In his spare time, he writes science-fiction novels as well as other books. You're going to get dirty - and the pig likes it. You can't win unless someone else loses. The root of all politics is competition. Performance reviews usually judge people against their colleagues.
All salespeople compete against each other.
There are winners and losers in all companies. Playing politics is the way to stand out. So you must play to win. Just because you don't get what you want doesn't mean you're getting the shaft. Not every defeat is the result of politics.