The game of politics
Someone on Linkedin asked, "Is office politics good or bad?"
Today, the Internet enables an increasing number of people to connect both online and offline, so mastering politics will become a key ingredient of success.
I'm happy to share with you my answer below.
Note: I would add that even when a person is alone in a room by himself or herself, there IS a "political struggle" or at least some political maneuvering being played out. Indeed, the future you is always playing a game of chess or poker against the present you (and sometimes, the past you). This struggle between the future you and the present you is often most apparent when a person decides to radically change her life, such as becoming an entrepreneur or engaging in a new career.
As if that was not enough, there are also various parts of you (called "agents of mind") who are struggling to gain what I call "prominence of consciousness." This happens because a person often plays different roles, such as: wife, mother, daughter, sister, niece, etc. Each role is played by a different "agent of mind" with its own rules, values, memory, heuristics, etc. Each agent is trying to occupy the central spot of consciousness so that it can grow in complexity through experience.
This is very complicated although quite fascinating. I will write more about it.
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As soon as two people gather, there is a political balance. The fact that one of the two persons, or both of them, are not aware of this, does not remove the political balance since it could be observed by a third person.
In other words, when two people get together, the game of politics begin. Even between wife and husband, parent and child, or two best friends.
This game of politics begins even before any word is exchanged.
This is so because it is impossible for two people to be at the same power level. One person will always be at a higher level; that is, the political balance will tend to favor him or her, rather than the other person.
The book The Art of Worldly Wisdom, by Baltasar Gracian, contains all the secrets of office politics (or politics in any other competitive arena). The principles he describes are simple, yet it may take a person a few years to master them.
Politics is a tool, so it is good or bad depending on how skillfully we use them. It's like a knife: nobody would give a sharp knife to a child. Similarly, politics should not be played by the novice.
Although it does take much practice to master the art of covert influence (also known as politics), the payoff can be tremendous since other political players will instantly recognize a person's skill at getting things done through skillful and oblique influence, and will seek to partner with such a person.
Today, the Internet enables an increasing number of people to connect both online and offline, so mastering politics will become a key ingredient of success.
I'm happy to share with you my answer below.
Note: I would add that even when a person is alone in a room by himself or herself, there IS a "political struggle" or at least some political maneuvering being played out. Indeed, the future you is always playing a game of chess or poker against the present you (and sometimes, the past you). This struggle between the future you and the present you is often most apparent when a person decides to radically change her life, such as becoming an entrepreneur or engaging in a new career.
As if that was not enough, there are also various parts of you (called "agents of mind") who are struggling to gain what I call "prominence of consciousness." This happens because a person often plays different roles, such as: wife, mother, daughter, sister, niece, etc. Each role is played by a different "agent of mind" with its own rules, values, memory, heuristics, etc. Each agent is trying to occupy the central spot of consciousness so that it can grow in complexity through experience.
This is very complicated although quite fascinating. I will write more about it.
---
As soon as two people gather, there is a political balance. The fact that one of the two persons, or both of them, are not aware of this, does not remove the political balance since it could be observed by a third person.
In other words, when two people get together, the game of politics begin. Even between wife and husband, parent and child, or two best friends.
This game of politics begins even before any word is exchanged.
This is so because it is impossible for two people to be at the same power level. One person will always be at a higher level; that is, the political balance will tend to favor him or her, rather than the other person.
The book The Art of Worldly Wisdom, by Baltasar Gracian, contains all the secrets of office politics (or politics in any other competitive arena). The principles he describes are simple, yet it may take a person a few years to master them.
Politics is a tool, so it is good or bad depending on how skillfully we use them. It's like a knife: nobody would give a sharp knife to a child. Similarly, politics should not be played by the novice.
Although it does take much practice to master the art of covert influence (also known as politics), the payoff can be tremendous since other political players will instantly recognize a person's skill at getting things done through skillful and oblique influence, and will seek to partner with such a person.
posted by Super Peter at 8:58 PM
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