IF YOU DON'T DO POLITICS, POLITICS WILL DO YOU…: A guide to navigating office politics effectively and ethically.

by Niven Postma

Most people try to avoid office politics at all costs, seeing them as unpleasant, unfair, unethical and an unnecessary distraction from their ‘real work’. If You Don’t Do Politics, Politics Will Do You will open your eyes to the fundamentals you didn’t know you need to know – the fundamentals no one ever teaches you, including what office politics actually are and how being politically intelligent is the single biggest determinant of your personal and professional success.

Drawing on her own experiences as an executive, together with insights from some of the leading business thinkers of our time, in this personal, practical, and frank book, Niven Postma will show you it is possible to play politics without sacrificing your principles and teach you how to use politics to advance your career, benefit your team and build the organisation you are part of.

What others are saying:
“Niven Postma will help you to understand why workplace politics are inevitable and how you can navigate office politics in order to be both useful and successful.” - Liz Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author of Multipliers and Rookie Smarts

“You can try to ignore office politics, but it will slowly and surely frustrate you and inevitably derail your career. Or you can strive to understand it and become proactive in dealing with it in productive ways - this is an excellent guide! - Dr Greg Fisher, Editor In Chief of Business Horizons and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Kelley School of Business, Indiana, United States

"This book is an eye-opener. Niven puts her finger on the core issues around office politics and decodes the opaque with ruthless intelligence and clarity." - Rebekka Grun von Jolk, Team Human Development Africa, World Bank

"Niven offers practical insights and wisdom to navigate through office politics effectively and ethically. This is a definitive guide to working politically smarter!" - Ben Matai, Vice-President, HR and Corporate Affairs, Sasol Mining

"This is a must-read for any leader. Understanding and perfecting these unspoken 'rules of the game' will help you navigate the cross-currents that occur when working within any organisational structure." - Deon Greyling, Senior Vice President, BTS Middle East

“An easy-to-read and very useful guide to achieving success as a leader in and out of the executive suite.” - Desray Shuck, Leadership Development, Anglo American

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

151 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 18, 2020

Reviews

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

The assessments in this book were very helpful in determining what counts towards political intelligence, what areas I could work on as well as areas of strength. It did also modify my perspective and help me see ways to navigate the workplace and my career more effectively. I particularly liked chapter 4.

[Lisa Wen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book for starters working in a corporate. The reasoning and tactics Niven outlined in the book will definitely help us establish a solid ground surviving in corporate world. While it doesn’t solve every problem it at least helps you avoid running into them unconsciously.

[Liesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful topic so well discussed by Niven. A book worth reading at various stages of your career because indeed if you don't do politics it will do you !

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth reading!

The font size was weird on the Kindle app but ignoring that, this was a really good read! Highly recommend