The game theory secret to internal influence

Alex just got Engineering to build her feature.

The one they said would take "6 months minimum." The one that wasn't on the roadmap. The one three other PMs had failed to get prioritized.

It shipped in 8 weeks.

She didn't have more authority. She didn't escalate to leadership. She didn't throw anyone under the bus.

She understood something most people miss: Every internal negotiation is a repeated game. And once you know the rules of repeated games, you can change the outcome.

Here's the 4-level game theory playbook for getting what you want when you have zero formal power.

But First: Why Game Theory Changes Everything

Traditional negotiation tactics teach you to be tough, anchor high, and never show your cards. That works great when you're buying a car from someone you'll never see again.

It's a disaster when you're negotiating internally.

Here's why: Game theory recognizes that workplace negotiations are repeated games, not single events.

Think about it. The engineering lead you're negotiating with today? You'll need them next quarter. And the quarter after. Traditional tactics optimize for winning once. Game theory optimizes for winning forever.

Three Game Theory Insights That Change Everything:

1. The Shadow of the Future Future consequences discipline present behavior. Screw someone over today, they remember tomorrow. Help them win today, they'll fight for you tomorrow.

2. Nash Equilibrium The best outcome isn't you winning and them losing. It's finding the equilibrium where everyone's incentive is to keep playing. When changing strategy makes everyone worse off, you've found the sweet spot.

3. Strategic Information Revelation Traditional negotiation says "never show your cards." Game theory says "selective transparency changes the game." Sometimes revealing your constraints makes others want to help you win.

The Prisoner's Dilemma at Work

You know the classic setup - cooperate or defect. In a one-shot game, defecting is "rational."

But Alex isn't in a one-shot game with Engineering. She's in an infinitely repeated game where reputation compounds.

The math is simple:

• Defect once: 10 points now, 0 points forever

• Cooperate repeatedly: 5 points per round, indefinitely

• Five rounds of cooperation = 25 points vs. one defection = 10 points

How This Changes Your Tactics:

Traditional: "Never make the first offer" → Game Theory: "Generous first offers signal cooperation"

Traditional: "Hide your weaknesses" → Game Theory: "Strategic vulnerability creates reciprocity"

Traditional: "Claim maximum value" → Game Theory: "Leave value to buy future options"

Alex wins because she's not playing checkers. She's playing an infinite game where reputation is the real currency.

Ready to see how this actually works?

Level 1: The Foundation - Make Their Win Bigger Than Your Win

Most people negotiate internally like they're dividing resources. You get engineering time, I lose it.

That's why they lose.

The Mutual Win Construction:

Before asking for what you need, figure out what they need.

Alex's exact approach with the Engineering lead: "I noticed your team is getting pressure about velocity metrics. What if I could help you show a 20% improvement in sprint completion while we build this feature?"

She spent 30 minutes understanding:

• Their team was behind on documentation (affecting their velocity scores)

• They needed a "quick win" to show in the quarterly review

• The junior engineers needed a project to level up on

Her proposal: Her feature would serve as the training ground for two junior engineers (solving their growth need), she'd handle all the documentation (solving their velocity problem), and they'd get credit for shipping a high-visibility feature (solving their quick win need).

The Coalition Building Method:

Never go alone. Build a coalition where everyone wins.

Alex's coalition for the feature:

• Sales: "This unblocks $2M in pipeline"

• Customer Success: "This reduces support tickets by 30%"

• Marketing: "This gives us the competitive differentiator we need"

• Data: "We can finally track the metrics we've been blind to"

When she approached Engineering, it wasn't "Alex wants this." It was "Four teams need this, and here's how it helps you too."

The key: She gave each team a different win. Sales got revenue. CS got reduced tickets. Marketing got a story. Data got instrumentation. Engineering got velocity metrics and training opportunities.

Level 2: The Currency Game - Trade What's Cheap for You but Valuable for Them

Every team has different currencies. Master the exchange rate.

The Currency Map:

What Engineering values (but is cheap for you):

• Public recognition for technical work

• Documentation and specs written for them

• Protection from stakeholder randomization

• Clear requirements that don't change mid-sprint

What Design values (but is cheap for you):

• Time to explore multiple concepts

• Public credit for the solution

• Direct access to user feedback

• Involvement from conception, not implementation

What Sales values (but is cheap for you):

• Specific customer names attached to features

• Exact revenue attribution

• Demo-able features for prospects

• Commitment dates they can share

Alex's trades:

• To Engineering: "I'll write all the documentation and shield you from stakeholder changes"

• To Design: "You lead the solution exploration, I'll get you direct user sessions"

• To Sales: "I'll tag this feature to your top 3 accounts and give you early demo access"

Cost to Alex: 5 hours of work she'd do anyway. Value to them: Massive.

The Favor Bank System:

Start deposits before you need withdrawals.

Alex's 90-day pre-negotiation moves:

• Week 1: Helped Engineering with their OKR narrative (2 hours)

• Week 3: Connected Design with a user research firm (one email)

• Week 5: Gave Sales early access to product roadmap (30 minutes)

• Week 7: Wrote a blog post featuring Engineering's technical win (1 hour)

• Week 9: Defended Design's timeline in a leadership meeting (political capital)

By Week 12, when she needed the feature built, she had credits everywhere.

Level 3: The Commitment Game - Make It Expensive to Say No

People support what they help create.

The Progressive Buy-In Strategy:

Don't ask for everything at once. Get micro-commitments that build.

Alex's sequence:

• Week 1: "Could you look at this customer problem for 5 minutes?"

• Week 2: "Your insight was brilliant - could you sketch what a solution might look like?"

• Week 3: "The sketch is perfect - what would it take to prototype this?"

• Week 4: "The prototype is getting amazing feedback - how do we make this real?"

By the time she asked for full commitment, they were already emotionally invested. Saying no meant abandoning their own idea.

The Public Commitment Trap:

Get them to commit publicly before asking privately.

Alex's exact email after the sketch session: "Thanks for the brilliant solution sketch! Should I share it with leadership as the direction we're heading?"

Engineering's response: "Yes, it's solid."

Now they're committed. Publicly. To leadership.

Three days later, when she asked for resources, they couldn't back out without looking inconsistent.

Level 4: The Repeated Game - They're Not Negotiating This Quarter

They're negotiating every quarter forever.

The Reputation Investment:

Every internal negotiation affects every future negotiation.

Alex's rule: Under-promise by 20%, over-deliver by 30%.

Her feature promised:

• 6-week delivery (delivered in 5)

• 10% improvement in metric (achieved 15%)

• No scope creep (actually reduced scope mid-project)

Next quarter, when she asked for resources, Engineering said yes before she finished the pitch.

The Reciprocity Engine:

Make giving you resources the obviously rational choice.

When Engineering shipped her feature, Alex:

• Wrote a company-wide post crediting the engineers by name

• Nominated them for the quarterly excellence award

• Defended their timeline when leadership pushed for more

• Gave them first pick on the next high-visibility project

• Added their tech blog post to the investor update

The Shadow Games (The Politics Nobody Talks About)

The Information Gradient:

Information is power. Control the gradient.

Alex always knew:

• What leadership cared about this quarter (from office hours)

• What Engineering was measured on (from their OKRs)

• What was really blocking projects (from 1:1 conversations)

• Who had informal influence (from watching decision patterns)

She never revealed she knew.

Instead, she'd say: "I wonder if this would help with the velocity issue?" letting them think it was their idea.

The Alternative Creation:

Never have just one path to your goal.

When Engineering first said no, Alex had three backup plans:

1. Design could prototype it with no-code tools

2. An external contractor could build an MVP

3. She could pilot it with manual processes

She casually mentioned option 2 in a public channel. Engineering suddenly found capacity.

The Scripts That Actually Work

For Getting Resources: "I've been thinking about your challenge with [their problem]. What if we could solve that while also addressing [your need]?"

For Getting Buy-In: "What would wild success look like for your team this quarter? I think I have something that could help..."

For Handling Objections: "What would need to be true for this to work for you? Let's solve that together..."

For Creating Urgency: "No pressure - I'm also exploring [alternative]. But I'd rather do this with you because [specific value they bring]."

For After They Deliver: "Your work on [project] just got mentioned in [important forum]. Made sure everyone knew it was your team."

The Power Move: Own the Frame

The person who frames the problem controls the solution.

Instead of "I need engineering resources," say "We have a $2M revenue opportunity."

Instead of "This is my priority," say "Customer Success identified this as their top pain point."

Instead of "I want to build this," say "The data shows this is our highest ROI opportunity."

When you own the frame, you own the outcome.

Your Next Move

Pick one thing you need from someone next week.

Before asking:

1. Map what they care about

2. Frame your ask as solving their problem

3. Create an alternative (even a bad one)

Then watch what happens when you stop asking for favors and start creating wins.

The game is always being played. Most people just don't know the rules.

Now you do.

Play accordingly.

~ Warbler