Politics and Passion

 
 
 
 

Vocabulary

focus	presenter	mediocre/mediocrities
fail	ultimately	short-term
sheer	ambitious	see through him (2)
fate	dynamic	frustrating
avoid	executive	responsibility
flee	co-worker	appropriate
satisfy	capable	promote (2)
key (2)	grander	enthusiasm
respect	freeway	practice (2)
torture	outcome	performance
gusto	rehearsal	opportunity
coach	seminar	operate (2)
decent	progress	virtually (2)
host	field (2)	break in (2)
frankly	senior (2)	politics (2)
care (2)	switch (2)	current (3)
remind	follow (2)	fashion (2)
thrive	grueling	disapproval
earn	previous	advance (2)
vibrant

 

 
 
 

Company Politics

Many organizations operate by politics. And it’s mostly the mediocrities who play these games. But although they sometimes succeed in the short-term, they ultimately fail when enough people, both within and outside the company, see through them.

For decent people, working in such an environment can be frustrating, if not sheer torture.

How can you avoid such a fate?

There are two you must do.

Passion

First, find the field or profession that is right for you (not what your parents, teachers or society says). Get the appropriate schooling and training, and work there.

And if you don’t love what you’re currently doing enough to thrive and be the best at it — get out! Flee from a grueling, boring or unsatisfying job as you would from a burning building. Doing something you don’t care about is a waste your time and life. Remember, this life is not a rehearsal for something grander.

Another key to getting onto the freeway of success is working for the right company and the right boss. The right company is one that respects its people and practices pay based on performance and outcomes. The right company is vibrant, open to new ideas, and full of opportunities for people with energy, enthusiasm and gusto.

 

 

A Seminar

A woman once spoke up at a success coaching seminar about two years ago.

She told the presenter and audience that she was very ambitious and hard-working.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t making any progress in the large company where she worked. She felt it was because virtually all of the upper managers were men in their fifties and sixties, and that women had a hard time breaking into positions of leadership and responsibility.

“What can I do?” she asked.

The host told her quite frankly that there was absolutely nothing she could do — at least in her current company. The senior executives and the company were not going to change.

If she was really as capable as she said, she needed to switch to a young, dynamic company that wouldn’t care whether she was a woman or anyone else, as long as she could do the job and get things done in an excellent fashion.

Her Story

At another seminar by the same host, the same woman reminded him that she had asked him a question two years ago. He remembered her.

She said that she had followed his advice, quitting her job, much to the disapproval of her co-workers, and then finding a job with a small, growing company.

And it was exactly as the success coach had said: She had been promoted twice in the last 14 months and was already earning 40% more than her best year at her previous company.

Action Plan

Here are two things you can do to assure that you are in the right position.

First, make sure that you really enjoy your work and that you do it well. You will never be successful at a job that you don’t like.

Second, be sure that there are lots of opportunities for you to grow, develop and advance in your company. Your future is too valuable to waste where there is no future.

 

 

Questions

1. Company politics is good for business. True or false?

2. Does everyone enjoy playing office politics?

3. According to the writer, everyone should listen to what their parents, educators and authorities say. What do you think? Why should people “follow their passion”?

4. If you are working at a job or in a company you don’t like, should you work harder?

5. Was the woman at the seminar satisfied with her work? What did the host suggest she do?

6. What happened in the end?

 

A. I have experienced office or company politics. Yes or no?

B. Can you give other examples of office politics that you have heard from others or seen on TV?

C. Is office politics common? Is this good, bad, both, neither, in the middle or it depends?

D. What will happen in the future?

E. How can office politics be eliminated, solved or minimized?