>> "When dealing with politics, avoid it, but have right folks vouch for your work" -- this one is not specific enough for me. "Avoid politics"? Who are the "right folks" -- how would I know whether I had asked the right folks to vouch for the work?

It is very difficult to avoid politics unless you operate in a total isolation. Every time I need to talk, to get consensus, to request, politics is involve. It gets much more difficult when folks are not in agreement with what you want to do.