Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work

by Paul Babiak, Robert D. Hare

When Psychopaths Go to Work

Let's say you're about to hire somebody for a position in your company. Your corporation wants someone who's fearless, charismatic, and full of new ideas. Candidate X is charming, smart, and has all the right answers to your questions. Problem solved, right? Maybe not.

We'd like to think that if we met someone who was completely without conscience–someone who was capable of doing anything at all if it served his or her purposes–we would recognize it. In popular culture, the image of the psychopath is of someone like Hannibal Lecter or the BTK Killer. But in reality, many psychopaths just want money, or power, or fame, or simply a nice car. Where do these psychopaths go? Often, it's to the corporate world.

Researchers Paul Babiak and Robert Hare have long studied psychopaths. Hare, the author of Without Conscience, is a world–renowned expert on psychopathy, and Babiak is an industrial–organizational psychologist. Recently the two came together to study how psychopaths operate in corporations, and the results were surprising. They found that it's exactly the modern, open, more flexible corporate world, in which high risks can equal high profits, that attracts psychopaths. They may enter as rising stars and corporate saviors, but all too soon they're abusing the trust of colleagues, manipulating supervisors, and leaving the workplace in shambles.

Snakes in Suits is a compelling, frightening, and scientifically sound look at exactly how psychopaths work in the corporate environment: what kind of companies attract them, how they negotiate the hiring process, and how they function day by day. You'll learn how they apply their "instinctive" manipulation techniques–assessing potential targets, controlling influential victims, and abandoning those no longer useful–to business processes such as hiring, political command and control, and executive succession, all while hiding within the corporate culture. It's a must read for anyone in the business world, because whatever level you're at, you'll learn the subtle warning signs of psychopathic behavior and be able to protect yourself and your company–before it's too late.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Business, Science, Sociology, Crime, Leadership

352 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[BlackOxford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inmates in Charge of the Asylum

Snakes in Suits describes what most of us already know about corporate organisations, namely that there are an awful lot of nasty people who can make life miserable. Many of these are clinically psychopathic. But knowing how to identify the psychopaths and documenting how many there are in managerial positions just isn’t possible. Nor would it make much difference if we could. What we have at the moment is merely a (unstable) description of a condition and its putative aetiology:

“Psychopathy is not solely a product of social and environmental forces. Genetic factors play an important role in the formation of the personality traits and temperament considered essential to the disorder. However, its lifelong expression is the result of complex interactions between biological/temperamental predispositions and social forces.

The authors provide a range of suggestions for corporate recruiting, mainly to the HR department, which they believe will help spot psychopaths before they are hired. But these suggestions are the result of anecdotal case studies and professional intuition alone and don’t amount to much in the corporate milieu. Despite the authors’ claims that progress has been since the first suggestion of the issue in 1941 (by Cleckley in The Mask of Sanity), no practical results have been forthcoming.

The disease of corporate psychopathy is largely invisible except to the people who experience it directly. And it is likely to remain so for several reasons. In the first instance the so-called diagnostic criteria used to identify carriers are vague and unstable. As far as I am aware, for example, the three main diagnostic tests (PCL:R, PCL:SV, and PCL:YV) have not even been tested against each other, much less against non-criminal or other non-institutionalised populations. In any case, psychopaths are notoriously skilled at confounding both lie detectors and self-reporting psychiatric tests.

Further, the ‘factors’ in each test are frequently overdetermined and could point to a number of conditions in the so-called Dark Triad of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism among many other disorders. So diagnosis is a linguistic game of ‘traits’. Consequently it’s really not possible to estimate the incidence of psychopathy accurately. For example:

“The difference between psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder is that the former includes personality traits such as lack of empathy, grandiosity, and shallow emotions that are not necessary for a diagnosis of ASPD.”

From a purely epistemological viewpoint the classification of mental disorders therefore becomes meaningless except to clinicians, and often not even to them. As a corporate employee, how would I distinguish empathy in a candidate? In any case, do I really care that the boss who is bullying the entire department is psychotic or merely anti-social?

Moreover spotting these traits outside of intensive psychiatric settings is simply impossible. Psychopaths are master impersonators who can outwit even experienced professionals much less typical HR managers during a relatively brief interview. We have an apparently built-in presumption that others are like ourselves. Psychopaths, however, are an entirely different species and they exploit that presumption mercilessly.

And of course the self-referential problem of psychopathy in corporate organisations is obvious as well as inherently insurmountable. If the hypothesis that a substantial number of corporate executives are psychopathic, particularly at senior levels, is true, then who is likely to commission and interpret relevant research in the area? The psychopaths naturally.

And even if useful criteria were developed from research, just imagine the potential legal liability. Given the nature of the disease itself - hidden, manipulative, clever, remorseless - proving a diagnosis in court for the rejection of a candidate or the termination of an executive is a punt no intelligent CEO would take (presuming he or she wasn’t psychopathic!). According to some, psychopathic traits are just the ticket for improving corporate performance. What judge would dare step into the quagmire of such an arbitrary assessment of qualifications?

So I suppose we are all stuck with the casual torture of corporate existence. It’s just another one of life’s inadequacies to deal with. Psychopaths, like the poor, are always with us.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a follow up to Jon Ronson’s marvelous Psychopath Test, which was named for the diagnostic criteria Dr. Hare developed. I ended up skimming quite a bit of it because it was what it was billed to be – a book about dealing with psychopaths in the workplace, largely from a corporate management perspective. It’s good, but spent way too much time cautioning the reader to not do exactly what it was telling us how to do – realize that there are psychopaths among us and reducing the harm they can cause.

Gave me a name for something I’ve seen in both my personal and professional life – “the psychopathic bond.” The bond the psychopath will cultivate in another that allows them to feed. Raising the question – are psychopath vampires?

Also told me something I should have known, but didn’t. I shall quote. “It is important to note that psychopathy is a personality disorder, and that personality disorders are not the same as mental illness. At a basic level, a personal with a personality disorder has a limited range of stereotyped ‘solutions’ that he or she applies to most of the problems accounted in life. Those without a personality disorder are able to apply a variety of behaviors, depending on what best suits the situations.” (40)

Made me a little depressed with regard to domestic violence treatment and anger management therapy. Says that psychopaths will embrace such treatment to get out of jail, but there is no evidence it changes their behavior in any way, though they do apparently get high marks. The psychopath is apparently very good at faking it to get a passing grade, but internalizes none of it.

Had a tragic ending, illustrating, I think, the unspoken subtext of the book – if there’s a psychopath in your life, get away as soon as possible. A subtext that is in dramatic tension with the overt “you’re not qualified to judge if someone’s a psychopath.” Ah, modern life.

Ronson’s book was better.

[Charlene Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I ordered this for my Kindle at the recommendation of a friend who is a psychologist while battling to deal with a boss who was rude, abusive, manipulative and a non-performer. She disguised it all by terrorizing staff, and then could be charming and articulate when needed.
I have always worked well with colleagues and been in environments (but for the SABC in Johannesburg, which has been toxic for years) where people respect, if not enjoy, each other and perform well.
This woman, an outspoken Christian, gave new meaning to the 6 letters that spell terror.
Before reading this book I was confused by her hostility. I have always performed well and have platinum recommendations. I maintain long friendships with former colleagues, clients and bosses. And so I was contemplating chatting with her and trying to find a mechanism to move forward, this book made it clear that was not the right approach.
Psychopaths in the workplace will lie, steal, cajole and charm to get what they want - they do not tolerate anyone who they realize is onto their lies and manipulation, nor anyone who is competent and a threat to their position. They do not realize that having strong clever people around you boosts you, the boss - they see it as a threat. They are the bosses who surround themselves with sycophantic incompetents because it makes them look good, besides which, you're replaceable.
They take pleasure in destroying others.
If you are dealing with a boss or colleague where you feel confused, dispirited and unable to quite put your finger on what is wrong. Read this book. Your colleague may not be a psychopath, but regrettably a significant number are. Either way, it carries good examples, is well-written and leaves you with important thoughts to reflect on. I ploughed through it in a weekend.

[Cissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been about a third of the length and not lost content. It is VERY repetitive. I'm not sure how helpful it is, either, although the last couple of chapters do make a pass at offering hints about how to cope if one is working with such a snake.

The authors also claim that not all corporations are psychopathic. I wonder about this, since the legal mandate for corps is precisely psychopathic: they are legally required to do everything possible to improve shareholder value/profits, no matter what the cost is to society at large or their own workers. By the definitions in the book, that sounds scarily close to psychopathy to me!

In short: not really recommended. "The Sociopath Next Door" was much better-written and more helpful. With this one, I was hoping for some info that would make some sense of some of the huge corporate scandals of recent years, but there was really nothing like that.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a book on psychopathy some years ago and it...disturbed me. The idea that psychopaths may walk, live and work among us quite commonly was at least an eye opener. Since then I've read several books about the phenomena.

This book is mostly about finding those with a psychopathic personality before they get hired.

For me the "the names have been changed" (not to protect the innocent but to forestall legal action) case studies were probably the most interesting and helpful parts. I think you'll find this informative, eye opening and (again) even a little disturbing.

That is not to say most will be shocked or even surprised. Unless you're a crafts-person or some kind of artisan who never has to work with anyone else you'll have met these people.

Come to think of it you probably still had to do business with others so i would guess that everyone will at one time or another have met some of these people...or worse have worked under them.

As noted some will have far more practical use for the information here than others and the book isn't the best I've read but still, it's interesting and (I think) worth reading.

[Spike Gomes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very recently I found out that a coworker of mine was misrepresenting me and my work to others in the company and vice versa, setting up a destructive conflict between administrative divisions. One of the first things I did was procure a copy of this book in order to focus on what my coping strategy would be when dealing with a coworker of that nature. In some respects, the book was very helpful in giving a clear sense of the behavioral patterns that can exist when people with psychopathic tendencies are in the workplace. However, it is clearly a pop psychology book focused on an approach to the topic from a managerial perspective.

The biggest problem seemed to be almost a contradictory split between the book proclaiming multiple times that laymen should never attempt to diagnose someone as a psychopath, then give strategies on what to do when dealing with those people. Frankly, 99% of us, including most managers don't have the time or resources to consult with a psychologist when dealing with these folks. Also, when you strip down all the extra verbiage and managerial patter (and there's a lot of that), a lot of it becomes "The easiest way to deal with these people is to suss them out at the application process, or if you're a manager, using performance reviews to slowly ease them out." Most of the help for coworkers being targeted by these people and managers whose work situations have already been compromised is "Cover your ass, stay off their radar, and well, you really ought to look for another job before you lose your mind and/or reputation to these people. Oh, and if you go head to head with them, you will lose."

As such, this is a good book to read *before* heading out into the workplace, so you can see these patterns emerge before you get individually wrapped up in them. The person in question at my workplace, found my buttons and by proxy pushed them over and over again until my reputation was rubbish. It's too late for me at this place, but at least *now* I know what should be triggering my alarm bells at any other place I work.

One of the biggest pieces of advice the book gives *is not* highlighted well enough, and they are what became my downfall. The book suggests that you should never be a complainer. I cannot emphasize that enough. Being negative makes it easy for you to become a mark and patsy, and if you're negative about people or institutions in the workplace, you provide valuable ammunition for these people to use against you and others. Consequently, avoid all office gossip or color commentary on work tasks. Do your job well, keep all job talk objective and personality free, and if you're socializing with coworkers keep it light and away from things that could be used against you, or for currying your favor.

[عزام الشثري · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب عن غياب التعاطف في بيئة العمل
والتي تشكل ظاهرة حقيقيّة لا يمكن تجاهلها
عبر قصّتين تتوسّطها مجموعة مقالات
قصّة ديف معبّرة للغاية ونهايتها صادمة
والمقالات جميلة وعميقة والتقارير مؤلمة
غير أنّي شعرت بأنّ الكتاب قال كلّ شيء
في أقلّ من ربع الكتاب والباقي تمطيط
.
المنظّمات الربحيّة وغيرها، بأصولها النظرية والوجودية
مجرّد إفراز من الثقافة الغربيّة المادّيّة العلمويّة البرغماتيّة
والتي تمّ اختراعها بطريقة لا تسمح لها بمراعاة الأخلاق
بل إنّها "تمثّل خلاصة العداء للشريعة" كما عند وائل حلّاق
-وشواهدها الفلسفيّة السياقيّة والعلميّة الإداريّة لا تنتهي-
لذا فالمنظّمات من أكثر الوحوش الضارية تدميرًا للطبيعة
تلك العلامات التجارية اللطيفة والشخصيّات الاعتباريّة الورقيّة
بل، قد لا تكون مبالغة لو قيل بأنّ المنظّمات هي فرعون العصر
الذي يستعبد الناس ويقدم لهم معاييره للخير والشر والولاء والبراء
وحتّى مع التحفّظ، والتدقيق، والرصانة، يمكن القول بأنّ المنظّمات
هي الغطاء القانونيّ لقائمة واسعة من الجرائم والانتهاكات المدمّرة
تمارسها عصابات بالغة الأناقة واللباقة دون أيّ تبعات ولا في الضمير
المنظمات زومبي تدهس ما يمرّ على ركضها المجنون نحو مستهدفاتها
ستمزّق الحياة الاجتماعيّة وتزيل الغابات وتثقب الأوزون وتعذّب الأبقار
وتملأ الطعام بالكيماويات وتخفي الحقائق وتتجاهل القيم وتركّع النبلاء للسفلة
وتتحكّم بخواطر الإنسان وابتسامته ومعجمه ولباسه ويومه لتحقيق أعلى الكفاءة
ولهذا .. يترقى في المنظمات الأقرب لأرواحها السوداء
أولئك المتخمون بالنرجسيّة المصابون بالعمى السايكوباتي
-العاجزين عن التعاطف مع الآخرين بل ينظرون لهم كوسائل-
.
يقول أحدهم: عملت يومًا مع إنسان بهيّ الطلّة، متورّد الخدّين، لكنّ معدتي كانت تحترق حموضة بمجرّد النظر إليه، وأجد صعوبة شديدة في مجاهدة احتقاره، ليس لأن بطنه يصل للمكتب قبله بثانيتين، بل لأنه يطرح آراءه كحقائق كونيّة بديهيّة، ويلقي اقتراحاته كتوجيهات لا تحتمل التأخير
لا يرى الحياة إلّا كقطار ذي اتجاه واحد، مسرع نحو مصالحه وحده، لا تستطيع حتّى ناسا أن تقنعه بأنّه ليس محور الكون، سيقاطعهم ويثرثر لهم عن معرفته الواسعة عن سرعة الضوء، وبأنّه نسي -الان فقط- المسافة بين الأرض والشمس لكنّه قرأ عنها ضمن مقروءاته الفلكيّة الواسعة، وسينسحب فريق الوكالة بابتسامة مفضوحة الضجر، لكنّه يستمرّ طيلة حياته يزعم بأنّها ابتسامة انبهار، ولا يمكن لها إلا أن تكون كذلك، فهو خبير النفس البشريّة وصاحب رحلة اكتشاف ذات "عميقة وممتعة" في البوسنة مع أنّه لم يفارق شبكات التواصل ولا جناح أبيه المريض، ولا يفوته الحديث في كلّ مجلس عن شغفه الشديد بعلم النفس متجاهلًا حقيقة اقتصاره على سماع حلقتين موجّهتين للأطفال في اليوتيوب، لا أحد يعرف شكل خريطة القارّات في ذهنه، لكنّهم يتوقعون بأن موضع قدميه هو مركز اليابسة، ولا يتوقّف عبثه عند الفلك والجغرافيا ونفوس الناس حوله، بل يمتدّ إلى التاريخ مثلًا، فهو على يقين غامض بأنّ كلّ الأحداث قبل مولده مقدّمة لحياته، وما بعد موته مجرّد نتائج لهذي الحياة الاستثنائيّة، وكأنّ خيوط الحضارات السابقة جميعًا امتدّت لتلتقي في حكايته الخارقة.. هذه النرجسيّة التي تهزم أوّل ما تهزم عقل ووعي وضمير النرجسيّ نفسه
.
أمّا على الصعيد المهنيّ، فلا تستطيع أن تتخيّل السايكوباتيّ إلّا مديرًا تافهًا عن عمد، تافهٌ متعصّب كما يصفه الفيلسوف آلان دونو، يعرف جميع الحيل، يستيقظ من نومه ليتساءل عن التكتيك الذي سيبتكره لنيل الحظوة لدى سلطة ما، وإزالة منافسيه، أستاذ في المكائد، يحمي نفسه دائمًا بفنّ عدم الاقتناع العميق بأيّ شيء، ممّا يعني أنه متاحٌ دائمًا لأن يصبح جزءًا من أيّ اصطفاف تفرضه الظروف، مرآة لزمانه، والمستقبل ينتظره، لا شيء سيوقفه، وسوف تزوّده حكمةً ما بمظهرِ أخلاقيّ في كلّ مرحلة من مساره، تكمن قوّته في أنّه غير قادر أبدًا على التفكير التأمّلي
.
أعتذر على المراجعة المطوّلة والتي لم أقل فيها ما أردت قوله
لذا أحيل لمراجعة كتاب نظام التفاهة حيث تتمّة الفكرة
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Wissal H · Rating 3 out of 5]

ثعابين في بذلات العمل:
عندما يذهب السيكوباتيون إلى العمل
نظرة عميقة في عالم الأعمال المظلم

كتاب "ثعابين في بذلات العمل: عندما يذهب السيكوباتيون إلى العمل" للكاتبَين بول بابياك وروبرت هير، يكشف لنا عن جانب مخفي من عالم الأعمال، حيث يتسلق السيكوباتيون سلم النجاح مستخدمين ذكاءهم الاجتماعي وقدرتهم على التلاعب بالآخرين.
من هم السيكوباتيون في بيئة العمل؟

السيكوباتيون في العمل ليسوا بالضرورة قتلة متسلسلين، بل هم أشخاص يفتقرون إلى الضمير والتعاطف، ويمتلكون قدرة عالية على التلاعب والخداع. يتميزون بصفات مثل:

الغرور والثقة بالنفس الزائدة: يعتقدون بأنهم أفضل من الآخرين، ويستحقون كل شيء.
السطحية: يركزون على المظاهر الخارجية، ولا يهتمون بمشاعر الآخرين.
الكذب والتلاعب: يستخدمون الكذب والتلاعب لتحقيق أهدافهم الشخصية.
عدم الندم: لا يشعرون بالندم على أفعالهم، حتى لو تسببت في أذى للآخرين.

لماذا ينجح السيكوباتيون في العمل؟
الذكاء الاجتماعي: يتمتعون بقدرة عالية على قراءة الآخرين والتلاعب بمشاعرهم.
الثقة بالنفس: يظهرون ثقة كبيرة بأنفسهم، مما يجذب الآخرين إليهم.
التركيز على الأهداف: يركزون على تحقيق أهدافهم الشخصية، بغض النظر عن الوسائل.
عدم الخوف من المخاطرة: يقبلون المخاطرة لتحقيق أهدافهم.

كيف تحمي نفسك من السيكوباتيين في العمل؟
تعرف على العلامات التحذيرية: انتبه إلى السلوكيات التي تشير إلى وجود شخص سيكوباتي، مثل الكذب المتكرر، والتلاعب بالآخرين، وعدم الاهتمام بمشاعر الآخرين.
ثق بحدسك: إذا شعرت بأن هناك شيئًا ما غير صحيح، فثق في حدسك.
بناء علاقات قوية: بناء علاقات قوية مع زملائك يمكن أن يساعدك على الشعور بالأمان والدعم.
ابحث عن مساعدة مهنية: إذا كنت تعاني من موقف صعب مع شخص سيكوباتي، فاستشر متخصصًا في الصحة النفسية.

يعتبر كتاب "ثعابين في بذلات العمل" من أهم الكتب التي تتناول موضوع السيكوباتية في بيئة العمل. فهو يساعدنا على فهم هذا النوع من الأشخاص، وكيفية التعامل معهم، وكيفية حماية أنفسنا من أفعالهم.
السيكوباتيون موجودون في كل مكان، حتى في بيئة العمل. من خلال فهم خصائصهم وسلوكياتهم، يمكننا حماية أنفسنا وبناء علاقات صحية في العمل.

[Agile Kindergarten · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are not lying under every rock nor do they occupy every office, but unfortunately, more and more "snakes" are filling leadership positions in Corporate America. Depending on which study you read, between 4 and 30% of our managers and executives are social predators without conscience. Their thrill seeking behavior and political gamesmanship amasses them personal power without any regard to the consequences for either their companies or their co-workers. We've seen some obvious results of their presence in the economic disasters beginning with the Savings and Loan Crises of the 1980s and continuing today with this longest Recession in US history. What is much more extensive and not so obvious is the personal toll working with a psychopath has on the individual and the impact on employee productivity, as well as long term business viability.

The authors provide a good mix of short vignettes, research and a running end-to-end story about the 11 month journey of one psychopath from his hiring to his promotion into the job of the boss he ousted. Although it is practically impossible to protect yourself from a smooth talking, charming psychopath once targeted, the authors explain why and how our current fast paced and constantly changing business environment is the ideal setting for these modern day con-men. Not only does our modern concept of business with its constant re-invention provide jungle like cover for these predators, the less clearly defined skills of leadership, such as strategic thinking, self-confidence, bias towards action and good communication, tailor fit these chameleon-like masters of manipulation.

The thing to remember about psychopaths, aka sociopaths, is that they are totally rational and sane, yet without compassion or remorse. Neuroscience has proven with fMRI scans that psychopaths simply do not react in a normal manner to emotional stimuli. Consequently, although you may have bosses or co-workers in your environment who sometimes behave in a selfish egotistical manner that make working relationships challenging, when you are dealing with a true psychopath, there is no possibility of a positive outcome. Their destructive nature is as immutable as that of a poisonous snake.

Read the cautionary tale, Snakes and Suits, for some tips on how to recognize the corporate psychopath.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've ever encountered a boss/employee/coworker from hell, this book is a revelation on how someone like that got hired. A psychopath is a charismatic con artist skilled at playing the role to get the job. He/she is a compulsive liar and won't hesitate in manipulating and exploiting people to get what they want. He/she doesn't feel any remorse, guilt, or empathy. While there is good information in this book (e.g., don't believe it when a job candidate is too good to be true; have a formal interview process and do background checks), this book isn't structured very well. The stories created to illustrate the behaviors of psychopaths are broken up and interwoven with different chapters throughout the book. It's confusing trying to keep track of the stories and single syllable names of the psychopaths, like Dave, Ned, Ron, Ted, Dan, and Al.

[Candleflame23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

الشيء الوحيد الذي يدفعك لانهاء قراءة هذا الكتاب هو إقرارك الشخصي والنفسي بأن كل ما ذكره المؤلف هنا ينطبق بشكل أو بأخر على محيط عملك! أو بمعنى أصح على الأشخاص الذين تشاركهم المهام الوظيفية اليومية!.
قد تبدو قوة تأثير البيئة المحيطة بك هامشياً وغير حقيقي، ولكن ما يحدث هو العكس اذ أن البيئة المحيطة قادرة إما على دفعك نحو الأعلى أو الهبوط لك للأسفل.
وتكاد تتشابه البيئات نعم بوجود هذه النوعية والتي تخلق من العمل متنفس مثالي لاظهار الجانب المرضي والسلبي منها - ولكن الأمر بتفاوت، بقدرة صناع القرار وأصحاب الأعمال -كون التجربة تتحدث عن القطاع الخاص فقط لا الحكومي - على إحداث الفرق الإيجابي.

ماذا بعد القراءة ؟
هو التيار نفسه يحملك ويحملهم لكن الوجهة مختلفة.

#أبجدية_فرح 3/5 📚
#ثعابين_في_بذلات_العمل
#candleflame23bookreviews

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed this book -- didn't have much use for the fictional narratives that the authors interspersed every other chapter. The most useful parts were pp 74-79 (how psychopaths gain people's trust), 270-89 (how to detect and protect yourself from psychopaths), and 301-13 (how to deal with psychopaths at work).

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fun read for the first few chapters but then just repetitive. I learned that "psychopath" isn't a diagnosis. The author has developed a checklist and diagnostic tools for psychopathy (a word I find oddly pleasant to say) but the only close real diagnosis is Antisocial personality disorder.

My biggest takeaway from this though is the idea that corporations act like psychopaths. I had never thought about that, but once I did, it couldn't be more obvious. I think that the larger the company, the more true it is. From the remorseless firing of the oldest, most tenured (and thus highest paid) workers to the superficial charms of the "corporate responsibility" departments, corporations are typically lacking in empathy and remorse (it is business), don't plan for the future (thanks to quarterly earnings reports), are adamantly self-promoting, lie as much as they can get away with, are secretive so as to prevent workers from ganging up on the company, particularly abou layoffs and worker salaries, etc, etc. I didn't think I could get much more cynical abt working for a large company, but this realization was like a lightening bolt and really changed my outlook a lot.

Here is a checklist, in case you want to identify anyone



Aggressive narcissism

Glibness/superficial charm

Grandiose sense of self-worth

Pathological lying

Cunning/manipulative

Lack of remorse or guilt

Emotionally shallow

Callous/lack of empathy

Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

Factor 2

Socially deviant lifestyle

Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom

Parasitic lifestyle

Poor behavioral control

Promiscuous sexual behavior

Lack of realistic, long-term goals

Impulsiveness

Irresponsibility

Juvenile delinquency

Early behavioral problems

Revocation of conditional release

[عمر فايد · Rating 5 out of 5]

قبل تفرغي الحالي لترجمة الكتب سبق لي العمل في شركتي قطاع خاص أصقلا من خبراتي في التعامل مع المعتلين نفسيًا، محور حديث هذا الكتاب. لكن المفارقة بالنسبة لي هي الوصف الذي أطلقته على تجربة العمل الأول وأهم خبرة اكتسبتها حينئذ؛ كيفية ترويض "الثعابين" في إشارة إلى عدد لا بأس به من الأشخاص المحبين للتملق وإلحاق الأذى بالغير كلما سنحت لهم الفرصة والتعامل البارد الأجوف مع الجميع باستثناء أصحاب المناصب العليا ونوبات الغضب الطفولية وما إلى ذلك. وهو ما اعتبرته لقاحًا عند التحاقي بالعمل الثاني الذي وإن قلت فيه هذه النوعيات إلا إنه لم يخلو منها. وبعد أن تفهمت أكثر القول المأثور، "لا تريقن ماء وجهك لمن لا ماء في وجهه." كان ترويضهم أسهل واستباق ردود فعلهم بخطوة أمر تلقائي. وها قد مرت الأيام لأجد أمامي هذه التحفة الفنية التي تحمل نفس العنوان لوصف هذه النوعيات المعتلة نفسيًا من البشر.. "ثعابين!".
لو كنت في موضع النصح، لنصحت من يعملون في القطاع الخاص تحديداً بالتمعن في هذا الكتاب ليتداركوا ما يلحق بهم من أسى وأذى لا يعرفون أسبابه نظراً لحتمية وجود هذه الثعابين وازدهارها في القطاع الخاص والشركات الكبرى تحديداً كما ذكر طيه. ولأوصيت به كدليل استرشادي لكل حديثي التخرج أو من ليس لهم عهد بالعمل الخاص بعد. ربما تقل نسبتهم أو قلما صادفهم في دائرة المقربين منك، لكن لن تخلو مرحلة في حياتك من وجود "صداقة" زائفة مع أحدهم. إلا إن الخسارة تتضاعف إذا مس الأمر عملك، لهذا كان محور الكتاب عن المعتلين نفسيًا في ثياب العمل. ربما تتأثر ثقتك بنفسك وتعجز مع مرحلة (الهجر) المفاجئة التي أشير إليها.. لكن تلكم فائدة القراءة.
وكي لا تخلط بين من لديهم بعض سمات الاعتلال النفسي أو حتى أصحاب الأهداف المؤقتة التي تجبرهم (خطأً) على استحضار مرحلي لبعض هذه السمات وبين المعتلين نفسيًا، عليك أن تقرأ تفصيليًا وتفهم من خبيرين محنكين في علم النفس وفي فن الحياة عمومًا كيف يتصرف هؤلاء وكيف ترصدهم. مزج الكتاب بين الشكل القصصي المثير والتبسيط العلمي غير المخل والأحداث الحقيقية الموثقة، في نسيج بديع سيعجب القارئ حتمًا. ودون استطراد أكثر من هذا، أترككم مع الكتاب.

[Troy Blackford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delves into the ramifications of working alongside, above, or under a person who is 'suffering' from psychopathy. (I put suffering in quotes because the true psychopath will not feel anything of the sort; it is the people around them who will suffer.) Interestingly, this book--written by psychologists--takes a work-oriented perspective. As in, it will tell you how to navigate a professional situation if you feel you have become embroiled in the mad machinations of a psychopath's personal plan.

Interesting stuff. There are a few 'fictionalized' accounts of actual incidents culled and embellished from real-life case files that round out the intros and endings of the various sections. There's some good advice, and interesting insight.

One common complaint of this book is that it supposedly makes people call 'psychopath' on their co-workers. That is not this book's fault. They state several times that people aren't qualified to determine the mental health of their co-workers and, more importantly, that having a few of these traits doesn't make someone a psychopath. If people don't want to listen and would rather play armchair psychologist, that's on them. I'd rather live in a world where it is okay to write books on topics like this than in one where authors didn't publish books because overzealous readers don't take the authors' advice.

Anyway, this was an interesting and quick read.

[Klaudia_p · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ni to pozycja popularnonaukowa, ni to poradnik. Same utarte frazesy, które w kółko przemielają inne książki traktujące o psychopatii . Do tego chaos i rozgardiasz panujący na kartach powieści nie ułatwiają czytania.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the business world, it can be difficult to know who to trust. And while most people are inherently honest, there is a segment of the population that is not. Individuals with psychopathic tendencies can be dangerous in the workplace, and though they may appear normal on the surface, they are actually quite manipulative and destructive.

In their book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work, Dr. Paul Babiak and Dr. Robert D. Hare explore the world of psychopaths in the corporate setting. Through case studies and scientific research, they offer a revealing look at how these individuals operate and what steps can be taken to protect oneself from their harmful behavior.

This updated edition is essential reading for anyone working in or with a corporate organization. It offers invaluable insight into how psychopaths think and behave and provides clear guidelines for identifying their destructive tendencies. It also provides guidance on how to stop them from wreaking havoc in the workplace.

A must-read for anyone looking to protect themselves from the dangers of psychopaths in the workplace, Snakes in Suits is an insightful and informative book that offers a unique perspective on this troubling phenomenon.

[Ruth Charchian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I always said if i wasn't studying psychopaths in prison, i'd do so at the stock exchange." Robert Hare, quoted in Fast Company

Today's fast paced business environment is the perfect place to harbor psychopaths. 3.5% of senior executives fall into the category of psychopath. Their characteristics are very difficult to diagnose because they are or can be very charming and devious. Their characteristics are: superficial, grandiose,deceitful, lack remorse, lack empathy, do not accept responsibility, are impulsive, lack goals, and are irresponsible. They break all the rules, blame others for their failures and find a patron within the organziation to mentor and protect them on their rise.

[Goodnews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captures the essence of abnormal behaviour at the ranch (office). Not all psychopaths kill & maim, at least not physically; some go to work, only to create higher levels of havoc. They damage many spirits, and may have people literally dying in their wake. The mask of good (and on many occasions, outstanding performance) short term can fool even the best of leaders. They charm you and spit you out when you are of no use to them. These are some of the learnings from this wonderful book.

[Pat Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was referenced in Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test, so I picked it up. It offers practical advice for recognizing a psychopath, understanding how the psychopath operates, and how to protect yourself from a psychopath, and it does so primarily in the context of the workplace or corporate atmosphere.

A few years ago I attempted to read The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout, but I put it down, mainly because it was one belabored case study after another. I was more interested in how to deal with a psychopath. Snakes in Suits moves at a quick pace, first defining the psychopath and detailing how he operates. The latter part of the book delves into how to ferret out potential psychopaths before they even get hired at your company and how to deal with a psychopathic boss, coworker, or subordinate.

Much of the advice Babiak gives is sound business practice that you've heard before: Document everything, give your job your very best effort, and maintain solid relationships with your boss, superiors and coworkers. But this practical advice becomes critical when one considers the deception, manipulation, and damage a psychopathic personality can reek in the workplace. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is a manager or who contributes to the hiring process at his/her company.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a hard time reading it, as it borders on scaremongering. It should be noted that one of the authors has a vested interest in the field and the dangers of psychopaths - he is also the creator of the controversial test for spotting psychopaths. He is utterly convinced that much of the decisions made by global businesses that place us in financial crises are the work of psychopaths.

The book relies largely on his notes and anecdotal evidence. Though studies (often his own) and some statistics are used, these do not appear nearly frequently enough to properly back the assertions made in the book. Several fictional stories are also used to illustrate the dangers of corporate psychopaths, as opposed to more proper case studies.

This book raises a few valid points, but it overreaches tremendously. If you wish to tackle it, I advise first reading Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test, which looks at this industry and the concept of psychopaths in a much more even-handed way.

[Daniela Kraydlová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lidským, napínavým a pěkným způsobem popsané, s jakými typy psychopatů v managementu se můžeme setkat v denní praxi. Kniha není přehnaně odborná, zato velmi přímá a převoditelná do praxe.

[Dominika · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a nice little guide for how to spot a psychopath in a work environment, as well as some useful tips for how to damage control or if your boss happens to be a psychopath. They have these nice little vignettes in order to give a concrete example of characteristics to look for, but I think they tend to go a bit heavy handed with them. This reads as more of a handbook and would work really well in that more structured environment that work (should) provide, and I think I would recommend it to someone who is dealing with someone who is manipulative and lacks empathy. Thankfully, I am in a work environment that is very supportive and have only dealt with a psychopath in my personal life (which let me tell you, is not something I would wish on a person as it left me emotionally broken).

I may edit my review later with my psychopath story because I want to help anyone in that situation. But here are my tips (as well as some of the books.

1. Keep things objective: A lot of psychopaths are pathological liars, and you may notice discrepancies in their stories. I think we all have a few inconsistencies and things can change over time, but the person I knew would say that she loved a band and went to their concert, and then would comment on how much she disliked this band to the next one. People were rather disposable as well.

2. Don't bother with people who keep on pushing your buttons, and try to be aware of when they are being pushed. This person was the most destructive during a time where I felt particularly low, but they never stopped talking about the person that I had issues with (like how that person was so obsessed with them and was pestering her about when they'd date while claiming he was monogamous and dating another person). Unfortunately, you might be blind to it until it's too late, but don't be afraid of setting boundaries and if they ignore them, don't be afraid to cut them out.

3. Trust your intuition. While this seems counterintuitive to the first point, you sometimes realize that something is wrong before you can form words to express what that is.

4. If they constantly talk shit about everyone else and every bad thing about their life is someone else's problem, that is a warning sign. The person I dealt with constantly complained about our mutual friend to me and to other people in her life(while he considered her his best friend), and then I found out that she made up rumors about me to mutual friends (like, gross exaggerations to completely made up). If you're feeling some high-school drama vibes from a person twice the high school age, you might want to keep that person at arm's length.

5. This is for if you have some big falling out after you deal with these people, but psychopaths target people they found useful, so it's almost a bit of a compliment if they feel so threatened by you that they want to mess up your life. Also, the more people you interact with, the more likely you'll run into a bad egg and that may cause you to be a bad egg for a bit. You are not who you are at your worst, and these experiences are not reflective of who you are. It happens, and as long as you take steps to prevent these things to prevent harm, you are not this experience.

There is much more to be said about this, but I just wanted to share my tips so that if you are hurt, if you are dealing with a person that hurt you, that this may be able to help you. I think exposure is important, and know that while some people may never change, you always can.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh (2 estrellas y media*). Excesivamente largo y repetitivo. Tardé MESES en leerlo y la verdad, no lo recomiendo. Ganas más leyendo un resumen.

Todo para concluir un: lxs psicópatas son malxs, así que ten cuidado, y recuerda, no puedes diagnosticar a tu compi de trabajo de psicópata solo porque te caiga mal.
Vamos, sentido común.

Está bien si te mola el rollo de las organizaciones y vas a trabajar en RRHH (contratando gente y tal) porque da recomendaciones sobre cómo hacerlo (consejos que entran dentro del sentido común, quiero destacar).

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

*A pop science book that was a bit heavy on anecdotal evidence and light on solutions*


I love studying psychology. I’ve read several books relating to psychopathy, but I was intrigued that this one focused on psychopaths in the workplace. It was not surprising to learn how common it is for psychopaths to thrive in the cutthroat business world. It’s certainly a situation I've had to deal with. I was curious to see a clinical approach to dealing with issue.

“Honesty and integrity are a ‘given’ in most organizations, rarely tested on any but the most superficial levels.”

To start with, the anecdotal evidence in Snakes in Suits was too detailed. The scenes were described as if someone was writing it while watching a video of it. They were far too detailed down to exact dialogue. It seemed like scenes were being recreated based on case studies the authors reviewed. Obviously, details had to be filled in. How much was dramatized, I'm not sure. But it immediately made me skeptical of how much I could trust the information. This book was far less clinical than I expected. And while that might make it easier to read, it did make me doubt the veracity of the cases since, as I mentioned, they felt more anecdotal than clinical.

There was more time spent on “understanding” and very little time on “surviving.” The actual advice for handling things pretty much boiled down to “document everything and hope the psychopath won’t out-manipulate you.” Having been in the horrible situation of watching a psychopathic coworker get away with blatantly lying and manipulating people, I really wanted more detailed advice than “write down every infraction and escape as soon as you can.” And the solution did boil down to escaping rather than fixing because it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to fix a situation if a psychopath has entrenched themselves – which was pretty depressing.

“Psychopaths will lie even to people who already know the truth about what they are saying. Amazingly, more often than not, victims will eventually come to doubt their own knowledge of the truth and change their own views to believe what the psychopath tells them rather than what they know to be true.”

In terms of identifying the so-called “snakes in suits” (AKA psychopaths in the workplace), the book remind readers that not every manipulative, narcissistic asshat in the office is truly a psychopath. People do like to throw the term around rather indiscriminately. I once worked with a male manager who repeatedly called a female manager a psychopath because she didn’t smile during his presentation. (Having sat through some of his presentations, I feel entirely justified in my assumption that the reason for the lack of smiles was that his jokes weren’t funny, not that she was a psychopath.) But it is good to keep in mind that people can be morally bankrupt and not truly be a psychopath.

I do have a little better understanding about identifying true psychopaths in the workplace, so this book accomplished half its goal; I suppose. But it did not deliver as much information as I expected. It’s likely that my disappointment is mostly due to an overoptimistic hope that Babiak and Hare would have much better tips for dealing with psychopaths.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Attention to Details: 4 Stars
Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Objectivity: 3 Stars

[Jbryon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm generally not that critical of pop business/pop psychology / pop economic books. They make what are otherwise complicated topics accessible for the layperson. And given the recent news of corporate malfeasance, ponzi schemes, and zealous greed driving economic policy, I had hoped to more fully understand how a limited number of corrupt individuals could unravel multinational companies and world markets and what sort of characters they might be. Snakes in Suits does explain this insofar as it outlines psychopathy and its effects on organizations. But it combines the clinical description of a disorder with mass-market fiction to an uninspired conclusion.

The documentary The Corporation does a better job walking the viewer through the Psychopathy Checklist by treating the illicit corporation as an individual and scoring that entity in the rating scale used by psychiatrists to identify psychopathy. It demonstrates the consequences of the psychopathic corporation in an engaging manner. Babiak's fictitious and real life accounts are much less remarkable.

This book doesn't ask the questions, do certain corporations condone psychopathic behavior? or is psychopathic behavior encouraged in some companies? or is psychopathy an increasingly common disorder in our society or in select sectors? I'm thinking about a few examples, such as Monsanto/Enron/Haliburton, where cowboy attitudes and cavalier actions are encouraged with devastating results on the environment and people. The approach in Snakes in Suits is how to identify a psychopath in the workplace and avoid him or her. Perhaps helpful for the HR department but I'm not sure it's all that relevant to the rest of us.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't give this book a good rating due to the fact that I started reading it in May 2016 and here we are, in April 2019 and I've finished it. Rarely do I finish a book in more than two weeks, let alone almost three years. Admittedly, this is more of a testament to how little of a life I have but still.

So, what was my problem with this book? It's repetitive. The points that the author brings up are quite obvious often (be nice to your coworkers! don't call people psychopaths! be careful!). I didn't feel like the repetition of these was required.

Additionally, I wished there was more quality research. Even for a popular science book, this felt a little bit too empty. I would have loved more history, more facts, more content. I feel like I am able now to know what a psychopath is but still, I think I would have liked more.

The workplace examples were excellent. They brought the point home and are what I remember the most. I don't ever want to work in the corporate world.

Anyway, I'm happy to take this book off my currently reading shelf.

What I'm Taking With Me
- I found myself thinking, "oh no, what if I am a psychopath" numerous times until I remembered that I'm constantly convinced I'm not doing a good job.
- Oh my god, fuck Dave.
- Psychopaths don't really have a treatment and honestly, it's awesome to consider there are people that naturally inclined to be rule breakers and what society can do with them.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stopped reading at about 30% of the full content. It became harder and harder to take this book seriously until finally it seemed a waste, and The Psychopath Test later proved to me why this was so.

The book starts with a disclaimer about the quasi-fictional character Dave. This seemed to make reading worse than useless. As psychopaths are probably on a spectrum, then cherry-picking evidence would make the book misleading.

The authors take Stanley Bing's What Would Machiavelli Do out of context, on purpose, to prove a point, thus disproving it. What Would Machiavelli Do is not written as a how-to guide, which is obvious to anyone who has read it.

Misplaced examples used to smear business in general are very annoying. I agree that Scott Peterson and Andrew Cunanan were a couple of nuts. They have nothing to do with the spectrum of nutty behaviors sometimes viewed in boardrooms or elsewhere.

There are too many logical errors for me to make the tedium worth it.

[arjuna · Rating 1 out of 5]

UGH UGH UGH. Picked this up after reading Ronson's "The Psychopath Test", as it appears in his references. Given Hare's co-authorship I expected something a bit insightful and deconstructive; instead we get one of those awful way-too-easy-to-read business manuals that tells twee little stories in lieu of sensible discussion. There is occasionally useful material (albeit easily Google-able stuff) interleaved with the Ongoing Saga Of Dave The Psychopath but the book as a whole is repetitious, dull, shallow and lost my interest very quickly. Persevering to the end was not particularly rewarding. Not a terribly useful tome if you're interested in discussion of the disorder rather than reheated feelgood 'how to navigate the workplace' received wisdom and shock!horror paragraphs about What Nasty People Might Do But Won't Probably. Most enjoyable aspect: reading between the lines about the inescapable fear of litigation Americans seem to operate under... and which clearly hamstrings not only business people but anyone wishing to operate with a modicum of common sense.

[CHAD FOSTER · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing explanation of the psychology behind what are often called "toxic" leaders within business and other organizations. By diving into the scientific terminology - and distinguishing among many of the commonly used labels that we employ in such discussions - the author allows for a more thorough understanding of what you are up against when encountering these kinds of leaders and co-workers.

One of the more valuable contributions that this book makes is touching upon the existing tools that could be employed in helping to identify these individuals early. Doing so would allow them to be screened out of consideration for those promotions that they crave and that enable them to inflict so much damage on their organizations.

Overall, very interesting and useful, especially for anyone engaged in trying to prevent the manipulative and deceptive "toxic" individuals from slipping through to positions of power and influence.