If your c-suite is idiotic or nepotistic you can absolutely still influence them with good politics, you just need to understand their incentives and frame your arguments that way. You need to understand that you’re not playing meritocracy and get your outcomes done in the system you are playing.

In this case that means being in that golf game or figuring out a way how you can use corruption to get good outcomes done.

Or, more likely if your moral compass is sound, quit and find an organisation that isn’t like this.

While I agree with you that random corporate world does behave this way, companies where founders are still around - don’t - because they’re mission driven.