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Any book recommendations on change management?
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Can someone guide on this?
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So who else is at Hilton Orlando this week?
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Extreme Ownership is a good start, so is 48 Laws of Power.... the latter is not tied directly to corporate politics, but a lot of the lessons do translate and it does give quite a bit of thinking points.
Oh and if anyone else has good books please suggest!
Their second book is quite good too
Congrats on not shying and embracing instead! Will check my audible for some suggestions
I echo the recommendation for 48 Laws of Power. I would treat it as a guide to advanced politics though—be careful putting the lessons into practice as they can easily backfire if you don’t have experience with politics.
Really the best way to learn is to find someone really good at politics, work for them, and observe them in action as much as possible. My eyes were completely opened when I first encountered a completely Machiavellian project manager. I learned so much from him. I knew when and how he was manipulating me but I didn’t care—he wanted good things for me, the rest of the team, and the client. He just was a master at moving the chess pieces around to get the result he wanted.
As one example—after I worked for him briefly for a few weeks as a backfill, this PM wanted to pull me back onto his project, which was in a rural area so nobody wanted to go. He arranged with the client sponsor, who had barely met me, to request me, by name, making it almost impossible for me to say no. He then learned my fiancé was interviewing with our firm. He was part of the team who interviewed her, and I’m relatively certain he championed hiring her (though she also deserved it, and was a great consultant). Then, he staffed her on a different project on the same client—putting both of us there together. None of this was coincidental, and he did things like this all the time.
When I encountered another person like him I again stuck to him like glue, following him from project to project. It was interesting because to him what he did was instinctual—he honestly didn’t think he was being manipulative or deceptive. He would sometimes ask me why some things worked well for him but not for other people who tried to manage their teams like he did, and I would explain his own behavior to him and what he was doing differently.
48 Laws is a good primer because even if you don’t employ the techniques, you will recognize them when you see them being used. This can help you avoid getting thrown under the bus, and make it easier to learn from the political games being played all around you.
Ooo this is a great question, I’m in the same boat :)
Dale Carnegie - How to make friends and influence people
Classic
Also get a good mentor
Mentors sponsors blah blah blah P1, you’re a partner, I’d imagine you have the capability to realize that books are not being suggested as the end all be all for OP’s education...
Questionable mentorship if you think you possess the knowledge, expertise, and experience to ‘tell it as it is’ as you say... you may be able to ‘tell it as it is’ in your sandbox and your sandbox alone, but that’s where it probably ends... so sure, your suggestions may help an individual be successful on a project... but might you be over estimating your capabilities if you think your words of wisdom carry as much weight as you think they do...
good mentorship would be more along the lines of books are a good source, talking to individuals is also a good source, but this is simply a function of collecting and understanding your social tools, understanding your audience, self awareness, and patience...
You should check out Hillbilly Eulogy. It’s what you’re looking for.
One that was recently recommended to me is Master of the Senate... admittedly I’m just starting it but the one who recommended it to me is really good at these politics
I’m stuck on a gig where functional partner and client partner hate each other - I can’t contribute anything for the client w/o being perceived as picking a side. It’s a toxic feeling. Want to better understand how to navigate and think about the bigger picture. I’m very rules based so being neutral and well intentioned doesn’t work here.
All the more reason to find a trusted mentor who may even know these folks and how to navigate them - or how NOT to
Maister is a good start
I am from a similar background and I've struggled with this as well. I make the conscious choice to be myself without shame anyway. Coworkers pick on me for being cheap / crass at times but I dont feel like its ever held me back. If anything it seems to improve their respect for me because they know I'm pushing out of my comfort zone. Definitely read and improve yourself, but dont try to pretend you are something your not (ie another rich kid from Naperville)
I can certainly see where they were coming from... please take this as constructive criticism.... your statement had considerable effect if you had just ended at ever held me back... by continuing to express your thought beyond that, you are falling into the category of cheap/crass because 1) a rich kid from Naperville had nothing to do with what your intent seemed to be, and 2) your respect amongst peers would automatically improve with better aligning what you should say with what you’re actually thinking... less is always more, be patient, and when in doubt of what to say, simply politely observe.... you can be yourself 💯 without having to open your mouth and announce to the world you are being yourself... nonetheless, good for you for recognizing and running with it! You’ll find yer groove homie
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
Disagree, IMO not accessible for a person starting to navigate the waters... the value would be lost and it’s just be a dry read.