Corporate politics is everywhere. They inflict every company. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a top manager who has avoided the fray entirely.

Depending on how far up the corporate ladder you get, you’ll feel the heat the higher you get. Executives and professionals talk about it all the time, especially at cocktail parties, but rarely in formal discussions or meetings. If it comes up in a formal setting, it’s likely to be mentioned as “We need to reinvigorate the culture.”

And if you’re running a new business at a large company that’s developing or trying to develop a product or solution that’s detrimental to the core business, chances are you’re drowning in corporate politics.

That was certainly my personal experience running a business group creating new computers and gadgets for people living at the bottom of the pyramid. Any product we created would match Clayton Christensen’s definition of disruptive innovation: i.e., compared to the PC, it would be more affordable (cheaper), easier to use (addressing computer/technological literacy issues), and unique in value. that doesn’t exist on PCs today. .

How did it turn out for me? Not good. I walked in with open eyes, having seen the policy in action before and successfully navigated through it to get things done. I knew it would be a tall order given what we were doing, but I was still struck by the intensity of driving a disruptive business.

In fact, I came up with a way to describe corporate policy that I frequently discussed with my team, peers, and respective bosses:

There are “good” policies and there are “bad” policies. Good policies are when someone needs to work on the system (eg, culture, personalities, organizational silos) to achieve business goals that are GOOD for the company (eg, generating new revenue, growth, profits, and satisfied customers ). Bad politics is when someone uses the same system to look good.

The moral of the story is obviously to practice good politics and avoid bad politics. Looking back, the problem with this approach, and why it surprised me, is that you can do the best work, exercise your best networking skills, and create great things for your company, but by ignoring what I call the negative politicians, you’ll probably get end up on the short end of the stick and you and the business you are running will suffer for it.

So my main advice is… know your enemy more than they know themselves. I really hate using the word enemy, as my “people” philosophy tends to be more on the trust side. But these people see YOU as the enemy; as competition for whatever that future lucrative position or promotion might be. (And a hint: they’re kind of right. As you move up the company, there are fewer positions for everyone. Everything gets more competitive.)

Let me present to you five characteristics of negative politicians that I have observed over the years. They effectively:

Self promotion. They go to great lengths internally to promote themselves under the auspices of promoting their business or product. If they blog or post internal articles about something related to their corporate group, you’ll see subliminal signs of self-promotion.

Manage. They usually have negative information about your business for their bosses and selectively twist things to make them positive.

Use information as power. They may use confidential business information (or what they consider to be confidential) about a part of the business they are involved in to enhance credibility. For example, in a meeting with other top managers, they will divulge some decisions or strategies that they know will captivate their audience.

Become “friends” with the powers that be. They tend to actively network with key movers and shakers within the company. If the executive suite also tends to be political, you can bet they’ve found ways to endear themselves to the company’s top dogs.

Spread disinformation about possible “competitors”. They quietly spread rumors and/or misinformation about someone that may threaten their career or against the business that person runs.

If reading these five traits makes your stomach turn, either at first or because you’ve seen them in action, the next question you’re probably asking yourself is how do I stay away from these people?

Short answer: you can’t. Long answer: learn to work in “the company of wolves”, regardless of whether the intensity of politics is low or high. And I think you can do this without sinking to their level.

I am by no means the expert on the best way to navigate these waters, but I have learned from past mistakes and given it a lot of thought.

I have five recommendations that I would give to those who are currently or hope to eventually be in this situation:

Keep your ear to the ground, always. Be vigilant and keep a mental list of those who consistently act in the ways I described above. By increasing your web of trust, you discover misinformation and can make corrections.

Don’t talk bad about them to anyone. Badmouthing people is what negative politicians do, and you’ll probably hear it eventually. Information circulates with remarkable ease in a company. The saying “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it” applies here.

Don’t alienate them, even if they screw you over. The other adage that I have ALWAYS found to be true is “never burn bridges”, no matter what. I have never burned a bridge. Those who have, were bitten hard.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Don’t avoid negative politicians. Network with them. Kind words and praise go a long way. I find that those who are insecure and have self-esteem issues tend to be the most political, so look for ways to help them and/or increase their sense of self-worth. But don’t make it up. Be sincere in everything you say or do.

Use some of your tactics with principles. Do some self-promotion in a way that ALSO promotes others. Connect with the powers that be in a way that shows your value to the company. Don’t avoid them at social functions…seek them out. Read “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi for great tactics on how to do this.

Another reference for you: Dan King, director of Meaningful Careers, wrote an excellent article called “Winning at Organizational Politics Without Losing Your Soul” that provides additional information and reasons not to stick your head in the sand. As he states in his article, politics is a game. “Play or don’t play, the game goes on!”