Passed over for a promotion he had earned by a back-slapping (and back- stabbing ) colleague, Mac Vallely seethed as he headed home on the 5:43 commuter train. That’s when he met “Z” – the man whose advice would change his life …

I am writing to you, a fellow executive.

You would have kept on walking if you had walked past Mac Vallely a year ago.

Average height. Thinning some on top, getting a little thick around the middle. His car is five years old. Doesn’t have a mentor or protégé at work. It would probably be beige if you described him as a color.

Mac is special because of one thing. He is good at his job. He is. It’s great. He was at his job. Both his colleagues and his bosses respected him. Mac thought he was a shoo-in for the assistant VP slot when it opened up last year. He had a good track record. He worked hard and got results. He told his wife. It was earned. This is a promotion.

Mac bumped into the senior VP in the coffee room after having what he thought was a go-through-the-motions interview after the job opening was announced. How is it going, Vince? He asked if you wanted to talk about the job.

The boss asked if he had a job.

The assistant VP.

The response was right. Let me get back to you on that. I have been swamped with the Lundberg deal. He was gone in a swirl of cups.

Mac took the older man’s comments at face value. Back at his desk, he began to put things together. Vince had always referred to him as Mac, but never by his last name. Mac did most of the heavy lifting when the Lundberg contract was put to bed three weeks ago. Mac recalled seeing Vince at a local restaurant with a colleague who was often sloppy and incomplete.

Mac realized. He is lying to me. He had a knot in his stomach. It would probably be gray if you described him as a color.

The new assistant vice president was announced two days later. Mac put on a good face and smiled when his boss described him as his strong right hand.

He kept his feelings to himself, but thought he would like to give him a strong right hand.

He took the 5:43 train out of the city.

I heard Mac’s story.

Who am I? Let’s just call him Z. You may have seen me on a cable business channel or read about me in the press. I have risen through the ranks to head my own communications company. I am smart and old fashioned hard work is part of the reason. There are a lot of smart people out there. You are probably one of them. And so is Mac.

I have been wanting to tell my story for a long time. I agreed to write a tell-all book a few years ago. My anonymity was maintained by the publisher. I agreed to hold in return. Nothing. Back.

Smarts and hard work are not enough to get you into the corner office. There is another reason I have gone from a steady job to an exciting career, from a good life to an envied lifestyle, from a decent salary to a lucrative compensation package.

The reason? I am good at office politics. It’s good.

People who fail come in all shapes and sizes. I have seen them all during my years in business. Some rose through the ranks quickly, only to fall like balloons. Some people were underappreciated and not rewarded enough. Hard-working people with good ideas and instincts were the ones who got stuck in ruts.

There are a few people who rose through the ranks regardless of education, intelligence, manners, appearance, or other obvious factors. Stayed. Through fat times and lean. They were the type who knew how to survive in politics.

Mac said that he had been screaming into his cell phone to a friend until the conductor shushed him, but he just couldn’t stop talking. He was angry. It would probably be red if you described him as a color.

Salepage: https://training.businessmanagementdaily.com/5874/black-book-executive-politics/