Product Description

As management professor and consultant Kathleen Reardon explains in her new book, It's All Politics, talent and hard work alone will not get you to the top. What separates the winners from the losers in corporate life is politics.

As Reardon explains, the most talented and accomplished employees often take a backseat to their politically adept coworkers, losing ground in the race to get ahead—sometimes even losing their jobs. Why? Because they’ve failed to manage the important relationships with the people who can best reward their creativity and intelligence. To determine whether you need a crash course in Office Politics 101, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I get credit for my ideas?
• Do I know how to deal with a difficult colleague?
• Do I get the plum assignments?
• Do I have a mentor?
• Do I say no gracefully and pick my battles wisely?
• Am I in the loop?

Reardon has interviewed hundreds of employees, from successful veterans to aspiring hopefuls, examining why some people who work hard and effectively at their jobs fall behind, while those who are adept at “reading the office tea leaves” forge ahead. Being politically savvy doesn’t mean being unethical or devious. At heart, it’s about listening to and relating to others, and making choices that advance everyone’s goals. Like it or not, when it comes to work, it’s all politics. And politics is all about knowing what to say, when to say it, and who to say it to.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40891 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-19
• Released on: 2006-09-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Showing how to break complex office politics down into its simpler emotional parts, USC management professor Reardon eschews canned advice and cuts to the neediness and manipulation that define many workdays. Using hyper-realistic, no-nonsense sample dialogues that contain everything from colleagues who blindside to shoot-the-messenger bosses, she demonstrates how to shade language, alter timing and shift tone in a plethora of complex situations. More long-term advice includes engaging in advance planning, forming relationships and developing prepared responses to common situations, but Reardon freshens these chestnuts by treating them as the very difficult tasks they really are. The consistent use of an intentionally cheesy single character throughout the book, "Reginald Strongbrow," illustrates the path of a person from political naïveté to astuteness. While acknowledging that political strategy and intuition do not come naturally to most, Reardon's behaviorist approach and realistic expectations ring true and are carried off with a directed sensibility. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
Advance Praise for It’s All Politics

“This is Reardon’s most important book and a terrific read. She makes a brilliant case for a new and important force in the workplace, political intelligence. Understanding this force is vital for success.”
—Warren Bennis, distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California, and Author of On Becoming a Leader


Acclaim for Kathleen Kelley Reardon’s The Secret Handshake

“The Secret Handshake is like a crash course in Business Psychology 101 . . . Reardon writes crisply and to the point . . . You owe it to yourself to read her book.”
—USA Today

Review
Advance Praise for It’s All Politics

“This is Reardon’s most important book and a terrific read. She makes a brilliant case for a new and important force in the workplace, political intelligence. Understanding this force is vital for success.”
—Warren Bennis, distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California, and Author of On Becoming a Leader


Acclaim for Kathleen Kelley Reardon’s The Secret Handshake

“The Secret Handshake is like a crash course in Business Psychology 101 . . . Reardon writes crisply and to the point . . . You owe it to yourself to read her book.”
—USA Today

Customer Reviews

Excellent guide to office politics but a bit plodding here and there
Reardon's topic is winning at office politics -- getting along and rising to the top in a corporation or similar organization by understanding human interactions. This book will be useful to anyone, particularly a new employee or a recent college graduate, who is trying to figure out how things really work on the job.

She correctly identifies all white-collar employees as "politicians" and points out that office politics is inevitable. Some people will win and some will lose. Her case studies are fascinating -- particularly the ones that involve responding to nasty e-mails or coping with putdowns by practitioners of "negative politics." To her great credit, Reardon emphssizes that there are times when merely "getting along" is not the right answer and when courage, integrity, and risk-taking are essential. And she gives appropriate weight to issues of personal style: some people face problems head-on, while others defer them; some are "in your face," while others avoid confrontation.

There are places where Reardon's expository energy seems to slow and the book plods along. But soon, the reader is caught up in another case study or interesting e-mail exchange and the book picks up strength again.

Rare insight into corporate politics by academia
Considering corporate politics exist in all corporations, it is amazing how little it is studied. In fact, many corporations deny that politics even exist in their organization (yeah right!)

This book is written by an academia with a PhD from one of the better business schools (USC). This alone makes this book unique since most books on corporate politics seems to be written by used car salesmen rather than by a rational intellectual.

The author attempts to tackle the heavy challenge of explaining the nature and ways of power and politics in 232 pages. Overall, the book contains lot of valuable information such as "read between the lines" and "ability to see things as others do is paramount".

I felt several key components of corporate politics and power were missing or were dealt supreficially. For example, leadership (ability to put the team first and persevering through inconsistencies of human emotions and behavior) and emotional intelligence (ability to be calm and collective even when the situation demands anger and impulsive action) was not emphasized at all. I also believe that appearing detached from politics (even one is fully involved in strategizing) and being a "hard to get" person to all suitors of power is important. Finally, nothing gives you more power than knowledge. If you are more of an expert in a specific technical field, you are intrinsically more powerful.

Although I do not believe this book can, and does not, contain all the information related to power and politics in the corporate world, it is nonethless one of the most credible.

It's Not ALL Work, Can Be Fun!
This valuable reference book explains the "in's and outs" of office politics, which are the most single factor in getting ahead in the career of your choice. This book is full of commonsense wisdom on how to get along with others and get ahead in life. Dr. Reardon is the author of THE SECRET HANDSHAKE about business psychology. She's great!

Talent alone does not insure success; you must have those important relationships with the people who can best reward your creativity and intelligence. You are encouraged to 'pick your battles wisely' to deal with a difficult co-worker.

When we think about politicians, automatically the words 'unethical' and 'devious' (sometimes flat-out 'lies') come to mind. In the workplace, "knowing what to say, to whom, and how and when to say it." Most of all, you will need to be able to convert enemies into your allies to win crucial support for your ideas.

The only way to avoid politics at work is to avoid people. "For every locked entrance, there is a back door, window, even a chimney;" always be sure there is a way out before you crawl into a corner. It is important to remember that there is more than one way to handle any situation: good, bad or indifferent.

Intuition is needed, but just as necessary is the power of persuasion.Power is a critical part of career politics. People remember those they perceive to be powerful. Power, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder.

A good read, wonderful instruction in the ways of life at work and at home, and packed full of good advice. It behooves us to try to follow her instructions as close to the letter as possible. She knows what she is talking about; you can, too.