One thing I've changed my mind on recently is the importance of politics.

When I worked as an individual contributor at large companies, I hated the bureaucracy and politics.

Don't get me wrong, I still do.

But I've come to realize that politics is not a blocker, it's a lever you can pull.

If you can learn to navigate it, it is a lot more powerful than any engineering work.

It's also not something you can avoid. It's just an inevitable part of the journey of any organization, whether it's a startup or a large company.

At a large company, you need to navigate internal politics to get things done.

At a startup, you need to navigate external political. This might be with customers, partners, investors and potential hires.

If you are the leader of a large company, you will eventually need to navigate national politics.

Depending on the work your company does, you may need to navigate internal politics.

There is such a thing as bad politics, but there's no such thing as no politics.

### Edit #1 - 2025-10-05

I came by a post titled [Stop Avoiding Politics](https://terriblesoftware.org/2025/10/01/stop-avoiding-politics)
that was, ironically, published just 3 days after I wrote the thought above.

I don't have much to add to it, other than saying that I completely agree with the author.

It led me to [post this fun thought](./2025-10-05-young-and-old.md) on politics as a young and old engineer.