The one most important lesson to learn is that one should never provide access to one's personal world within the corporate world. Indeed, for congenial interaction, it is accepted that you provide some basic information about your personal life. However, keep it simple and do not provide any information that could create issues with others. It is important to maintain a distance between the realities in your "personal world" and the realities of your "corporate world".

--- How many of me are there? ---

Indeed, this entire scenario can complicate one's life with the idea of maintaining two different "selves". However, to balance your world with your corporate world successfully, it is best to view your corporate world as a "sub-world" of your entire life. In all cases, all of human interaction is lumped under one world, with a multitude of sub-worlds and environments. You have your corporate world, your "buddy" world, your hobby world, and you family world, as just examples. Indeed, you experience different rules and expectations (i.e., politics) in each. Therefore, by learning the rules of the corporate sub-world, just as you have your other worlds, you can easily integrate and manage the politics to achieve greater success in your career as well as your life.

--- What's next? ---

In the corporate world, it is not a question of ethics or integrity; it is a question of results. Properly trained managers are able to use politics as an effective tool to obtain the results that fall in line with the corporation's vision and mission. You, as the employee, must learn how to separate your personal world from the corporate world so that you can effectively understand the purpose and direction of the corporation without falling prey to your own personal ideals.

Each corporation is as much a living, breathing, and consuming being as is a human. Just as your cells fight for the survival of the human, corporate politics is not about the individual, it is about the survival of the corporation. By understanding where the line exists that separates your two worlds and adapting to the idea that political motivation is about results, then indeed, your interaction within this strange, new world will be more effective and successful.

About The Author

Edward B. Toupin is an author, life-strategy coach, counselor, and technical writer living in Las Vegas, NV. Among other things, he authors books and articles on topics ranging from career success through life organization and fulfillment. For more information, e-mail Edward at etoupin@toupin.com or visit his sites at http://www.toupin.com or http://www.make-life-great.com.