A book about politics?

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https://unsplash.com/photos/bundle-of-newspaper-on-table-Mwuod2cm8g4

Topic

ProductivityLifestyle

Type

Quick take

I read a book months ago which I found pretty interesting, but something was missing. I didn’t understand what or why, but I felt something was missing. This changed when I discussed it with a friend who had also read the book. We had an extensive discussion, and to my surprise, although the book is called “The 48 Laws of Power,” it’s not actually a book about the laws of power but about politics—specifically job politics or corporate politics.

Politics at work is a heated topic.

Everyone dislikes politics.

Everyone tries to avoid them.

Everyone says they are bad.

Everyone says that a good working environment has zero politics.

Yet, politics exist everywhere!

My point of view is that politics are inevitable. Once your company exceeds three people, politics start to exist. Based on this perspective, you can’t eliminate them. The only thing you can do is minimize them.

Here are a couple of “laws” described in the book that fit perfectly with office politics:

Law 1: Never Outshine the Master.

In each room, there is always a master. Most of the time, it is the manager, the CEO, or a great professional. It’s not wise to outshine the master.

Law 5: So Much Depends on Reputation — Guard It with Your Life.

Reputation matters a lot, especially in the corporate world. For example, this is one of the reasons behind many LinkedIn posts.

Law 11: Learn to Keep People Dependent on You.

By keeping people dependent on you, you seem more valuable than you are, and it may create situations where you are not easily replaceable.

Law: 19: Know Who You’re Dealing With – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person.

For example, offending the decision-maker in a room is not a wise move.

There are 44 other laws in the book. The laws above might not be applicable to your situation. Not all laws will be applicable, which is reasonable because politics are highly customized to your working environment.

Lastly, I wrote this post NOT to encourage you to train yourself in politics and learn to manipulate others. I hate politics because I believe they create noise, waste, and, most of all, a toxic environment. All I’m trying to say is that politics exist, and this book is a good resource to identify them effectively and find ways to cope with or overcome them.

Here is a nice and relevant presentation as well:

Eiffel's Tower | Nickolas Means | #LeadDevLondon

Video sponsor: Formidable (https://formidable.com/) When Gustave Eiffel built his namesake tower, it was nearly twice as tall as the tallest structure on Earth. His crews built it in an astounding 22 months, pioneering new construction techniques to deliver it in time for the opening of the 1889 Exposition Universelle. It was amazing then, and it’s just as captivating today. We all say we want to do groundbreaking work, just like Eiffel, but what does it actually take to push an organization forward? The answer starts long before the work itself. Let’s see what we can learn from how Gustave Eiffel went about building his record-shattering tower. About Nickolas Means Nickolas Means loves nothing more than a story of engineering triumph (except maybe a story of engineering disaster). When he's not stuck in a Wikipedia loop reading about plane crashes, he spends his days as a Senior Engineering Manager at GitHub. He works remotely from Austin, TX, and spends most of his spare time hanging out with his wife and kids, going for a run, or trying to brew the perfect cup of coffee. Find out more: https://london2019.theleaddeveloper.com/talks#nickolas-means Lead Dev is a community for technical leaders. We have a series of conferences and meetups designed with the needs and pain points of technical team leads in mind. We programme each conference around our three key themes of Team, Tech & Tools. The talks are designed to help very practically with common problems in these areas. To find out more about us, visit: https://theleaddeveloper.com/