term named for Grigori Rasputin, the Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and gained considerable influence in the country’s late imperial period. The term is now applied to those with the ability to influence the most influential, to control those who are in power. This isn’t just a political thing, by the way. You can find Rasputin’s everywhere, as Barshad’s book points out. He profiles some notable examples in our modern society, from Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber’s current manager/Kanye’s ex-manager), Alex Guerrero (Tom Brady’s trainer), to Sam Nunberg (Pres. Trump’s former aide).

Let’s apply a business scenario to this cultural phenomenon: Every office you have or will work in has an invisible power structure and a Rasputin lurking within it. They control your ability to progress within the organization and if you have aim to grow within your org, it’s imperative that you figure out who that person is or work to become that person yourself. As much as some of these motivational speaker goofies tell you how much your success depends on your “hustle”, the reality is that those who have access to power live better lives than those who just work really hard.. That’s why old folks are always talking “your network determines your net worth”.

The game ain’t fair, learn the moves so you can stay ahead.

A question about power to start. One of my favorite lines from your book gives context to the idea of a Rasputin. “Wherever power dynamics exist—Congress to Hollywood to the break room at the Tommy’s Pretzel Hut—a Rasputin will rise.” A lot of the stories in this book are examples of the advantages of having power, but from the examples, I don’t think Rasputins practice hard power (by coercion or force) as much as they do soft power. A majority of the folks profiled in your book seem to profit from their ability to attract and co-opt an audience. How important are those skills to being a Rasputin?

I totally agree. In the intro to the book, I try to define what makes someone a "Rasputin." They have to operate from behind-the-scenes, their control must be controversial, etc. Still, though, the concept of a "Rasputin" is still one of those amorphous things -- ultimately, you just know one when you see one. When trying to identify one, then, I think it's helpful to remember that Rasputins always have power that is unconventional. It's oblique, slippery, just strange in some way or another. 

So Rasputins are definitely soft-power people. That doesn't mean they are subtle, necessarily. But it does mean their influence doesn't come in a straight-lined, hierarchical, forceful way. Rasputins don't have to attract an audience, in the conventional sense of fawning masses. They have to attract an audience of a few well-positioned others. They're not the glad-handling politician, hitting the campaign trail, pumping hands. They are the senior advisor with an uncomfortably grand sway over that glad-handling politician's decision-making process. There's always something just not quite right about a Rasputin's power. 

In your opinion, is being a Rasputin an ego-driven thing? I could see it as the ultimate power play for introverts, honestly. You get a front-row seat to the show but you don’t have to be in the show. 

Ultimate power play for introverts -- yes! I love that. 

I have gotten the question: if these Rasputins are so devious and calculating, why don't they just strategize their way into power for themselves? In my opinion, to be a Rasputin, you have to lack something that would let you gain the spotlight. The pop producer can't sing or dance. The editor can't write themselves. The senior advisor doesn't have the charm or the looks to be a political candidate themselves. But I definitely agree that there's something about these Rasputins that makes them inherently uninterested in personal attention. (And, in fact, the more personal attention they get, the worse they are at Rasputinin'g anyone. Take a look at Steve Bannon: he went full extrovert, and it doomed him.) They want influence, not attention. 

What’s the line between being a Rasputin and just being really pushy? I think there’s an assumption that Rasputins have this grandiose need for power, when a lot of times it just feels like they just want things their way and aren’t willing to take no for an answer.

Being pushy, and never accepting an answer you don't want to hear, is definitely a huge part of being a Rasputin. But that's probably true for anyone who successfully pulls off anything. A Rasputin has a lot of tools in the toolbox, and pushiness is just one of them. Ultimately I think it's about efficacy. We've all encountered pushy people: bullying, hectoring bosses, friend, family-members. But are those people actually convincing us of anything? Or can we tune them out? A Rasputin is a more nuanced, clever individual. They know when to push, when to pull-back, when to comfort, when to praise, when to yell, when to whisper. 

The interview with Aleksandr Dugin — the man dubbed as Vladmir Putin’s Rasputin (a title that’s as fun to say as it is to read) — was equal parts chilling and impressive. Chilling because I know buddy probably has more power than everyone else in the book — and that he most certainly isn’t a fan of folks who look like I do, which is troubling — but the wildest part is how open and honest he is about what he’s doing. How much of being a Rasputin is just having straight-up chutzpah?

I was really glad that I was able to include Dugin in the book because I think he's a good example of a Rasputin who's happy to brag about his Rasputininsm -- which, in turn, makes him a less effective Rasputin! Chutzpah is definitely important: at the very least, that chutzpah helps these Rasputins get over the immorality of their line of work. But you don't want to be too showy, too boastful, too proud. If you really aspire to be a good, true Rasputin, you have to stay in the shadows. 

Share one random fact you think Office Hours readers might not know

The real Rasputin, the one that birthed this archetype of this arch-manipulator, was a strange, lecherous man. But he was also a well-known defender of groups of oppressed people, including the Jews. This was the early 20th century and this was the Russian Empire, where antisemitism was rampant. It certainly wasn't an easy task to preach equality. 

Where can readers find your work?

I'm living in London these days but still writing for mostly American publications. I put mostly everything on my website. My most recent pieces were for Vulture, Jacobin, Jewish Currents, VICE, and the New York Times, for which I wrote about my own sweet manipulative Rasputin-like grandma. Please don't tell my grandma. 

YOUR HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:

Buy Amos’ book!

System asked 40 high-ranking editors of some of the biggest magazines one question, "“What can print do that digital cannot? The responses are worth digesting over a commute.

If you missed this week’s Office Hours podcast…

“This week’s episode is a case study on the business of hot dogs in Chicago, a city that has strong opinions about encased meats. From the distribution strategy to the raw economics of opening a hot dog stand in town, we're joined by food writer/Hot Dog University graduate (yes, that's a thing) John Carruthers from Revolution Brewing to talk about the larger culture around hot dogs and street food in general.”

Get that here. Also subscribe anywhere you listen to podcasts. Give us 5 stars if you like it, if you want to give us less than 5, go ahead and keep that shit to yourself!

OFFICE HOURS IRL

If you didn’t know already, Office Hours was a party before it was a newsletter. The first IRL hang was in Atlanta in April. The next one will be a home game, here in Chicago. Stay tuned for more information.

TUNES:

Remember what I told you about the Secretly Group? One of the labels, Secretly Canadian just dropped one of the most interesting albums you’ll hear this year, Faye Webster’s “Atlanta Millionaires Club”. A quality addition to the Yeehaw Agenda, a mix of alt-country and R&B that feels like day-drinking on the patio at Lady Bird.