What are some unspoken rules about what to say and what NOT to say when navigating politics?

"Politics" often feels like such a dirty word... but ultimately you need to navigate stakeholders to be able to influence without authority. Oftentimes, folks tend to butt heads when they have differences of opinion (whether that's on naming, launch timing, product readiness, etc.). When people have differences of opinion, it might be because they're not seeing the same data you are, or maybe they have other priorities you don't have visibility into.

DO come to the table with a point of view.

Do NOT force your point of view on others, especially if you do not own the decision.

DO bring others along for the ride.

Let's use a concrete example. Let's say a VP Product wants to continue investing in a product line. But based on customer research and market data, you know that demand is going to be low and the field is not going to be excited to sell. In this case, PMM does NOT own the decision on whether product investment -- PM does. But how do you advocate for what you know is good for the business?

• Do NOT say - "This product will not succeed in the market."

• DO say - "I'd like to show you some data from the sales tiger team. The average deal cycles are xyz days for this product, and the ASP is $xx. Is this the level of performance you'd expect from this new product?"

This approach requires you to put aside your ego, by letting stakeholders come to their own conclusion. It just so happens to be the conclusion that you might have recommended. Navigating politics effectively isn't about proving that you're right -- it's about navigating stakeholders so that everybody can come together to do what's right for the business.

In building trust with your stakeholders/xfn partners, I think having a curious, open mindset, demonstrating kindness goes a long way.

For example, if you disagree with a decision, first seek to understand the rationale and context around the decision (e.g., in a quick Slack chat), before pushing back in a more formal setting.

In the past, I've seen colleagues run into issues here, where they will unintentionally hijack meetings by voicing concerns in front of a broad audience, without having taken the time to understand the rationale with an open mind. This can create resentment from the working group (and wasted time) and in the worst case lead to exclusion from similar meetings in the future.