Political struggles from the front lines

This project is rife with political posturing, acquiescing (on our part), stone walling, and even a dash of litigious fortitude. What do you do when a "partner" in a project is not really a partner but an adversary? How does the relationship, an amicable one at that, help to maintain an atmosphere of cooperation when there is a feeling of distrust and deceit. Not that anyone was lying to the other party, but in that the fear of distrust and possibly the loathsome thought that "they are trying to pull one over on us", we acquiesce to their wishes, simply because we have no leverage to move the project forward.

It is a struggle to be sure. The project finally ended, my adversarial partner is now gone from the company. She left with little fanfare. But I still feel that we could have handled the project from the beginning without the posturing and the hidden agenda's we all had.

Money was at the heart of the project. Everyone stood to gain or loose depending on wether the project moved forward or was delayed. Money set us up to fail. And politics was its bedfellow. I see now what I could not see before. Get the money on the table so everyone knows what's at stake and we can deal with what ever measures are needed to make the project workable for both parties.