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The real definition of 'internal politics'

14/8/2008

2 Comments

 

Ahhh Internal politics.

I had very little notion of what that was until I joined a big corporation. I had heard about it, but it sounded more like a rumour to me in my small-company-cocoon. For 11 years, the only politics I knew about were the ones I created in my businesses. All the behind-the-scenes action was either non-existent or well hidden from me. (I prefer to think there weren't any, but I'm not that naïve...)

And then I got a bit of a baptism by fire and I was getting quite discouraged.

Everything changed for me when Francois Olivier, the CEO of our company gave me his definition of what company politics are. He said: ‘Jean, politics is a good thing if that means you are being polite and if you are delicately getting your point across on a sensitive subject. But, if a person is putting his own personal interests ahead of the company’s interest, well, that is bad politics.’

So here are my take-aways from my experience so-far.

1. Think of the company first
I now often ask myself: who do I really work for? When I drive down the value chain, I realise I work for the Marcoux family and the TCL shareholders. So the decisions I take are now focused towards these stakeholders. You may say ‘duh’ to the previous statement, but when you’ve always worked as the entrepreneur, it’s a revelation.

2. Get buy-in, get buy-in, get buy-in
Major projects require many experts within the organization. Even if I am a project lead, I am still working with a team of significantly qualified individuals. Their continued involvement and buy-in ensures that the project will be successful… and it valorizes everyone’s expertise.

3. Watch out for the big 3
This three-headed monster kills projects, demotivates people, ruins internal processes, increases churn, increases useless expenses and decreases profits…

- Personal egos
- Hidden agendas
- Keeping information for oneself

4. Titles don't equal real influence
Nuff said.

2 Comments
Retro Air Jordans link
1/12/2010 05:35:16 pm

The glory of life lies in never falling, but in rising every time we fall repeatedly up.

Reply
jeongmin
2/9/2013 01:16:31 am

i stumbled upon this page while searching on "internal politics" to get a sense of what it is. Number 3 on your list seems very interesting. Could you elaborate how they ruin projects, especially personal egos and keeping information? Thanks for an interesting article.

Reply



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  • Home
  • Professional
    • Being a CTO
    • CTO Roles
    • Experience and Clients
    • Companies I built
    • My Management Framework >
      • Plan
      • People
      • Product
      • Process
  • Personal
    • Personal Faith
    • Photo Shoot
    • Social Involvement
    • Distinctions
    • Public Speaking
    • Academia
    • Blog
  • Contact me