Office Politics

Office politics is a slang term for the often counterproductive human factors present between coworkers, in an office environment in the private or public sector.

One of the defining aspects of it can be found in the riddle: "Why are office politics so vicious? Because the stakes are so small." In a group that's largely homogeneous, differences are often found and highlighted to provide artificial divisions between groups to rationalize hostility and dehumanize others .

My principle at work is very simple - break down your work, simplify it in your head, do it and ignore all the noise. My dad gave me a simple tenet in life - Live your life honestly with self respect and dignity...I have really tried to hold myself to that goal.

About 5 years back I read a book which had something called the Hedgehog Concept...that's where I aspire to be...what is the Hedgehog Concept you ask me...well read on-

It is at once easy to understand and at the same time, hard to grasp. Here's an excerpt:"Picture two animals: a fox and a hedgehog. Which are you? An ancient Greek parable distinguishes between foxes, which know many small things, and hedgehogs, which know one big thing. All good-to-great leaders, it turns out, are hedgehogs. They know how to simplify a complex world into a single, organizing idea -- the kind of basic principle that unifies, organizes, and guides all decisions. That's not to say hedgehogs are simplistic. Like great thinkers, who take complexities and boil them down into simple, yet profound, ideas (Adam Smith and the invisible hand, Darwin and evolution), leaders of good-to-great companies develop a Hedgehog Concept that is simple but that reflects penetrating insight and deep understanding."To be great", I reckon, I must learn this Hedgehog concept and with great will, humility and discipline, things should work out well.

This is what I offer you friends...because in the long run at workplace what works is not Manipulation, Posturing, Taking Credit for Someone Else's work or using Buzz Words ( because they are oh!so cool) ...in the long run I have noticed that you get caught out on the wrong end of the stick when you deign to play office politics even if you are a so-called master at it...so what I strive for is hard work, integrity, trust and empathy...and because of this the relationships I have at work are pretty black and white...there are people who like me and there are those who don't...and that is exactly how I like it...As you can imagine from my blog...I do not enjoy Office Politics, I don't participate in it and maybe because of this sometimes my career aspirations are not really matched by the reality of what happens but the bottom line is I still remain content knowing that I am doing the right thing....