Don't. The issue in Michael's case is not politics, and I don't know how HN gets on this stupid tangent about the "political game." The issue--speaking as a B

Don't. The issue in Michael's case is not politics, and I don't know how HN gets on this stupid tangent about the "political game." The issue--speaking as a Big Company engineer/manager--is quite obviously misalignment, either between Michael and his manager or between his manager and the committee. If you don't know what your manager thinks is important or disagree with it, you have a problem. (Possible solutions: ask, argue, switch teams.) If your manager's priorities don't match the org's, you may also have a problem (depending on your manager's ability to protect you). (Again, possible solutions: discuss with your manager, discuss with your skip, move.) The idea that there's a "political game" that you can play to get ahead is, mostly, belied by my experiences. It's probably true in some places some of the time, but it's unclear to me that it yields better results (faster promotion, greater happiness) than being smart and motivated.