A close presidential election is a lot like a workplace shakeup — even though, in America’s case, there isn’t much of physical shakeup.

It’s not like we’re getting a new CEO or merging with Mexico, certainly, but the results told a sizable minority of our “workforce” that it isn’t going to get its way. On the surface, partisan Democrats had lots of things going their way in this election — a vulnerable incumbent, a questionable war, a wobbly job market, a large turnout — but President Bush still won.

People in such places as California and New York can feel like disgruntled workers. They strongly believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, and the people they interact with the most feel the same way, but management is too stupid to listen. Right?

No, management — in this case, the majority of voters nationwide — has considered your points. It just sees things differently than you do.

So if you’re on the losing end, what do you do? First, think about whether you can change your proposal enough to make management reconsider.

If you’re a Democrat, would you be able to win if you stopped fighting for gay rights or abortion rights or labor unions or social programs? Would making that change go against your values so much that you couldn’t live with yourself?

If changing your stance is impractical, you can always sulk and hope management changes its mind — someday. Or you can change companies or move to Canada.

Your best immediate strategy, though, might be to focus on the parts of the company you can change. Californians just approved $3 billion for stem-cell research, even if the measure wouldn’t fly with the country’s “management.”

Never underestimate your own influence — even when things aren’t going your way.