Organizational Politics
Clint Edmonson
A Survival Guide
DisclaimerDisclaimer
Part 1:The Nature of Politics
Responsibility
Authority
Power
Influence
The Purpose Driven Social System
Chaos Theory
Point Attractors
Cycle Attractors Strange Attractors
Life is like high school
Part 2:Who’s Got An Agenda?
Who’s Got An Agenda?
Everybody’s got an
agenda!
Your CEO’s Agenda
Economics In One Slide
Profit = Revenue - Costs
We live in a growth economy.
“I need to grow the company”
Your CIO’s Agenda
Is the CIO a technologist who understands the business?
or
a business person who understands technology?
“I need to add value to the business”
Your Director’s Agenda
“I need to get the right people
working on the right projects”
Your Manager’s Agenda
“I need to make sure everyone is
happy”
Your Coworkers’ Agenda
“We want to work with great people who carry their own weight”
Your Agenda
“I need to choose technologies with a future”
“I need to focus on adding business value and project success –
not necessarily efficiency”
Part 3: Survival Tips
Dress +1
Learn the art of small talk
Learn how to read a room
Plug into your company’s information pipeline
Seek out a mentor
Have a best friend at work
Learn the art of public speaking
Evangelize
Build an network of like-minded people
Build coalitions
Learn to the right way to gripe
Keep an eye on the sharks
Be prepared to have the “hard” conversations
Always maintain your composure
Master your political tools Compromise (win-win)
Arbitration
Escalation
Know your boundaries
and limitations
Be a positive force
Learn to read the winds of change
Politics are always more interesting when discussed
over a beer
ReferencesSystems Thinking – Gharajedaghi
What the CEO Want’s You To Know – Charan
CIO Wisdom – Lane, et. al.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Covey
How to Win Friends & Influence People – Carnegie
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Cialdini
Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming – O’Conner & Seymour
Clint EdmonsonBlog: http://www.notsotrivial.netEmail: [email protected]: @clinted
