The Politics of Projects

 

Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.--Ambrose Bierce

For better or for worse, office politics is the art of getting things done: It's what makes most organizations run. Without it, most businesses will just grind to a halt as personal agendas don't get fulfilled, interests don't get satisfied and people don't get what they want. If you want to play successfully in the high-stakes project management game, you have to understand that politics isn't just about playing dirty. You can play clean and still win.

Do you have what it takes to play the political game the right way?

Do you know what matters most to your organization?
The successful project politico understands what really matters to your organization. You may be smart and have loads of good ideas, but it's not what you bring to the game that counts--it's what you do with what you bring. If you want to influence how things work in your company, your personal agenda has to be aligned with the overall mission and values of the company.

This isn't a case of idealistic thinking; it's just a matter of good business sense. It will be easier to "sell" your radical ideas if people can see that what you want to do will add to the company's bottom line, and will eventually benefit everyone in terms of a bigger year-end bonus, or something along those lines.

So, you have to ask …

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