One of the skills that successful leaders need to master is a bit of a dirty word these days. It's not the sort of thing they offer leadership training courses on Delanie Walker Hoodie , but it lies at the heart of most business relationships. What I'm talking about is office politics.

When we call someone 'a political animal', we're often not being complimentary. We tend to mean that they're manipulative and untrustworthy, maybe even immoral or dishonest.

A person who's good at politics, in our eyes, is someone who likes to score points over others, who tries to scramble to the top of the heap over his or her colleagues.

But politics isn't all about manipulation. There's more to it than that. And whether we like it or not, politics is everywhere in the workplace and a good leader needs to know how to make the most of it.

So what does politics have to do with good leadership? Well, to start with, politics involves being aware of the effects your words and actions have on others. And - even more importantly - it also means knowing how to influence people.

In an earlier article, we touched on leading change as a political process, but let's focus for a moment on your interpersonal political skills in leading change negotiating, persuading, influencing. These leadership skills are essential for success and survival.

In a way, introducing change into an organization is like running a political campaign. If you get it right, your people will support you and your decisions.

How to get your people to accept change:

1. First, set up your campaign team. This isn't just your fellow leaders, who've helped you draw up the plan behind the scenes, it's also the movers and shakers in your organization. You need to identify them carefully and well. These are the people who can influence OTHER people. Perhaps the people that you can't reach. If the movers and shakers know about and support what you're doing, the job will be that much easier.

2. Now prepare yourself. You and your fellow leaders have been working on the plan for a long time. You know how much work has gone into it, and you know how vital it is for your business. Now is the time to get everyone else on board. But be prepared: not everyone's going to like it.

3. Let the debate go on. Listen to what everyone says: be careful not to spend all your time with people who agree with you. Your fiercest opponents are valuable people: they help you gauge the level of resistance, they set out the arguments you need to defeat, and, if they eventually come round to your way of thinking, they will be some of your most valuable supporters.

The politics of business:

1. Find allies in ALL parts of the organization: you can exchange vital information that you might otherwise not have access to. And you can form coalitions, so together you can influence current and future developments.

2. Intervene in the political processes of the organization: share agendas, influence decisions and decision-makers.

3. Make sure you're not simply surrounded by 'yes' men and women. You need to listen to the devil's advocates - that way, you're less likely to make mistakes.

There's more, of course, there's more. But deal with office politics on a project by project basis and you won't go too far wrong. Leadership is sometimes described as a contact sport. It isn't so much what you know as who you know.

So let me ask you this: who do YOU know?
Promotional material for Independence Day: Resurgence Photo: IC

From dairy company MengNiu's "Moon Milk" to "Thanks for using QQ," most Chinese audiences that have seen the latest sci-fi sequel Independence Day: Resurgence probably laughed out loud at some of the more obvious Chinese brand product placement in the film.

This is not the first time filmgoers in China have cringed at the blatant placement of Chinese products and stars appearing in Hollywood blockbusters. Two years ago, sci-fi action flick Transformers: Age of Extinction left a negative impression on audiences for frequent showing off Chinese brands and featuring Chinese characters that had little impact on the plot.

In the end, these obvious attempts to cater to the Chinese market and fawn over audiences in China seem to have actually had the opposite effect.

Lazy effort

With its booming economy, China has been playing an increasingly more important role in global issues while Chinese companies have been expanding their reach around the world. As such it really shouldn't feel unreasonable to see a Chinese fighter pilot (played by actress Angelababy) help save the world together with US and European heroes, or Chinese brands being used by characters in the films.

But the reality is that many of these scenes are unacceptable to Chinese audiences, who regard them as nothing but a poor joke on the Internet.

Take the recent Resurgence for example. It's become a popular joke among Chinese netizens that the Moon Milk that appeared in the film was the true hero of the film as it gave humans in the film the energy they needed to defeat the aliens.

"When getting revenge on evil aliens, everyone should take two boxes of MengNiu Moon Milk with them," Sina Weibo user Hua Yincheng posted.

Independence Day is a classic film in the sci-fi genre, as such anticipation exploded among fans when news that a sequel was coming out that would be directed by Roland Emmerich, the director of the original film.

However, while many who saw the new film felt the visual effects were good, both the film's and the director's brands were stained in Chinese audiences' eyes due to the bad impression left by the Chinese product placement.

And Resurgence is not the worst case. More criticism has been aimed at Hollywood blockbusters that have come bef. Antonio Brown Jersey   Authentic Alvin Kamara Jersey   Authentic A.J. Bouye Jersey   Authentic Adrian Peterson Jersey   Cheap Soccer Jerseys   Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping   Wholesale Jerseys   Wholesale Jerseys   Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys   Wholesale NFL Jerseys