There's no easy answer, but?the mistake most people make is that they let their guard down.?Supposedly "informal" environments are the most dangerous. The politics in these startups are often far worse than in conservative, larger companies. Often, permissions are given to do things that are actually harmful to a person's career. People (even managers) will egg you on up to and beyond the event horizon of a ruined career, because you're allaying their ennui.
針對(duì)如何在辦公室斗爭(zhēng)中存活，并沒(méi)有什么簡(jiǎn)單的答案，但大多數(shù)人常犯的錯(cuò)誤則是他們輕易卸下防備。很可能“非正式”的環(huán)境才是最危險(xiǎn)的。新創(chuàng)辦的小公司里的辦公室政治往往比保守的大公司要復(fù)雜得多。通常情況是，額外地被準(zhǔn)許去做某些事情實(shí)際上有損你的職業(yè)生涯。人們（甚至是一些管理者）會(huì)慫恿你去觸碰甚至逾越規(guī)定的條條框框以至于讓你毀了自己的事業(yè)，僅僅因?yàn)槟憬o他們乏味的生活帶來(lái)了一抹生趣。

1. Avoid activities that serve no purpose.
1. 避免沒(méi)有目的的活動(dòng)。

The best-case outcome is that you establish that you put a low value on your time. When you're at work,?always?have a purpose, or appear to have one. The sideshows are for losers, to make existence at the bottom more bearable. Never take part in plebeian bullshit. The worst-case outcome is professional humiliation, because societies and substructures that have no purpose devolve into interpersonal nastiness. If you don't have anything else to do, figure out what you want to do and get better at it. Sit down at your computer and read. You'll probably never get fired for reading machine learning papers on your computer (you'll stay out of trouble, with your head down) but you?will?get pushed out or demoted (eventually) if you project low status, and putting a?visible?low value on your time has that effect.
最好的結(jié)果是你讓別人以為你并不看重自己的時(shí)間。工作的時(shí)候，總是要有個(gè)目標(biāo)，或者看起來(lái)似乎有一個(gè)。失敗者才會(huì)去管一些雞毛蒜皮的小事，你應(yīng)該要讓自己更經(jīng)得起考驗(yàn)。永遠(yuǎn)不要參與他人的閑言碎語(yǔ)。最糟糕的結(jié)果是職業(yè)侮辱，因?yàn)闆](méi)有任何目的聚在一起的群體和組織很快就會(huì)變得污穢不堪。如果你沒(méi)有其他事情要做，那就弄清楚你想做什么，并在這個(gè)方面做得更好。你可以坐在位置上用電腦看書。你可能永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)因?yàn)樵陔娔X上學(xué)習(xí)而被解雇（埋頭專研時(shí)你也會(huì)遠(yuǎn)離紛爭(zhēng)），但是如果你沒(méi)啥地位，你將被牽扯出來(lái)或最終遭到降職，而你表現(xiàn)出并不在意時(shí)間的樣子就會(huì)產(chǎn)生這個(gè)效果。

2.?"Informal" environments are a lie.
2.“非正式”環(huán)境就是一個(gè)謊言。

Most people wouldn't be comfortable with 20 strangers in their house, but we have to deal with the curse of having strangers in our?careers. This is uncomfortable and stressful and many workplaces like to pretend that it's not the case, thereby encouraging people to behave in "laid back" (read: unguarded and socially unacceptable) ways. This makes it easier for management (it's easier to tell who to fire) but it's not for the worker's benefit. Never let your guard down. Complainers (even justified ones) and blowhards still get shot in the head, in these "informal" environments. It's just not publicized.
如果在家里要面對(duì)20個(gè)陌生人，大多數(shù)人都會(huì)感到十分不舒服。但出于工作需要，我們必須得和形形色色的人打交道。這讓人不自在也充滿壓力，可是許多工作場(chǎng)所卻想假裝并非如此，因此它們鼓勵(lì)人們“放輕松”。當(dāng)然這倒是讓管理變得更加容易了（更容易知道誰(shuí)應(yīng)該被開(kāi)除），但這卻不利于員工。所以永遠(yuǎn)不要卸下你的防備。在這些“非正式”的環(huán)境中，抱怨的人（甚至出于合理的原因）和那些吹噓的人仍然有可能成為眾矢之的，只是不公開(kāi)罷了。

3. Hear (some) gossip but don't generate it.
3. 可以偶爾聽(tīng)些八卦，但別說(shuō)長(zhǎng)道短，散布流言。

Be aware of what's going on, but don't get involved. You have to be above that nonsense. If you don't have actual work to do, you still want it to seem like you do. Don't ever be seen hearing gossip by anyone but the person telling you the news. Once the gossip gets repetitive, stop hearing it. You have better things to do.
要注意周圍發(fā)生了什么，但不要涉身其中。你要知道這些閑言碎語(yǔ)并不是最重要的。如果你沒(méi)有實(shí)際的工作要做，仍然要讓自己看起來(lái)在做著重要的事情。不要偷偷聽(tīng)別人聊八卦，除非說(shuō)的人主動(dòng)告訴你。一旦八卦被重復(fù)得天花亂墜，那就別再聽(tīng)了。因?yàn)槟氵€有更重要的事情要做。

4. Up or diagonal.?Always have a goal and a purpose.
4. 向“上”看或向“斜對(duì)角”看。要始終心存目標(biāo)。

Be aiming for better things. But don't necessarily fixate on one vector. If your goal is to take your boss's job, then you're competing with him and you won't win. You're better off to keep an open eye for up-and-left and up-and-right. Once you can find a vector that doesn't conflict with anyone else, follow that. Put 3 hours per day, if you can, into work that advances your own career goals (learning new skills, networking) but avoid doing it in a showy or threatening way.
以更好的事情作為自己的前進(jìn)方向。但不一定將視線固定在一個(gè)方向上。如果你的目標(biāo)是替代老板的位置，而你只知和他競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，那么你很可能不會(huì)贏。你最好能關(guān)注“左上方”和“右上方”的其他位置。只要你能找到一個(gè)與其他人不沖突的位置，就可以朝著這個(gè)目標(biāo)努力了。如果可以，每天花3個(gè)小時(shí)的時(shí)間來(lái)靠近自己的職業(yè)目標(biāo)（學(xué)習(xí)新的技能，學(xué)習(xí)使用網(wǎng)絡(luò)），但是一定不要向別人炫耀，或給人造成威脅感。

5.?Don't mistake fake enthusiasm for support.
5. 要分清別人的假熱心。

People will readily show enthusiasm for ideas and activities that are actually harmful to your career. If you stand up in a town hall meeting and tell the CEO that your company's health benefits or stock option plan are shit, you'll get a lot of high-fives and congratulations (from people who don't matter, mostly; and, sometimes, malevolently from people who do). They "like" you because you're (stupidly) fighting their battle, but they won't have your back. Don't put yourself out there without?genuine?support (i.e. people will take career risks to defend you, and would possibly follow you if you had to change companies).
對(duì)于一些實(shí)際上無(wú)益于你的事業(yè)的想法和活動(dòng)，人們總是很容易會(huì)表現(xiàn)得熱情滿滿。如果你在一個(gè)市政廳的會(huì)議中站起來(lái)告訴首席執(zhí)行官，你公司的醫(yī)保福利或股票期權(quán)方案糟得一塌糊涂，你會(huì)得到很多慶賀（大部分人這么做并無(wú)所圖，可有時(shí)候一些人卻心懷惡意）。他們“喜歡”你，因?yàn)槟阏冢ㄓ薮赖兀樗麄兂鲱^，但他們卻不會(huì)真心支持你。所以不要在沒(méi)有得到真正支持的情況下，傻傻地什么都豁出去（也就是說(shuō)，人們會(huì)冒著職業(yè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)捍衛(wèi)你，如果你不得不換公司，他們也很有可能會(huì)跟著你）。

6.?Many people are slimeballs, but don't be one.
6. 工作中有很多“混蛋”，但你最好不要成為其中之一。
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There are plenty of unethical people who do very well in business, if you are unskilled enough in office politics that you need to read advice on the internet, you're not going to become one of them. Better to develop a reputation as a straight shooter by being one.
有很多人雖然不道德卻很擅長(zhǎng)做生意，如果你在辦公室政治上還不夠熟練，應(yīng)該多去看看一些網(wǎng)上的意見(jiàn)，這樣你就不會(huì)和他們同流合污了。做一個(gè)坦白正直的人更能樹(shù)立你的信譽(yù)和形象。
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7.?Occasionally be intimidating.?Don't overdo it.
7. 適當(dāng)展示威懾力，但是不要過(guò)度了。
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You don't want to be seen as weak, but don't try too hard to appear strong, because the latter will have the opposite effect. If you work in an environment where you wouldn't be the only person wearing a sport coat or even suit, then wear one. A tie is a socially acceptable way to wear a sword (a symbol of freedom). A suit means you are properly armored. It's not comfortable, but you shouldn't?be too comfortable at work.
你一定不想被別人看輕，但也不要表現(xiàn)地太過(guò)強(qiáng)硬，因?yàn)楹笳呖赡軙?huì)產(chǎn)生相反的效果。如果你工作的環(huán)境中，你不會(huì)成為唯一一個(gè)穿運(yùn)動(dòng)衫或平整的西裝的人，那么就嘗試一下這個(gè)風(fēng)格。劍是自由的象征，而領(lǐng)帶就是當(dāng)今社會(huì)所認(rèn)可的另一種劍。若是穿著一整套西裝在某種程度上就似乎意味著你已經(jīng)裝甲完備了。雖然這并不舒服，但也許在工作場(chǎng)合你也不能太過(guò)愜意了。
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