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Ive relied on the same formula for office politics for decades: 1. write all the code 2. Noone can fire you 3. Ignore all the politics and wait for everyone
by zzzeek 3y ago
Ive relied on the same formula for office politics for decades:
1. write all the code
2. Noone can fire you
3. Ignore all the politics and wait for everyone to quit and/or the company to lay everyone off. Nobody is left so now you're the manager ! Go get the next job
- jvanderbot 3y agoEventually you may realize that maintaining the image of the productive a-political cornerstone, is in fact a political move. That is reputation management. You're "above it". That's the true meaning behind politics being non-optional.
- timeagain 3y agoRight. Even the top commenter right now about just being interested in coding and learning is playing. They are playing the “engaged IC”. You can bet the political people know how to use and abuse that role just like any other.
- latency-guy2 3y agoI think politically obsessed people are just invading all the conversation in an attempt to be relevant, a lot of politically obsessed people are just not that important. Not playing is simply, not playing. Apolitical is a position of apoliticalness, not politicalness. Attempts to change the meaning of these words is laughable.
- mlrtime 3y agoI don't agree, you are always playing. You are either actively or passively playing. This isn't obsession, it is observation of reality and understanding sociology in any group of humans (and other mammals).
- jvanderbot 3y agoOne fish says to the other fish: how's the water? He replies: what's water? Politics is just people, and people's perception of you. It's talking to folks to effect change, ideally a positive change. It's when you sit down with someone to review their code and suggest a different way. It's when you discuss someone's strengths with their boss so they can get better work. It's when you email someone to make sure they saw your merge request so you can get it done faster. It's literally the people side of a business, and knowing who to ask for what, how to ask, and so on. When someone gets all Machiavelli with those relationships, making sure the right people know what they're working on, or trying to get inside information on upcoming projects, or etc, and then used that to their own advantage then we suddenly call it politics. But that's just shitty people playing politics primarily. Work relationships and lines of power and communication are not optional. They exist. What you do with them does not determine if you are in a political game or not, it just determines how you play it. TFA probably was read to say "You have to be Machiavellian". I think it's fair to say that's an over statement. But pretending or purporting to be antipolitical is an oxymoron. To whom are you pretending? A straightforward a-political style request or response must still define a relationship style.
- mjan22640 3y agoThey are not playing it, they are it. The difference causes the contention.
- AdieuToLogic 3y ago> Ive [sic] relied on the same formula for office politics for decades: > 1. write all the code While this is personally gratifying, it designates a person as a "single point of failure", often expressed colloquially by management along the lines of "what if <person X> was hit by a bus?" > 2. Noone can fire you Everyone can be fired, no matter what value they provide to the organization, given enough pain experienced by stakeholders. Or politics. > 3. Ignore all the politics and wait for everyone to quit and/or the company to lay everyone off. Nobody is left so now you're the manager ! Go get the next job Me thinks I detect a slathering of sarcasm now. :-)