Name: Politics
Uploaded: 2025-11-21T20:47:41+00:00
Duration: 2 min 51 s
Description: As companies scale, politics become inevitable—Big Tech firms are no exception

Politics

As companies scale, politics become inevitable—Big Tech firms are no exception. While these environments offer great compensation and talent density, navigating organizational complexity and interpersonal dynamics becomes a critical part of engineering success.

- **Politics Are Inevitable in Large Orgs**: As tech companies grow, layers of leadership and cross-functional dependencies make decision-making complex. Engineers must often align with numerous stakeholders, especially when aiming for senior or staff roles.

- **Shipping Requires Consensus-Building**: Even seemingly minor changes can require significant internal negotiation. One example cited involved a six-month project to enlarge a button being blocked just before launch due to last-minute leadership disagreement.

- **People Over Code**: The technical work is often less challenging than influencing and winning over colleagues who may disagree or have competing priorities.

- **Burnout from Frustrated Efforts**: Senior engineers can burn out after investing months into initiatives that get shut down due to misaligned incentives or lack of political foresight.

- **Success Requires “Playing the Game”**: Engineers who are averse to navigating internal politics may struggle, especially in high-visibility roles. Building relationships proactively is often essential for seeing projects through.

As companies scale, politics become inevitable—Big Tech firms are no exception