Dear Liz,

Help me settle a bet with my father-in-law.

I was telling him about a political wrangle I’m dealing with at work. He says I screwed up and deserve my trouble. I say he’s old-school and out of touch. We agreed that your opinion would settle it.

Here’s the story:

My company has a part-numbering problem. For years, each of our product divisions used its own system. That was OK because the divisions didn’t use the same parts.

Now we’re consolidating our purchasing and the different part-numbering schemes have become a headache. We need to create one common parts library, and that’s where the battle begins.

The purchasing people want to cause the least disruption for our vendors, while the manufacturing guys (including me) want to cause the least disruption for us, and let the vendors adjust as needed.

I made a presentation to our execs before Christmas, laying out the argument for my side. I showed a ton of evidence that my plan will save money and reduce cycle time.

But a senior VP told me I should have checked in with more people and “worked harder for consensus.” He said it was bad for me politically to be a lone ranger. I’m inclined to stand my ground with the big boss who disliked my approach. My father-in-law says the guy is right and I should have done more “politicking” before making my stand.

What’s your opinion? Whoever loses buys dinner at the Flagstaff House.

Thanks,

Carson

Dear Carson,

Sounds frustrating!

Sorry to share more bad news: I agree with your father-in-law.

We think of corporate politics as a solid mass of Silician-Mafia type machinations, but actually there are good politics and bad politics.

What your father-in-law and I are saying is that it’s important to get buy-in for, and input on, your plans before going to the mat for them. Was there something monumental that kept you from gathering more opinions and options, working to understand the purchasing folks’ concerns, and problem-solving with them so that you could present a program that worked reasonably well for everybody?

Senior execs would have loved to know that adopting your plan isn’t saying “Bleep you” to half of your trusted colleagues, or to your suppliers. You can share all the evidence in the world, but it’s people who have to implement any decision, and it’s helpful for any implementation (whichever plan gets the nod) when all the relevant people have had a chance to weigh in.

It’s good for the decision-makers to hear that if your plan is chosen, you’ve already put plans in place to help allay your “opponents’” concerns.

Enjoy your dinner at the Flagstaff House, and notice as you dine that once you’re there, it doesn’t really matter who won or lost the bet. It’s awesome just to be there, enjoying the moment.

It’s the same way in business, or it can be; if you can manage a political tug-of-war so that it’s clear your priority is whatever’s best for the company and the team, then you’ll have learned something important about politics, and people.

Best,

Liz