So true on Corporate World

A friend of mine sent me this and I loved it - Interesting Read !!


" Working Life SUCKS!! Let's be honest here. Bad stuff can happen to good people. Bright, smart, hard-working souls who try to do a good job often end up getting walked over, trodden on, beaten down. And arrogant, nasty, vindicative types often seem to have a fast-track ticket that allows them to rise straight to the top. But you didn't need me to tell you that. I bet you can think of a dozen instances where you have seen precisely that happen.


But why does it go on in the first place?


Because business is about competition. Some of it is subtle and unspoken, but nearly everybody is competing for budgets, opportunities to work on more exciting projects, customers or resources. And then there's competition for promotions, time with important colleagues. prestige, recognition, bigger salaries, and of course, power. But the very fact that people do plot and scheme at work illustrates one of the truths of politicking - that it delivers results.



While we're at it, here's another home truth - politicking happens whether you like it or not. Yes, some people try to be noble and refuse to play the political game; they focus on their job and work hard in the hope of being noticed and rewarded for their efforts.



But sadly there are limited opportunities in the world of work and more often than not, these sort of people just end up being overlooked oe ignored. Do you want to be overlooked or ignored?



Of Course NOT.


You'd think that would be a silly question - whether anyone would choose to be overlooked or ignored. But too many people try in vain to get ahead without playing the politial game. I coach managers across a lot of businesses, and this is always the first point that needs hammering home. If you can find the right buttons to push, your colleagues and customers wil give you pretty much whatever you want. If you think you can succeed without getting political , you need to WAKE up. Wake up and smell that coffee. Because people at work can broadly be divided into two camps. Of course there are shades of grey, but lets's simplify to make the point.


On one hand we have purists, the people who focus on their work . They dislike politices and try to work hard. They may be very good at their job and work honestly and diligently - if somewhat naively. They follow rules and regulations, try to do what is "fair" or "right" and feel frustrated when decisions are not "fair" or "right".


Nice does not mean nice , it often ends up meaning LOSER. They are nice guys , but I,m afraid nice does not mean nice.And because they refuse to play politics , they get taken advantage of. They end up as organizational martyrs, moaning about the unfairness of life but never doing anything about it.

On the other hand, we have players. And players are the very opposite of purists. While they respect official rules and regulations, they understand that the unofficial rules of politics are often more important. They realise that decisions are rarely "fair" or "right" and that decisions makers have both personal as well as professional buttons that need to be pressed. Okay, they may not always be the very best at their day-to-day jobs, but their connections and influence help them to vault up the carrer ladder over their purist colleagues.

Many purists refuse to play the political game, believing it to require underhand tactics and a malicious intent. But politics is not automatically bad. Politicking merely describes the act of scrutinizing business relationships and learning how to influence others more effectively.

It usually involves going through informal channels rather than officially sanctioned ones, but that does not make it bad in and of itself.

Nor does politicking have to be selfish. You can use your understanding of politices to influence people and achieve goals that are good for organization as well as yourself. Even in the most friendly and supportive of organizations , people do not always agree - so having an understanding of politics and how to exert influence can help you to pull people together and achieve outcomes that are in the organization's best interest too.

Try to manipulate and use people and you will probably get caught. You could be tranished with the label of being "political". which can make people refuse to trust you or want to listen to you again. So effective politicking has to be as much about GIVE as it is about TAKE.

So, Play the GAME or get left behind. Which are you going to go for ???"

Anniversary Time !!

Time really flies ...........!!

It has been a year since I started this blog ......I clearly remember my enthusiasm and my secret resolution to be a regular in the blogging world ...

Well , resolutions are meant to be broken. Ain't they? :)
Cant say I have been busy all the while , but somehow it just didn't happen the way I planned. Apologies my sweet blog .. and wish you a Happy Anniversary !!

I promise to mend my ways and you will see more of me this year for sure !!