e there are two people in a room, politics comes into play. If you have a reputation for being difficult, when you ask for something, that will be considered (whether consciously or not). Conversely, if you have a reputation for being levelheaded and easy to work with, that can work in your favor. Now that you understand that politics are not always bad, let's look at the reali- ties of how politics may affect you. I've already stated that without politics, there will not be money, but what does that really mean? Here's an example. A mid-sized company is considering a new network, and the vice president of technology, who was a developer for his whole working life until getting into management, is in charge of the project. As the lead engineer, you propose a com- pletely fault-tolerant design consisting of $2 million worth of equipment, which will require six months of work to implement. The plan is perfect. You know every detail of the hardware, and how it will all work. It will be a masterpiece. Chapter 37: GAD's Maxims The VP takes a look at your proposal and says simply, "It's too expensive, and it will take too long. The budget is only $1 million for equipment and consulting." You feel as though the wind has been knocked out of you. Your first response is probably something along the lines of, "But this is what we need," or "But we can't do it for less than this!" This is politics. The VP may have the power to get the additional funding. In fact, that's usually what VPs are best at. If you can explain to the vice president all of the benefits of the design, and why you feel the $2 million in hardware alone will be well spent, she may listen. Better yet, if you can explain how the company will get a return on its investment in only six months because of your design, you've got a fighting chance! If instead you sulk and whine about how the company is mismanaged and only cares about money, and how the VP doesn't understand the technology, the VP will likely think you don't understand reality, and are incapable 