How will politicking change the face of your business?

Written on 9:16 PM by J

If you’ve followed me on Twitter (@JoshuaEPorter) and seen my Facebook status over the last couple of days, you’ll see I’ve been submerged in politics. Besides the fact I work for a government agency; yesterday I was on Capitol Hill and today I attended a Democratic Committee meeting. In the world of politics and business there is an aspect known as politicking. Some may say it is the same as networking, I believe it stands alone. How will politicking change the face of your business?

While networking focuses on meet and greets and social events, politicking is the result of networking; the what comes next? Politicking means positioning yourself. Positioning yourself for a promotion, business deal, date with someone you have an interest in, etc. It almost seems as though I spend the majority of my day positioning myself for something greater. I help, do favors, attend events, and ultimately position myself for a better future.

Many young professionals look at politicking as brownnosing, sucking up, or selling out. I believe it is neither…I believe you politick so you don’t have to brownnose, suck up, or sell out. Also, politicking is genuine. When you genuinely want to help someone, they will genuinely want to help you. This also leverages a long lasting, mutally beneficial, relationship.

For example I recently helped my good friend David Silverman. Mr. Silverman is a professor at Drew University, a contributing blogger for Harvard Business Publishing, and the owner of Jamseed. Jamseed helps artists make personalized stuff for fans. This is great! Being that I am the founder of RilaxUrMind Entertainment, I understand the need for fans and ensuring they feel as though you are connecting with them; more than through a blog response or Facebook message. I have also, built relationships with many music artists throughout the world. So why not open up my network to bring him business, because I want to genuinely see him succeed? By contributing to Jamseed I am helping Mr. Silverman and other artists. Not to mention, he did wrote one of my favorite blogs, “Why Is Business Writing So Bad?”!

So I referred Duran “Simp” Butler to Jamseed. Simp is a rising hip hop artist out of Atlanta. As his fan base grows Simp said he would use Jamseed to contribute to the appreciation of his them. By doing this I am positioning myself to have the opportunity to ask the best processes for getting gaining the support of Harvard Business Publishing for our endeavor.

How will politicking change the face of your business?

-J