You're smart. You deliver. What else could your company want from you? Why don’t they come to you for the big decisions? Why won’t they listen to your proposals? It seems like everyone has an agenda and they’re doing everything they can to kill your great ideas. To be effective leader we must bring more than our academic pedigrees to an organization. This session attempts to explain the complex nature of organizational politics and how to survive in a dynamic and often chaotic environment.

1. Organizational Politics Clint Edmonson A Survival Guide

2. Disclaimer

3. Part 1: The Nature of Politics

4. Responsibility Authority Power Influence

5. The Purpose Driven Social System

6. Chaos Theory Point Attractors Cycle Attractors Strange Attractors

7. Life is like high school

8. Part 2: Who’s Got An Agenda?

9. Who’s Got An Agenda? Everybody’s got an agenda!

10. Your CEO’s Agenda

11. Economics In One Slide Profit = Revenue - Costs We live in a growth economy.

12. “ I need to grow the company”

13. Your CIO’s Agenda

14. Is the CIO a technologist who understands the business? or a business person who understands technology?

15. “ I need to add value to the business”

16. Your Director’s Agenda

17. “ I need to get the right people working on the right projects”

18. Your Manager’s Agenda

19. “ I need to make sure everyone is happy”

20. Your Coworkers’ Agenda

21. “ We want to work with great people who carry their own weight”

22. Your Agenda

23. “ I need to choose technologies with a future”

24. “ I need to focus on adding business value and project success – not necessarily efficiency”

25. Part 3: Survival Tips

26. Dress +1

27. Learn the art of small talk

28. Learn how to read a room

29. Plug into your company’s information pipeline

30. Seek out a mentor

31. Have a best friend at work

32. Learn the art of public speaking

33. Evangelize

34. Build an network of like-minded people

35. Build coalitions

36. Learn to the right way to gripe

37. Keep an eye on the sharks

38. Be prepared to have the “hard” conversations

39. Always maintain your composure

40. Master your political tools Compromise (win-win) Arbitration Escalation

41. Know your boundaries and limitations

42. Be a positive force

43. Learn to read the winds of change

44. Politics are always more interesting when discussed over a beer

45. References Systems Thinking – Gharajedaghi What the CEO Want’s You To Know – Charan CIO Wisdom – Lane, et. al. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Covey How to Win Friends & Influence People – Carnegie Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Cialdini Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming – O’Conner & Seymour

46. Clint Edmonson Blog: http://www.notsotrivial.net Email: [email_address] Twitter: @clinted