Have you ever gotten outfoxed in office politics?

Never been a social person, to begin with, but got brutally let down by internal politics. Basically, someone else got the role I wanted despite being a lazy know-nothing. He, I admit, was much better at networking while I just stayed behind a desk and did my job.

Now, I want to learn from this experience and become more astute at how to play this. Would love to hear from others, who have been in similar situations and where do I begin now that I realize that just hard work and dedication is not the path to heaven.