In the past, I failed as a manager to protect the good-hearted and passionate people in my teams. The upper management were abusing them at every chance. And their competence and dedication only made them less likely to be promoted because it would take multiple people to do their job. The typical lifecycle is the CEO/CTO/Mids burn the good ones to the point they quit (and then they might offer doubling their salaries or something). This happens both in startups and large orgs. It seems like an unwritten rule in tech management.

I'm no longer a tech manager.

You can learn the politics and choose not to play it. It’s still useful to understand why people act the way they do and never be surprised by things that affect you.

I believe this is the way. That said, it might be a privilege to think this way. One can be nice to others and still play to a political advantage.

It's not about sinking, it is about a totally different skill set. There's no good/bad here, it just IS. Also, your statement implies you are "above" other people, which is so arrogant, it is almost like you are the people you despise.

Admirable, but be aware that you are choosing to play 'co-operate' in a multi-agent prisoner's dilemma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma

Same here!