Secrets to Winning at Office Politics Paperback – July 1, 2005

This book was very enlightening as to the both obvious and not so obvious dynamics of office place politics. The text was filled with profundity as I realized I had been thinking these exact same concepts but could not put into words until I read this book. It not only dissects the science of it but also gives character examples to help support it. It explains both how to set yourself up for success and get noticed, as well as how to ruin your name in the workplace. This was well worth the money; lots of underlining.

I'm a programmer, so it may not come as a surprise that I needed this book. However, I'm actually quite personable and social. I'm on friendly terms with my coworkers, close friends with a few, get invited to hang out outside of work, etc.Even with all that, however, I have never understood office politics. In spite of my technical competence I've always felt like I had very little standing, influence, or ability to effect change around me.I've read several books on this sort of thing, but "Secrets to Winning at Office Politics" was the first one that felt like someone explaining to me the boneheaded mistakes I've been making in my decade-plus career. Every chapter had me face-palming multiple times.Here are my primary takeaways from the book:- Nothing in corporate life is fair. I understood this in the academic sense but had never truly accepted it. Complaining about an incompetent manager, a dumb work policy, or a coworker getting an undeserved promotion are essentially complaints about something being unfair.- Judging things like promotions, who gets the good projects, corporate policies, etc, from my frame of reference is a mistake. Instead, I have to judge those things from the organization's or manager's frame of reference. I may think a manager or coworker is incompetent, but if that person excels within the company, I have to determine *why*. What does that say about the company and its principles and goals?- Recognizing the company's goals, principles, and frame of reference is important because I cannot change those things. Those things are reflections of senior leadership. I can either accept them and try to make small changes or find another organization.- To be successful in corporate politics, I must learn to act within the framework of that culture, those goals, and all those "unfair" circumstances.The book has its flaws. I appreciate all of the stories that the author includes to illustrate her points, but after so many I honestly began to feel like she was making them up. I also felt like at times she glosses over corporate dysfunction with the assumption that organizations are more self-correcting than they really are. Her thoughts on nepotism are good examples. She contends that an ineffective family hire will eventually be sniffed out and put into a relatively harmless position. Anyone that's ever worked for a large private organization knows that often family members end up with lofty job titles and the job responsibilities and power and influence that go with them. That's just one example. As such, I think some of her prescribed courses of action might be too idealistic.I also think that some of her advice boils down to "just be a good little employee". Figure out how to please your boss, make your boss/dept/organization look good, things like that. I'm not saying the advice is wrong, I was just hoping for something more nuanced and varied at times.Be advised this isn't a book on Machiavellian scheming. Her advice is all above the table, straightforward, and often more about mutual respect and controlling one's emotions than constructing intricate plots to topple your corporate nemesis. If that's what you're looking for, Greene's "48 Laws of Power" might be a better if more esoteric read.Given its flaws, I would still recommend this book to anyone who feels like they struggle with corporate politics. I wish I'd read it ten years ago. Reading it today has given me a totally new outlook on my job and organization, and honestly I feel 100x better after reading it.

This little book surprised me. I didn't expect much from it. The title was kinda a turn-off for me. I decided to read it anyway to see whether I was wrong. Didn't like the beginning or the HR background of the author, but continued reading. Then I discovered that the book is quite good and useful. Much better than I had expected.The book consists of three parts: (1) Mastering the fundamentals, (2) Avoiding political pitfalls, and (3) How to become a winner.The first part provides the basics which the rest of the book builds on. It starts by defining politics as influencing people to achieve something and explains that this will happen in any organization. Also, influencing other people is not necessarily bad hence politics is not necessarily bad. If you want to improve your impact to an organizations, then it is useful to see politics and know how to play them. Politics is about power, friends, allies, and adversaries. Seeing where the power is and who is what related to you and each other is the key to increasing your influence towards an organization.The second part explores common political patterns in organization. The first chapter defines different political games... which were typical scenarios that happen within organizations. I enjoyed these games as they were very recognizable (for me, at least). The next chapter explores what happens in organizations when you don't have a political sense, what behavior will make you less influential in the organization. Last chapter explores who is in power and why.The third part is the action part of the book. Considering the fundamentals and ability to recognize patterns, what can you do to increase your influence to the organization. The part ends with the typical 'action' chapter of building an action plan for improving your political influence.The book was well written. It contained a lot of stories and many of the scenario's were recognizable. The book tries to help you improve your political skill but not in a negative way. Often politics is interpreted negatively but as the author repeatedly points out, people of gain power by producing results. The book helped me understand certain situations better and gave me new tools to use within organizations. I'd recommend this book for anyone who is trying to influence large organizations. Useful, concrete but not creating huge new insights, so I'll rate it 4 stars.

this book, it’s going to prevent certain political pitfalls that will help ppl in their career. There are some rules of power that we need to observe and definitely a worthy book to read again.

Well thought out, well articulated, and well structured advice that’s applicable to not just professional, but also personal life.One of the best reads out there.

This book describes a lot about people with their own hindrance to having a normal career, those self sabotaging behaviors. But I’m not getting a lot of tips on how to move beyond that.