- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Harper Collins Canada; 1 edition (April 27 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060837721
- ISBN-13: 978-0060837723
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.4 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 621 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#48,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #20 in Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Industrial Psychology
- #27 in Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > Healthcare
- #31 in Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Occupational & Organizational
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Psychopaths are described as incapable of empathy, guilt, or loyalty to anyone but themselves; still, spotting a psychopath isn't easy. Babiak, an industrial and organizational psychologist, and Hare (Without Conscience), creator of the standard tool for diagnosing psychopathology, present a study of the psychopath in the corporate landscape. A common description of psychopathology states that subjects "know the words but not the music;" Babiak and Hare state that "a clever psychopath can present such a well-rounded picture of a perfect job candidate that even seasoned interviewers" can be fooled. In between a disposable series of narrative acts that follow a psychopath's progress ("Act I, Scene I - Grand Entrance;" "Act III, Scene II - An Honest Mistake?" "Act V, Scene I - Circle the wagons"), thorough research and anecdotes from a number of sources-current literature, news media, and showbiz among them-to illuminate the power of the psychopath to manipulate those around him, as well as what strategies can be used to identify and disarm him. Clear and complete, this is a handy overview for managers and HR, with enough "self-defense" techniques to help coworkers from getting bit.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Babiak, an industrial and organizational psychologist, and Hare, the creator of the standard tool for diagnosing psychopathy, explore the infiltration into today's corporations by psychopaths, or those with destructive personality characteristics that are invisible to many with whom they interact. Their skilled manipulation begins with a perfect interview, as they are attractive job applicants who are confident and charming. They often flourish in fast-paced, changing industries with widespread uncertainty and can inflict considerable damage. Babiak and Hare explain in nontechnical language and real-world case studies how to protect employees and the company from these individuals who take advantage of organizational systems and processes, exploit communication weaknesses, and promote interpersonal conflicts. Babiak and Hare observe, "Companies accelerate their hiring practices to attract, hire, and retain new, high-potential talent before their competitors do. Gone are the days of the painstaking vetting process. Competition is fierce and qualified candidates few." This is an important perspective in the increasingly complicated hiring challenges facing corporate America. Mary Whaley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Much-Needed Warning,
By
This review is from: Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (Hardcover)
Psychopaths are ruthless, cunning, and conscienceless egotists. They will sell out their own mother in their quest for power. And yet they are loved and admired by many. How can we reconcile this contradiction?
Babiak and Hare demonstrate that psychopaths are masters of adopting a "mask of sanity" (a term coined by Hervey Cleckley in his masterpiece, "The Mask of Sanity"); that is they are extremely effective at impression management. They are con artists who can fool even the experts, donning whatever persona is needed to manipulate their victims. If you can be of value to the social striving of a subclinical psychopath, you can bet that he will convince you of his good intentions, his honour, his kind nature, etc. But it is a lie. He is simply using you. "Snakes in Suits" examines psychopaths in the corporate workplace: how to spot them and how to deal with them. But its lessons are applicable to a bigger picture. The moral relativism inherent in our Capitalist system is the perfect opening for opportunistic psychopaths to rise to the top. And as the authors show, this can never be a good thing. Psychopaths are untalented narcissists who profit only on the work of others. And in a political environment, this can be disastrous. Witness, for example, the historical phenomena of Nazism and Stalinism, systems of government in which psychopaths occupied all positions of authority. Without a general understanding of the reality of psychopathy, they will continue to operate freely, causing misery and suffering for their victims (more numerous by the day). "Snakes in Suits" should be read along with Lobaczewski's "Political Ponerology", an analysis of systems of government in which psychopaths rule. Both books contain information urgently needed not only by ordinary citizens, but by anyone in a leadership position.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a study of the pathological personality,
This review is from: Snakes In Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (Paperback)
This is an astounding, essential reference when it comes to understanding and dealing with psychopathological individuals in the workplace. They are FAR more prevalent than most people imagine, and especially in positions of power and authority, to which they naturally gravitate.
As the authors point out, psychopaths rarely take the form of 'Hannibal Lectur', but are much more likely to come in the guise of a slick, fast talking, charismatic high-flyer, who ruthlessly backstabs and manipulates his way into positions of power, for personal gain. Basically, they are invisible to anyone who does not have the knowledge of how they operate (ie: the majority), and this is what makes them so lethal. Psychopathy is not a 'mental illness', it is a personality disorder, and as such, psychopaths are usually free of the normal quirks and neuroses of normal people, and instead operate under the blinding inertia of unquestioning self-confidence, without a hint of self-examination or internal doubt - for the psychopath, emotions are simply used as a dramatic tool, in order to evoke pity, guilt, fear or self-doubt in others, for manipulation purposes; and are completely lacking in connection to any deeper meaning. This book is founded on extensive experience and clinical studies; eg. the Hare Psychopathy Checklists PCL-R; and builds on the established work of Hervey Cleckley ('Mask of Sanity', also recommended). It pulls back the curtain, shows all the tricks, how they work in practice in the modern corporate environment, and how to defend against them. It describes in some detail the scary surreal reality that the psychopath inhabits, in which conscience and emotion are somehow 'pretend' - how their brains are activated in a completely different pattern (as shown on ECG studies) - everything is a coldblooded 'game' of oneupmanship and self-interest, regardless of consequence. Thoroughly recommended to anyone in a position of responsibility of assessing people - recruitment or management; and also to anyone studying psychopathy and its implications in the real wold.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Too Repetitive to enjoy,
By
This review is from: Snakes In Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (Paperback)
The ideas and forewarning about the potential damage hiring psychopaths could lead to really got me excited at the outset. However, when actually reading the novel I found myself irritated for the most part. The book is too repetitive. I'm not sure what to exactly attribute this to. Maybe the publishers just wanted to fill a certain number of pages so they used filler.
Maybe the writer and editor don't believe readers can comprehend and retain information they are presented with-thus they require a second, third, or fourth retelling. I find it condescending-- one can go back and re-read sections to suit their memory or comprehension. Instead the same details/attributes are repeated over and over again bludgeoning the reader. Structure was also an issue. The book is organized in an irregular fashion-- with a fictional thread (based on unnamed cases), formal expository, side-bars, and the content divided in theatrical acts(the chapter breaks). I think this form really hurt the message. I feel the information could've been delivered with greater efficacy written succinctly in a formal report or essay. I understand that the fictional portions depict the psychopaths "at play" and serve as examples. But parts of the book seemed tangential and made me wish for the end as it was a chore to read through.
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