v Contents Foreword by Mary Portas viii Acknowledgements x Introduction 1 01 What is savvy? 3 How do people perceive the politics? 5 Why do views differ? 8 Why are some companies more political? 12 So what is savvy? 17 Summary 18 02 Adopting a positive, proactive approach 21 Are you a victim? 22 03 Who is savvy? 31 Your methods 32 Your motives 32 Your savvy 32 Who are the political players? 32 Why do people behave in a negative way? 36 How do you behave? 39 04 Dealing with the office politicians 43 General principles 44 Dealing with a Barbarian 45 Dealing with a Machiavellian 49 Dealing with a Naive 54 Dealing with a Star 57 05 Dealing with political problems at work 63 Being caught in the middle 64 Someone stealing your credit 67