Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (15 page)

Psychopaths have an advantage in person as well as on paper.

They can talk a good game during the interview, coming across as smooth, talented, bright, sensitive, self-confident, and assertive.

Their storytelling abilities reinforce their résumé “data,” and the whole package they present can be quite compelling. Unfortunately, if hiring decisions are based on easily faked résumés and unstruc-Enter the Psychopath, Stage Left

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tured interviews by untrained interviewers—where expertise is evaluated based on the ability to convince the interviewer you know what you’re talking about—the company runs the risk of hiring someone who is a fraud.

A further complicating factor is that the hiring process has many objectives beyond merely adding new employees or replacing those who have left. It is very common, especially in rapidly growing companies, to hire people based primarily on perceptions of their management potential or future contributions to the company. That is, some people are hired because they might fit the requirements for the next job up or beyond, not necessarily for the one for which they originally applied. As noted above, higher-level jobs tend to be more broadly defined, and specific technical skills and abilities are not as relevant or critical to assess. Unfortunately, it is easy for the unsuspecting interviewer to believe that a psychopathic candidate, because of his or her convincing communications style, may have leadership potential beyond the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities listed on the résumé. A clever psychopath can present such a well-rounded picture of a perfect job candidate that even seasoned interviewers can be caught up in the excitement of convincing the individual to join the company.

The role of charm in persuading the interviewer that one possesses the characteristics most often sought in new employees cannot be overstated. When we question managers about the traits they look for in high-level employees, they often state they want individuals who are bright, conscientious, honest, and socially skilled. Unfortunately, these same traits were ascribed to the corporate psychopaths we studied by those who liked and supported them. Interestingly, these are also the characteristics victims report seeing in con men and women, before they realized that they had been scammed or deceived.

Much of an organization’s success or failure depends on its human assets: what knowledge, skills, and attitudes they bring to their work; how well they understand and are understood by the company;
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and how well they get along with each other. The selection process is very important to the ultimate success of the company, but it is not always easy to find individuals who are a good match for the company and its objectives. Likewise, it is not easy to identify individuals who will grow and prosper with the company over time, as opposed to those who enter bearing a different, more selfish agenda. Personality is an important factor in employee selection, but some personalities can be quite deceptive and extremely persuasive.

The subsequent steps are described in detail in the next chapter.

ACT III, Scene I

PANIC TIME

Frank left the meeting exhausted but happy that it was only 7 P.M. on a Friday night. Most days he left the office much later. “Another important meeting, Mr. Frank?” asked Marissa, the night cleaning crew supervisor.

“Yes, always meetings. But this one was useful; we actually got some things done.” Marissa smiled and Frank continued down the hall toward his office. He flipped on the light and saw the folder Dave had left for him in the center of his blotter. Opening it, Frank saw the report Dave wrote, the printout of the slides Dave had prepared, and the disk with the files. Excellent, he thought as he put the folder in his briefcase, added some other files from his desk, and then closed it up. Turning to the door, Frank sighed and thankfully headed home to a great dinner with the family, a Saturday at the zoo
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with the kids, and a Sunday flight to the meeting where he would make his presentation.

The aroma of pancakes and eggs filled the kitchen as Frank served up breakfast for the family. Frank enjoyed this Sunday morning ritual with the kids and often went to church with them, but today he had an afternoon flight and needed to finalize his presentation. Most of it was done; he just had to integrate Dave’s data and then he could get on with the packing. Sally herded the kids into the car and drove off for church, lunch with Grandma, and back home in time to see Frank off on his trip.

Silence, thought Frank, smiling, as he carried his coffee into the den. Frank was scheduled to speak to the executive board’s strategic planning meeting on Monday morning. Last-minute details were worked out with the other presenters during the Friday meeting; he was confident that the board would support his new product proposals—they always had in the past. And this time he had Dave’s research, which would augment his presentation.

Frank opened Dave’s folder and began reading the report and looking at the charts. Frank read and read. He studied the charts. He sipped coffee. He opened the folder to see if he had forgotten to take out part of the report. Growing concerned, Frank reloaded the disk and searched for more files. There was nothing else; he had all the material there on his desk. Frank started getting nervous and then angry. “This is crap!” he said aloud as he picked up the phone and dialed Dave’s home number. The phone rang and rang. There was no answer, and there was no answering machine. How could anyone not have an answering machine these days? he thought angrily. Rummag-ing through his briefcase, he found his phone book and dialed Dave’s cell phone number. The call went straight into voice mail. Getting control of himself, Frank firmly and clearly told Dave that he didn’t have the full report and asked Dave to get back to him as soon as possible with the numbers he needed.

Frank reread the material, and it dawned on him how familiar it was. His anger slowly turned to fear as he realized where he had read
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this material before. This was from an article he had read in an industry magazine a few weeks back—an article written about their chief competitor. He turned his briefcase upside down on the floor.

There among his stuff was the magazine. He flipped through it to the article. “Oh, my God!” exclaimed Frank as he realized that Dave had taken paragraphs from the article and retyped them into his report. The charts were the same, except he had changed the product labels and the legend to say Garrideb Technologies, and had increased the figures 12 percent across the board. There were no new data, no real projections, and no new product presentation!

Frank realized what he had to do. He logged onto the corporate computer and began searching through databases. He knew he still had the flip charts in the closet from the off-site planning meeting that he had run himself before he handed the project over to Dave.

He furiously e-mailed requests for information to his staff, hoping that they, being the compulsive folks he knew them to be, were at home working, as well. Finally, he called his travel agent and got her to change his flight to the later one that night. He would miss the cocktail party and dinner, but there was no other way. He had to finish his presentation—his reputation and career depended on it.

Frank’s cab pulled up in front of the hotel. He got out, declined help with his bags from the bellhop, and quickly headed for the registra-tion desk to check in. Turning toward the elevators, Frank spotted John, his boss, walking through the lobby bar. Before he could duck into the elevator, John waved him down. “Frank, Frank, glad you made it. We were worried; how are things at home?”

“Oh, John, fine. I just had to change flights because of a family thing. Sally’s mother called . . .”

“No problem, Frank, I understand. Look, I really love your presentation. I think it’s a winner. You’ve really knocked the ball out of the park this time,” said John enthusiastically, patting Frank on the back and pulling him back into the bar.

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“You do?” asked Frank, not knowing what presentation John was talking about.

“Yes, the ideas are so fresh; just what we need to pull us out of this slump and rebuild the board’s confidence in us,” said John as he ordered two martinis. “You know, you’re pretty sly, Frank. You never mentioned any of this to me on Friday—wanted to surprise me at breakfast before the meeting?”

“Well,” squeaked Frank, wondering what was really going on.

“John? Which version of my presentation did I send you?”

“Oh, I just assumed it was the final one,” said John as the bar-tender put down their drinks, and John signaled him to start a tab. “I got it from Dave, earlier this evening.”

Frank reached for the glass and downed half his martini before he said: “Dave?”

“Yes, he called and told me you had some issue at home and weren’t sure you would make it to the meeting. So he went ahead and sent the latest version, knowing you were preoccupied.” John paused.

“You know, he’s really got the right stuff, hasn’t he?”

“I . . . I,” stuttered Frank.

“And you, putting in a whole slide thanking Dave and the team for their input. A bit much, Frank—the picture I mean—but a nice thought nonetheless.” Frank finished his drink and smiled weakly.

“You look like you’ve had a rough day, Frank. Would you like another?”

6

Pawns, Patrons, and Patsies

ROLES IN THE PSYCHOPATH’S DRAMA

“There’ll be two of us,” said Ron to the hostess who greeted him at the door.

“Okay, follow me,” she said, picking up two menus and indicating for Ron to follow her. “Is this okay?” she asked.

“This is great,” said Ron, smiling, as he took a seat facing the door and placed the plastic grocery bag under the table next to his feet. The hostess positioned the menus on the table and removed the extra tableware, leaving two place settings on the table.

“Gloria will be with you shortly,” she said, smiling. “Can I get you a drink while you’re waiting?”

“Two martinis, one dirty and one extra dry,” said Ron, not looking up from the wine list. Ron was the best salesperson the company had ever seen. He was a master of the face-to-face sale and had gotten customers who had had long-term relationships with competitors
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to switch to his company. Ron had a carefree lifestyle, enjoying many perks at work such as a company-leased luxury car (significantly above the standard allowed for a field salesperson at his level) and an expense account for entertaining clients. Everyone seemed to look the other way when Ron’s expense reports came in for processing.

Occasionally, the liquor bills, visits to gentlemen’s clubs, and other obviously out-of-the-ordinary things were questioned, but with his boss’s signature on the reports, there was little the accounting department could do, other than roll their eyes and joke about how the West Coast handled business dealings. The few times Ron’s boss Joe, the regional sales manager, pushed back, Ron simply talked his way around it, promising a big sale down the road. Ron was very persuasive and knew how to play Joe very well.

Joe arrived shortly, a bit out of breath, and found Ron perusing the menu.

“Hey, Ron, you’re looking great—sorry I’m late. Traffic, as usual,” said Joe, extending his hand.

“Joe, good to see you,” responded Ron, rising up briefly to offer Joe a firm handshake. “There’s a New York strip special today; hope you’re hungry.”

“More thirsty than hungry,” he started to say, just as the server returned with the drinks. Ron indicated which drink was Joe’s and waved the server off.

“To another great month,” Ron said loudly, raising his glass.

They both sipped their drinks and got down to business. Ron pulled out his latest call report and handed it to Joe. Despite the lack of sales for this month, Ron had made a significant effort “beating the bushes,” meeting almost daily with potentially large clients. Without looking, Joe took the report. “And here’s my expense report,” said Ron, handing it to him with a pen on top. Joe pretended to read it, merely glancing actually, as he signed the report. “Thanks, Joe,” said Ron, reaching under the table for the bag and sliding it across the floor toward Joe.

Ron waved to the server, indicating that they needed two more
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drinks as they continued discussing baseball scores, the weather, and Joe’s grandchildren. Sipping his second martini, Joe said, “Ron, I have some news for you.”

“Oh?” questioned Ron, motioning to the server.

“Ron, I’ve decided to take my retirement; I’ll be leaving the company at the end of this month.”

“Joe, that’s great. Congratulations! What made you decide?”

asked Ron.

“Well, they’ve offered me a package, and with the kids now out of college, my wife and I decided to sell our house and move up to the lake. The stress is getting to be too much for me, as you know, and I guess they realized it, too.”

“So, when are they going to move on your replacement?” hinted Ron with a smile. Ron knew that Joe had repeatedly recommended him for a promotion based on his performance reviews, and given this development, he eagerly anticipated Joe’s telling him he got the promotion.

“That’s just it, Ron,” started Joe slowly. “They’re not telling me.

I’ve heard rumors that they want to use the regional job as a developmental position for someone on the plan. They may rotate someone in from one of the other regions.”

“What!” exclaimed Ron, his face starting to get red. “What do you mean, someone from the other regions? I’m the best there is, I know the territory, I deserve the promotion; you put me in as your replacement, right? Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“Yes, I know. Of course, I put you on the plan—every year when they ask, I tell them you’re ready to move up now, but they—”

“That’s unacceptable!” charged Ron. “Who’s making this decision?”

“Personnel, of course.”

“You know, they have no clue what this job entails. Who are they to do this? What does Sam say?” Ron asked pointedly about Joe’s boss, the VP of sales.

“I had it out with Sam, Ron, arguing for you to get the job;
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honest, I did. But Sam hasn’t been able to convince the selection committee. They’re hung up on the sales figures as well as some of the other stuff.”

“Listen, Joe, let me call your wife. I’ll explain to her that your stress is—”

“Ron,” interrupted Joe, “my wife didn’t make this decision; I did.” Joe looked down and then up into Ron’s eyes, saying, “Well, they made the decision for me. It’s the best for all of us.”

“I can’t believe they forced you out after all these years.”

“Times change, and I guess I have to, too. They’re offering to pay for a program, as part of the deal, to help with my problem.”

“You don’t have any problem, Joe,” said Ron.

“Thanks, Ron, but both you and I know I do,” said Joe, lowering his voice. “I think they have my best interest at heart. Few people get this kind of support when they go. They really want me to straighten myself out. The server arrived to take their order, and Ron picked out a special wine to celebrate Joe’s retirement.

The rest of the afternoon was loud and raucous, as all the previous monthly lunch meetings between them. On the surface, Ron appeared happy for Joe and talked about visiting him and his wife up at the lake, fishing, and barbecuing. In his mind, however, he was planning his next move.

After lunch, they shook hands and exchanged a big bear hug.

“I’ll process these,” said Joe, picking up the paperwork.

“Don’t forget the package,” reminded Ron, indicating the grocery bag under the table.

“I won’t be needing that anymore; thanks, though, you’ve always understood. I’ll miss working with you.”

Ron entered his corporate-paid apartment. “Damn,” he swore, falling into the easy chair in the living room. He picked up his cell phone and began dialing. This would be a long night on the phone; time to call in some favors and get some dirt on Jack, his rival for the promotion.

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Jack got the promotion into the regional manager position, and was now Ron’s boss. A methodical, focused, and detail-oriented person, Jack spent considerable time reviewing each salesperson’s performance record and then planned to meet personally with each member of the sales team to establish objectives, meeting schedules, and new performance measures.

Ron had also done his homework: his friends in personnel gave him the lowdown on Jack’s performance record (stellar); his friends in accounting gave him insight into Jack’s spending habits (which paled against his own); and even his peers in Jack’s old region gave him insights into his personal style and family details. As Jack moved through the region meeting individually with the salespeople, Ron followed up with calls to his colleagues to find out what Jack was saying. When Jack arrived for his meeting with him, Ron was ready.

While the others complied with the new procedures willingly, those who knew him waited to see how Ron would respond. Ron’s reputation in the company as a “raconteur” had always been a cause of concern among the sales management committee. He had learned from his old boss Joe, an old-school “belly-to-belly” salesperson, how to gain customers and close deals using personal influence and personal charisma, but this style was growing less effective with the Internet’s arrival and a new breed of sophisticated, hard-driving competitors. Sam, the VP, had inherited the Ron and Joe team a few years earlier. Knowing that Joe was close to retirement age, he toler-ated his style, but he never liked the fact that Joe protected Ron, covering for him when he missed targets and approving expenditures that exceeded corporate guidelines. With Joe gone, Ron’s style was fair game, and Jack was going to take care of the problem.

Jack and Ron met for a lunch meeting in Ron’s territory. Ron started with the sweet approach, trying to butter Jack up with a con-gratulatory bottle of wine, small talk about Jack’s kids’ soccer games, and stacks of positive performance reviews, miscellaneous charts, and letters of thanks from big customers (and long-term friends).

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Jack was not so easily swayed. When Jack began explaining how he wanted to manage the region and presented Ron with his new requirements, Ron started pushing back, eventually raising his voice enough to get the attention of other diners in the fine restaurant. He argued that he didn’t need any more controls than those previously imposed by Joe, and promised to deliver whatever Jack needed to make him look good in the eyes of top management. Jack had heard that Ron would sometimes get loud in order to get his way, so he decided to hear him out, but then come back firmly. Ron’s arguments eventually turned into veiled threats of turning the other salespeople against Jack, legal action, and possible damage to Jack’s career.

This guy’s nuts, thought Jack as Ron continued his arguments, almost ranting and raving. Sensing that Ron was about to end the meeting and walk out, Jack said, “Look, Ron, I appreciate all you have done, but the industry has changed. We’re no longer in the cat-bird seat with our products, and this region—your region—is the weakest link.”

“Then you—they—should have fired Joe years ago!” said Ron, finally. “I’ve been covering for him since I got here. Do you know what it’s like working for . . .” Ron caught himself, paused, and then continued, his voice cracking slightly, “someone who’s never around when you need him to close a deal, can’t get any advice worth listening to, forced to always cover for him. I’ve been all alone here, Jack, fighting for the company and this is how they reward me—with more procedures, more demands, more grief!”

Although Joe’s personal problem had been an open secret in the region, others outside the region did not know, so Jack was taken aback by this revelation. His gut reaction was that this was an inappropriate topic for them to discuss, but Ron’s persistence and obvious frustration began to get to him. He listened more carefully to Ron’s difficulties in dealing with Joe, trying to apply some of the management techniques he had learned. He stroked Ron’s ego and reflected his understanding of Ron’s dilemma. By the end of the conversation—once Ron had calmed down—Jack promised to help
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Ron reorient his sales approach to what the company now needed, and take into consideration all that he had been through.

The conversation ended on a positive note and Jack felt he had accomplished his task. His objective for the meeting had been to turn Ron around or else take the necessary steps to get rid of him. Jack now felt that he could build a relationship with Ron and things would improve. They agreed to meet again in a month and parted with a handshake.

Ron entered his apartment and threw off his jacket and tie. Nestling in his sofa, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed. This will be easy, he thought, smiling to himself.

A Kid in a Candy Store

Once the hiring process is complete, new hires undergo an orientation and socialization process that often includes training in job competencies, exposure to key corporate messages, and indoctrina-tion into cultural values of the company. This is a time of excitement and happiness for most new employees, as the chance to learn and grow in a new job is very motivating. It is also an exciting time for the individual with a psychopathic personality, but for different reasons altogether.

First, the psychopaths’ simple one-to-one manipulative approach to life (discussed in chapter 4) that governs many of their outside relationships is particularly effective in organizational settings. Several characteristics of business life facilitate the application of these techniques. First, there is an assumption made by employees and managers that coworkers who have made it through the hiring process, especially if the company uses rigorous selection criteria, are honest people with personal integrity. Honesty and integrity are a “given” in most organizations, rarely tested on any but the most superficial levels.

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The assumption that fellow organizational members are similarly predisposed toward honesty hangs in the background, coloring the perspective of coworkers and managers, who would never suspect that one of their own colleagues could have ulterior motives. This trusting environment may not rise to the level of that experienced in religious or other affinity groups, but certainly is sufficient for psychopathic manipulation to be successful in companies. As a result, the psychopath blends in well—a good “kid” like his or her peers.

The Psychopath in the Next Cubicle

A compilation of
Dilbert
comic strips has the title,
What Do
You Call a Sociopath in the Next Cubicle?

Answer: A coworker.

A catchy title, but misleading. The comic strips depict a wide range of workplace characters, including at least one “. . . flam-ing @SShole, one interminable bore . . . one person who needs a metronome to breathe . . . and the guy who uses his speaker-phone in the cubicle.” Some may be sociopaths, or even psychopaths (see page 19), but most are probably ordinary people trying to function and survive in a competitive environment.

However, if the person in the next cubicle (a metaphor for any workplace associate) really
is
a psychopath, you may not be aware of what lies behind the mask. Perhaps the most dramatic examples of working next to a psychopath without realizing it come from the serial murder literature. Consider that author Ann Rule worked in the cubicle next to Ted Bundy while he was doing his nasty business. Or think of the workers who saw nothing unto-ward about the behavior of John Gacy (businessman and part-time clown who murdered young gay men, burying their bodies under his house), Dennis Rader (Cub Scout leader, active church member, ordinance enforcement and animal control officer for his town, who became infamous as the BTK—Bind-Torture-Kill—killer), or Gary Ridgeway (industrial truck painter who murdered at least forty-eight people and is now known as the Green River Killer).

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