If you become too involved in the various competitive games and in the arrangement of alliances, you may succeed, but your success will be an insecure one. Constantly playing politics has a built-in problem: the only people whose respect you will earn are people like yourself whose ambitions outweigh any other positive traits. Such friends quickly leave your side in stormy weather.
On the other hand, the idealist who will not dirty his hands is a little like the country mouse in the big city that he does not understand or like the innocent Billy Budd facing the evil Claggart. The country mouse, Billy and you will not know how to cope. People may have more sympathy for you than for a completely unprincipled character, and associates may respect your ideals, but it is unlikely that they will have any respect for you as a leader.
The answer to the "how" in the tide of this book is not found through politics or chicanery, but a necessary aspect of the method is an understanding of the politics.
This subject will be examined from three different but related angles:
- Getting along in a political atmosphere.
- Getting on someone else's bandwagon.
- Turning the political patterns to your advantage.
Politics, in its general meaning according to the dictionary is "competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership . . . or "the total complex of relations between men." Therefore, whether we like it or not, we will have to function in a political atmosphere. The name of the game is, first of all, survival.
Survival depends a great deal on our ability to understand other people: their needs, their loves, their hates, their weak nesses and their attributes. In the previous chapter, we talked a bit about the need for understanding subordinates for the purposes of effective leadership. In the area of competitive politics, understanding is important merely to stay above water.
As a leader it is stupid, inefficient and cruel to treat people equally. As a competitor for power (or even security) it is not only stupid, cruel and inefficient, but also self-destructive. Sarcasm, for example, may delight some and terrify others; it may, however, push one ambitious man to go after your neck. Flattery works with many people, but it can create suspicion.
Learn to deal with another person by understanding his quirks, his problems and his principles.
One of the most important aspects of working in the political atmosphere comprehends people's need for security. In the tense world that exists in most of the large corporations and even some of the smallest companies, people's actions and reactions are often related to the degree of security they feel.
Some people's needs in this area are greater than others. The feeling of insecurity gives a certain type of individual more ambition, and unfortunately some chief executives actually play on this. They feel that it keeps their men alert and productive. It also tends to keep the chief on top because his executives are so busy knifing each other. With most people, however, the feeling of insecurity often makes them work irrationally, because their reactions are defensive.
This problem of security is mentioned here primarily, because-whether you are insecure or not-you must strive to sense the security drives of others. The extremely insecure man is the most dangerous problem you can have. He is like the wounded tiger; he may attack anyone. It is usually unwise to add to his insecurity-at least, it certainly is unwise to let him know you are adding to it.
It is not necessary to use any devious means to deal with this man; if you are forced into a struggle with him; your best bet is to rise above the situation and work twice as hard to produce. Such an approach can defeat a competitor faster and more permanently than any other method.
Some may be bothered by the seeming two-faced approach suggested in these paragraphs-that is, handling each person differently. It should not be thought of as a devious approach. Striving to deal with everyone in the way each likes is kind; it is efficient in that it gets people to work without grief; it is also good politics. It does not require a relinquishing of principles, merely the acquisition of new and varied methods.
Experts on Getting Along in a Political Atmosphere
Fame is a vapor, popularity and accident, riches take wings. Only one thing endures, and that is character. Horace Greeley
What needs to be cultivated among men interested in social relationships whether as owner, manager or employee, producer or consumer, seller or buyer, partner or competitor, is self-control, refraining from unfair advantage, determination to give value as well as to take it; the appreciation that immediate gain is not the principal consideration; that one group cannot continue to profit at the expense of another without eventual loss to both; that all classes of men are mutually dependent on the services of each other; that the best service yields the greatest profit. Preston S. Arkwright
The levels of management must be manned by people who understand others. This is the key to leadership. A corporation is nothing more than a group of men and women, with all the qualities that make the human being so complex. How well the executive understands human nature, inside and outside his own company, will be the ultimate measure of his capacity for leadership. Gilbert W. Chapman
All great questions of politics and economics come down in the last analysis to the decisions and actions of individual men and women. They are questions of human relations, and we ought always to think about them in terms of men and women-the individual human beings who are involved in them. If we can get human relations on a proper basis, the statistics, finance and all other complicated technical aspects of these questions will be easier to solve. Thomas J. Watson, Sr.
It is sometimes frightening to observe the success which comes even to the outlaw with a polished technique, and we find ourselves doubting the validity of the virtues we have been taught. But I believe we must reckon with character in the end, for it is as potent a force in world conflict as it is in our own domestic affairs. It strikes the last blow in any battle. Philip D. Reed
No society of nations, no people within a nation, no family can benefit through mutual aid unless good will exceeds ill will; unless the spirit of cooperation surpasses antagonism; unless we all see and act as though the other man's welfare determines our own welfare. Henry Ford II
Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you but perceive an Ideal and strive to reach it. James Lane Allen
I sincerely believe that the word "relationships" is the key to the prospect of a decent world. It seems abundantly clear that every problem you will have-in your family, in your business, in our nation, or in this world-is essentially a matter of relationships, of interdependence. Clarence Francis
If you are easily hurt or thin-skinned, you have two alternatives in business: grow a thick hide or stay away from jobs involving contacts with people and heavy responsibilities. Richard P. Calhoon
My father used to say: "Never suspect people. It's better to be deceived or mistaken, which is only human, after all, than to be suspicious, which is common." Stark Young
"Honesty is the best policy," "A dollar saved is a dollar earned," "Look before you leap," "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," "The laborer is worthy of his hire," may be scoffed at by some intellectuals as trite copybook rules, but nonetheless they sum up the elementary experience of the race in creating and consuming wealth. . . .
People may change their minds as often as their coats, and new sets of rules of conduct may be written every week, but the fact remains that human nature has not changed and does not change, that inherent human beliefs stay the same; the fundamental rules of human conduct continue to hold. Lammot du Pont
The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and influence their actions. A chip on the shoulder is too heavy a piece of baggage to carry through life. John Hancock
Forget yourself in your work. If your employer sees that you are more concerned about your own interests than about his, that you are fussy about getting credit for every little or big things you do, then you are apt to be passed by when a responsible job has to be filled. . . . Don't worry about how big an increase in your salary you can contrive to get. Don't let your mind dwell on money at all, if you can help it. Throw yourself, body, soul and spirit, into whatever you are doing. . . . The truth is that in every organization, no matter how large or how small, someone is taking notice of any employee who shows special ability. Harry B. Thayer
Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell nor destroy. Marshall Field
Learn to get along with people.
Learn to exhibit more patience than any other man you know.
Learn to respect other men's ideas and opinions.
Learn to think problems through to the end.
Learn to try to put yourself in the other fellow's place.
Be democratic.
Be loyal.
Cultivate cheerfulness. Harry J. Klingler
2. Getting on Someone Else's Bandwagon
As it is in governmental politics, one of the most common techniques used in the quest for power in the business world is supporting someone else who is making it or has made it. This method has worked in both worlds, but it has also failed as many times as it has worked. If you try this approach, you should be aware of the pitfalls.
Your chances for success will depend on your ability to judge the person whose rising star you are hitching your wagon to. You are gambling on his ability to get there. You are gambling on his continued faithfulness to those who have supported him. You are also leaving a great deal to luck, because there are so many variables and unknowns in this method.
Concerning his abilities, you must judge his performance and knowledge. You must sense his personal relations with others of equal or greater power. In this area, there is a real problem because the man or men in power above him may react to him differently than you assume. You must understand his political abilities and the strength of his ambitious drives. If you prove to be wrong in any of your judgments, you will have wasted a lot of time and energy and may end up in a worse position than the one in which you started.
If the man is solidly ambitious and wise in his ambition, he will probably use your support to get to the top, but no matter what he promises he will have to fight to stay on top. To do this, he will put in responsible positions the people who will produce and make him look good. If your contribution has merely been support, he may well decide that you have nothing else to offer.
If he is the kind of man who rewards the flatterers and the yes-men, you should know that his position is precarious, and that your situation is even more tenuous. That this approach has worked in the past and will continue to work for some in the future does not change the fact that such success is shaky -even if long-lasting. If you enjoy ulcerish situations, this is an easy way to achieve them.
A word about being a yes-man. If you are successful at this, I would seriously question the health of the company you work for. The executive who requires agreement from the men around him will usually have a warped picture of the facts and of the atmosphere in his company, because his subordinates will tell him only what he wants to hear.
Experts on Bandwagon-Hitching
The time men spend in trying to impress others they could spend in doing the things by which others would be impressed. Frank Romer
There is no other way of guarding one's self against flattery than by letting men understand that they will not offend you by speaking the truth; but when everyone can tell you the truth, you lose their respect. Machiavelli
Do not waste a minute-not a second-in trying to demonstrate to others the merits of your performance. If your work does not vindicate itself, you cannot vindicate it. Thomas W. Higginson
The only influence worth having is the influence you yourself create. Don't whine about the influence the other fellow enjoys. If he has it, depend upon it that he has earned it by his own honest, praiseworthy effort. Start in and earn influence for yourself. Everybody is willing to back a sure winner. Demonstrate that you are a winner. Prove that you have ability and that you know how to use it intelligently, loyally, enthusiastically. Deliver the goods. Part of your reward will consist of influence. B. C. Forbes
In a politicking organization, conditions can grow so rotten that the top men will have to go. Then the new man has no recourse but to "clean house," and the first ones to go are the sycophants who hitched their wagons to the boss. Richard P. Calhoon
This an old maxim in the schools, that flattery's the food of fools; yet now and then your men of wit Will condescend to take a bit. Jonathan Swift
Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves-to break our own records, to out strip our yesterday by our today, to do our work with more force than ever before. Stewart B. Johnson
Every organization, public and private, has its share of apple polishers; but the organization that gives aid and comfort to them-rewards and promotes them to high positions-is asking for trouble. Most apple polishers are nice people: witty, articulate, personable, diligent, well-educated, and, without a doubt, they will always be with us. But the executive who surrounds himself with such worthies will be the last to know of impending trouble. Why? Because he will be insulated from the facts of life by people who build their careers telling the boss what he wants to hear. Like sundials, they report only the sunny hours. Edward M. Cook
Take two workers in an organization. One limits his giving by wages he is paid. He insists on being paid instantly for what he does. That shows he is a man of limited imagination and intelligence. The other is a natural giver. His philosophy of life compels him to make himself useful. He knows that if he takes care of other people's problems they will be forced to take care of him to protect their own interests. The more a man gives of himself to his work, the more he will get out of it, both in wages and satisfaction. J. T. Mackey
Ingratiation raises important problems in human relations and self-knowledge. Much of our understanding of the world around us, and of ourselves, comes to us indirectly through the impressions we get from others. In particular, self-evaluation is to a large extent determined by how others judge us-personal qualities like friendliness, respectability, or moral worth can only be assessed by social means or mirrored in the reactions of others. Since ingratiation subverts this response, it is a threat to normal interaction and to reliable information. Like the traditional Hollywood producer and his yes-men, the executive surrounded by ingratiatory may find he adrift in a sea of uncertainties in which the only markers are the selfish interest of his advisers. Edward E. Jones
But when I tell him he hates flatterers, He says he does, being then most flattered. Shakespeare
3. Turning the Political Patterns to Your Advantage
You cannot completely avoid the game unless you want to remain a drone for the rest of your life. There are people who enjoy the security of drone status, but it is unlikely, if you have read this far, that you are one of them.
You cannot avoid enemies unless you are completely ineffectual. You cannot avoid becoming involved in the political rivalries and factions. To get ahead you cannot entirely avoid using other people. To think that you can, or should, remain aloof from the political arena, as some would recommend, is nonsense. To try to do so is to resign yourself to a position less than your probable worth; it can occasionally be suicidal. This is true whether you are the right material for management status or not.
It is also true, however, that your major efforts should be made in the areas of producing, planning, analysis, growth, etc.-that is, in everything else we have discussed. Playing politics without these other things gives you a poor foundation for endurance and may cause you to lose respect for yourself. But to avoid politics can destroy everything good you have to offer.
You must study the political patterns in your company and examine the games people play. You must play some of these games too. Occasionally, you must bluff as in poker. Sometimes, you must bear in and fight with punches to the head and midsection, but you should hit with facts and results. Other times you must duck and side-step-that is, you must vary your approaches. Often you should con the competition-through methods of persuasion discussed previously, for instance, to get them on your side. Once in a while, the right approach is to sit and wait, to do nothing and let conflicts resolve them.
Moreover, you should play the game with style and show man ship. Avoid the petty reactions. Keep your cool. You can often win a round by merely turning a seeming loss into a victory by joining the victor for the sake of the corporation.
Do everything possible to avoid the situation in which you must be involved in a conflict of wills. In such a clash, the man who loses may become a bitter enemy. If you win, you probably have not convinced him that you are right. You hae merely won a battle, not the war. It is true that you can have clash after clash without ill effect, but it is better to find other, more diplomatic ways to gain ground.
You will have to use people in your push toward success: those who work for you, your associates, your bosses, your friends and acquaintances. Because they are different and all have different relationships with you, you must use each in a different way. Using everyone in the same way is obvious and stupid politics.
You can use people for numerous purposes. You can gather ideas or improvements on ideas from some. From others, you can get reactions, both objective and subjective. From even others, you can obtain help of many different kinds. Another way to use people is by observing their methods, both good and bad, and learning from them.
For future security and for future self-respect, the using of people must be accomplished without deliberate harm to them. This is one of the most important qualifications to the political approach.
Another important taboo in politics is smearing the competition either by statement or innuendo. It is taboo primarily because so many mediocre people do it-especially those who feel insecure-and because your refusal to join such an exchange weakens their position and strengthens yours. It earns respect for you both from your friends and from your enemies. Learn to recognize the political undercurrents in your company, use them when you must, but never become obsessed with them.
Experts on Office Politics
You must know, then, that there are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force: the first method is that of men, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often insufficient, one must have recourse to the second. It is therefore necessary for a prince to know well how to use both the beast and the man. Machiavelli
In modern business it is not the crook that is to be feared most, it is the honest man who doesn't know what he is doing. Owen D. Young
Concentrating on doing your work imaginatively and well will also free you to become a pro in one of the biggest, most exciting games that human beings engage in. It is a game that requires your total professional involvement and a considerable share of your personal involvement. Henry Ford n
It takes more than just business ability to make an executive. Once a company reaches a certain size it becomes a social institution with a definite responsibility. It cannot fulfill this responsibility unless it is operated by a management educated for this task. Fowler McCormick
Business is a great game, I play it very hard and in as sportsmanlike a way as I know how, and I feel that at the end of the day I have got the fullest reward. I am an enthusiast in business. H. Gordon Selfridge
Politics is like a race horse. A good jockey must know how to fall with the least possible damage. Edouard Herriot
If you succeed in life, you must do it in spite of the efforts of others to pull you down. There is nothing in the idea that people are willing to help those who help themselves. People are willing to help a man who can't help himself, but as soon as a man is able to help himself, and does it, they join in making his life as uncomfortable as possible. Edward Howe
Every now and then one meets a successful businessman who has conveniently forgotten the small or large deceptions that he practiced on his way to fortune. "God gave me my money," old John D. Rockefeller once piously told a Sunday school class. It would be a rare tycoon in our time who would risk the horse laugh with which such a remark would be greeted. In the last third of the twentieth century even children are aware that if a man has become prosperous in business, he has sometimes departed from the strict truth in order to overcome obstacles or has practiced the more subtle deceptions of the half-truth or the misleading omission. Whatever the form of bluff, it is an integral part of the game, and the executive who does not master its techniques is not likely to accumulate much money or power. Albert Z. Carr
A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary ... to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case. Machiavelli
It must be clearly understood that the road to success cannot be traveled without using other people. You must maintain one moral trait, and that is to avoid deliberately harming other individuals. But you must also be able to use people to your own advantage without harming them. And you must compensate for using them, for if you do not, you ultimately will lose self-respect. Nicolas Darvas
In order to have an enemy, one must be somebody. One must be a force before he can be resisted by another force. A malicious enemy is better than a clumsy friend. Madame Swetchine
It's great to have high ideals, but don't be a damn fool. Anon.
A company is like a person. It can't stand still. A person either moves ahead or he drops back. If you're not competitive, you either get competitive-or you're out. It's as simple as that. John Dickson Harper
The lovely thing about patience is that it annoys the person who is annoying you. Irish Proverb
Ideas to Remember
Learn to understand different people's needs.
Handle each person differently.
Don't get involved in the pettiness of the insecure man.
Don't depend solely on the support of one leader.
If you use a prospective leader to aid your own climb, be prepared for all possibilities-including the loss of his support.
Don't be a yes-man.
Study the political patterns of your company.
Play the game when you must, but don't become obsessed with it.
Find other methods than having conflicts of wills.
Use people but without causing deliberate harm to them.
Avoid smear tactics.
