Snakes in Suits by Paul Babiak and Robert D. Hare
BOOK REVIEWS BY BINOD
BINOD’S RATING: 7/10
The book examines what happens when a psychopath doesn’t wind up in jail, but instead puts on a suit and gets a job. The book outlines the tactics these predators use, how they damage companies and how you can protect yourself.
Top 15 points:
1. In the interpersonal domain, psychopaths are superficial, deceitful and grandiose. In the emotional domain, they lack empathy, remorse and the ability to take any responsibility for their actions. In the lifestyle domain, they lack life goals and act in a very irresponsible & impulsive way. In the antisocial domain, psychopaths lack behavioral control.
2. Psychopaths work in 3 phases. In Phase 1 (assessment phase), they’ll evaluate their victims’ utility to them, e.g., money, power, sex, celebrity, recognition. Phase 2 (manipulation) they extract what they want from the victim. Phase 3 (abandonment) when victims are no longer useful to them, psychopaths discard them abruptly, cutting off all contact.
3. Big companies are attractive targets for psychopaths because there are big rewards like money, power & prestige. This is where corporate psychopaths come in. They have the skills & self-control to not only avoid prison, but to manipulate coworkers, systems etc. so that they can thrive in companies.
4. Employing corporate psychopaths can ruin companies. Their abusive behavior increases employee churn, as motivated, talented employees leave. Plus, their risk-taking nature & disregard for rules leads to strategic screwups and even law-breaking.
5. The psychopath is keen on identifying and bonding with pawns that can provide him with useful resources. He deliberately builds bonds with technically proficient coworkers & manipulates them to do his own work.
6. Psychopaths also look for patrons. A patron is a high-level executive who has had only limited interaction with the psychopath. But the patron is so impressed that he mentors the psychopath, fast-tracking the psychopath’s career & even protecting him from critics.
7. A culture of secrecy in an organization makes it much easier for pretenders to hide and much harder for management to catch them in their lies.
8. Psychopathic workers very often were identified as the source of departmental conflicts, in many cases, purposely setting people up in conflict with each other.
9. A successful corporate psychopath will already have established a strong influence network, and may already have planted seeds of doubt about your competence and loyalty.
10.There are plenty of coworkers and managers who have little to offer in the way of influence, assets, or potential support. Being ignored, these individuals are in a good position to see what is actually going on. They may realize that the psychopath is not who he or she pretends to be, and may even witness the manipulation of others.
11.Companies have organizational police like HR and Internal Audit. They pose a threat to psychopaths because they’re so good at spotting fraudsters. But they often lack the required management support, especially as psychopaths often have supporters in top mgt.
12.How can organizations protect themselves from psychopaths?? The best defense is to never let them in at all. But this isn’t easy as psychopaths are pathological liars, have no social inhibitions or fears, and are experts at reading people, making them very impressive or even downright dazzling in interviews.
13.How to defend yourself? Learn about psychopathy. Understand the traits of a psychopath to see past their “mask” of normality. Know yourself. What are your weaknesses, likes & hot buttons? What makes you like someone? Psychopaths are experts at reading people, and will easily spot and push these buttons to manipulate you.
14.Excessive or incongruous compliments and flattery should be a signal for you to pay critical attention to what is coming next. Ask yourself, “What does this person really want of me?”
15.How to deal with a psychopath e.g., your Boss? Build a solid reputation so you aren’t exposed. Get your assignments, appraisals etc. in writing. Avoid confrontations. Always keep calm.
This is the definitive book on corporate psychopathy.