Goal Setting, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 11

GETTING THE POWER TO GET THINGS DONE

In Chapter 10 we learned about the role of motivation and negotiation in working with other people. Those are vital, but they aren’t always sufficient. We’ve talked about the “unofficial organization,” and why it’s not reasonable to expect people to leave all personal desires and characteristics at home.

You can’t explain everything about an organization if you only pay attention to the official part. There is usually another factor at work—office politics.

Office politics often have a big impact on whether you achieve your goals. Unfortunately, most of us have a pretty negative view of office politics. It seems as if there is a choice: You can be successful or you can be ethical. Either way, it’s ...