Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work

This book is a must read for each member of the American workforce. According to the authors, most people who go to work are honest, law-abiding individuals. They try hard to make a living. By doing their jobs, they endeavor to contribute to society while raising their children and nurturing their families. However, there are others who are the extreme opposite. They are brutally selfish, calculating, and abusive. Their desire to work is fueled by unimaginable possibilities of unlimited power, control, status, success, and startling proportions of wealth. In their pursuit of so called success, these folks choose to crush all moral and ethical human values. Their insatiable greed forces them to inflict irreparable harm to others; they derail careers; they extinguish careers; and they destroy lives of their many innocent coworkers. They never ever feel a sense of shame and/or of guilt for their evil and deceptive deeds. On the contrary, human suffering and pain that they induce in other peoples' lives gives them a sense of control and power as well as gratification over what they can create. This is a group of people we call psychopaths, workplace bullies, and workplace manipulators. Psychopaths have anti-social personality disorder. They do not have conscience and this fact alone gives them an advantage over normal human beings who are restricted and limited within the bounds of conscience. The premise of this book by Babiak & Hare (2007) is that most of the psychopaths are not behind bars but right amongst us as coworkers and bosses. They generally thrive at workplace and manage to attain positions of power and status. Their destructive personality traits are usually invisible to most people who come in contact with them because of the thick mask (s) they wear. However, individuals who are armed with knowledge of this personality disorder will have no problem seeing through their mask (s) and thus identifying them & recognizing their hidden true selves. In about 300 pages, the authors discuss the many subtle and insidious tactics of these criminals. They also provide live examples and workplace scenarios. The reading of this book will not only help you see the workplace chaos these criminals craft but also help you restore your peace of mind, and offer you tips on guarding yourself against the very malicious attacks of psychopaths. I would also encourage you to visit the websites of workplace Bullying Institute & Bullyfree Work. And please do see Dr. G. Namie on youtube. You will feel empowered.

I read Hare's "Without Conscience" a couple years ago and thought it was a great contribution to my hobby of studying psychopathy and other personality disorders. I believe that that book combined with this book, Snakes In Suits, can really help the average reader become more aware of why some people in their lives are as toxic and maladaptive or even as dangerous as they are.

While reading Snakes in Suites, just like when I read Without Conscience, I couldn't help seeing in my mind the faces of people I'm related to, are or have been friends with, and coworkers and bosses. But one thing the authors of this book do that I'm particularly impressed with is advising the reader NOT to label anybody a psychopath; that's to be done by qualified Psychotherapists. But even though they suggest not labeling anybody as such, I strongly feel that it's perfectly fine to discern an informed opinion, and this book absolutely assists the reader with that.

If you're willing to put forth a genuine effort in learning to see toxic and maladaptive behavior for what it is - in efforts of trying to minimize conflicts with such personalities, then this book, as well as "Without Conscience", is absolutely worth the read. It's written in plain language and I found that my dictionary was rather handy, but not constantly required.

I definitely give this book the highest of ratings!

What makes Psychopaths intriguing is not necessarily their disorder, but it is the fact that Psychopaths often are MORE effective in achieving their objectives than non-Psychopaths. Psychopathy is a debilitation of moral conscience (or just lack of it), and ironically, the lack of empathy, sense of right vs. wrong, and remorse often makes the Psychopaths far more dangerous precisely because they carry their objectives with single-minded purpose without inner conflict.

In my opinion, everyone who has basic understanding of Psychology should understand Psychopaths. First, understanding Psychopaths will help you identify them so you would know who to avoid. About 1%-4% of the population are Psychopaths. Contrary to the popular belief, not all Psychopaths are criminals (but a huge percentage of criminals are Psychopaths). Rather, a substantial percentage of psychopaths are well-educated, charming, funny, and socially adept. They can be identified by 1)Lack of empathy 2)Lack of remorse 3)Huge ego 4)Strong sense of entitlement 5)Impulsiveness (including quick temper) 6)compulsive lying etc. Remember, Psychopaths are master manipulators and they will lie like no other and people often fall prey to Psychopaths even KNOWING they are Psychopaths (read about John Grambling in the book).

Second, understanding the Psychopaths will help you to 1)Gain understanding of inner conflicts that makes us human but often is a hinderance to achieving our maximum potential and 2)learn to suppress this inner conflict at times when a single-mindedness is absolutely necessary. In other words, you will understand your own psychology better. Even though only 1%-4% of population are Psychopaths, many of us have SOME psychopathic tendencies (you want to get rid of these tendencies by becoming more emphathetic).

As for the book, I obviously learned a lot but I thought it had couple of flaws.

First, about half the book is a story of fictional psychopath character. I think mixing non-fiction and fiction was curious and I don't think the mix was well done.

Second, I thought the author could have emphasized some important points. He merely meanders through some very intriguing aspects of the psychopath's mind, sometimes buried deep within the fictional story, which leaves the reader digging unnecessarily through his book. In summary, the author should have left the fictional part of the book out.

The tendency is to read a book like Snakes In Suits AFTER you've had a close encounter of the psychopathic kind - sort of in the spirit of a post-mortem. The ideal would be for everyone to read books like this one BEFORE the excellent advice offered is actually needed. Even I, sister of a clinical psychologist, mother of a psychology major, myself a former medical student and amateur student of deviant personalities, got well and truly tagged and only just now relieved myself of the stress and heartache and monetary loss of a psychopathic employee.

Part of the reason the victims of psychopaths don't recognize or appreciate their imminent danger is that when we think of psychopaths we visualize a knife-wielder with neutron eyes. In most cases, nothing could be farther from the truth. These people often give the appearance of being attractive, funny, intense and sincere, religious, efficient, enthusiastic, and in possesion of a particularly well-defined moral code. All these things are the accoutrements that enable them to appear to be what we want them to be, and to hide what isn't there: a conscience, affection, empathy, and an acknowledgement of the rights of other human beings.

I think we've heard it all before; what we need to do is BELIEVE it. Read the book. Don't engage in a witch hunt, but learn what to look for. Keep your distance until you have lost all doubt about the agenda of someone you have recently met, no matter the circumstances of the meeting. Learn how to disengage yourself from one of them if you do get involved (think of being wound all around tight with barbed wire) and remember that nothing they have to offer can ever make up for what they will take from you.

A book on an important and interesting topic, written by two great experts, well in particular Hare who seems to be the foremost authority in the world on psychopaths, but in a confused way, or at least it got me confused.

I give it noneheless three stars because the content is important, and seems to be well made, unfortunately their style protected my brain from it.

They interweave passages of fiction and didactic explanations, this great litterary trick did not help my memorization of the latter, when I turned the last page I had to admit it was a little bit of a mess in my mind about all the didactic and practical infos on psychopaths. I remember their stories well though!

So much for the fluke of storytelling.

Moreover, I found their description of the corporate world, even psychopath-free, rather depressing.

Oh, and by the way: No, Christophe Rocancourt, the notorious Hollywood con man, is not revered as a national hero in France, I don't know where they picked that.

I had been told about the title by a Psychiatrist in dealing with a family member who falls into the character traits as discussed in the book, but it was in my own profession that I fell victim to a particularly vicious psychopath and ended up being fired thanks to the deceptive manipulation and abuse of power and influence. Looking back I didn't stand a chance either way, but the book has helped me in particular in understanding the modus operandi of the psychopath and how he / she manipulates the "patrons" ( those with influence and power ), "Pawns" ( myself / those who serve a purpose in getting what the psychopath wants ) and "Patsies" ( those with no benefit who frequently see what is going on and the real person behind the mask, because they are not worth manipulating )

I feel that everyone should read this book and arm themselves with the knowledge of the agendas that a psychopath will frequently follow - very often the HR department ( as in my case ) will also be manipulated, so trying to defend oneself is nearly impossible. However understanding the way that others in positions of influence are manipulated is powerful knowledge, as the best defence against this behaviour is to play the psychopath at his own game, ie identifying and building stronger relationships with the "patrons" than he or she has. This might go against the grain of many hard working and honest individuals, but as the book states, influencing a person in order to look favourable as opposed to following a manipulative agenda is not unethical. I hate the idea of politicking and manipulation in any way, but one has to understand that having one's eyes open in all situations is a very powerful defense. I will from now on never keep quiet because I am afraid of appearing "arrogant". Watch in particular for signs of bullying and indifference to those in the mundane roles ( in life and in work ) as this behaviour frequently allows one to see who is behind the mask. Make friends in high and low places - it allows you to see the bigger picture. Sometimes a psychopath will surround himself with "pawns", is those who do not serve any purpose or threat other than to create the impression of a strong support base. The book is careful not to label individuals as psychopaths, especially if you are not a professional and have had the opportunity to perform an analysis on the individual, so my label is perhaps not acceptable in the context, but in hindsight I have no qualms about using the label.

Buy this book and recommend it to anyone who will listen.

Robert Hare, creator of the "Psychopath Checklist" goes back to work, tackling the fraught issue of conscience-less individuals in the workplace. He is joined by co-author Paul Babiak, a management consultant. This book should be a must-purchase for anyone in human resources, or even a small business owner. The very nature of psychopaths- charming, cunning, charismatic, and convincing on the surface, while hiding deceptive machinations, make them the most dangerous potential hires in a firm. With tales culled from real life, the book recounts disasters, abuses of power and privilege, and the Machiavellian mindset of those who exhibit psychopathic tendencies in the workplace, who will "win at any cost." The book offers a sound mix of terminology, explanations, case studies, and solutions to avoiding hiring someone in the first place who may be in the psychopathic spectrum. Their advice is particularly compelling in the age of LinkedIn, with the potential for doctored and fraudulent resumes and references and self-generated skill sets. The authors make a strong case for cross-checking and double checking references and credentials before hiring an employee, and being aware of the inherent dangers in our current fast-paced and changeable business climate where finding solutions to tough problems may be just what someone in the psychopathic spectrum may offer, but with a hidden price.

I read this book during my December holiday break. It's a gripping and entertaining book. I found myself more engaged with it than I expected to be. I like the way that the authors alternate chapters between academic discussions of psychopathic behavior and the narrative about "Dave," the corporate psychopath. This provides a nice blend of education and suspense.

Some of the material gets a little repetitive (eg: the authors restated basic characteristics of a psychopathic personality enough times for me to notice how repetitive it was). Though it wasn't a big deal, I deducted one star because of that.

I'd definitely recommend this book, and I'm going to suggest that my girlfriend read it because I thought that it was a fun ad insightful book. She tells me about her "psychopathic" co-workers and boss all of the time, so I'm sure that she'll enjoy it. It's an easy read and entertaining, and you'll actually learn a few useful things about corporate politics and climbing the corporate ladder too.

4/5 stars

Livre très intéressant sur le comportement en entreprise et ailleurs de psychopathes

Having dealt with two genuine psychopaths In my life, both women, I found this book fascinating and essential reading for all employers. In a more enlightened future some sort of psychological screening will be conducted to try and identify these destructive people. Being a psychopath is not a crime but we do need to able to control them in the work place.

Livro retrata bem situações corporativas que muitos de nós provavelmente já vivenciamos ou presenciamos. Muito bacana entender como funciona a mente de um sociopata, suas motivações, seus receios e seu modo de agir. Gostei muito da teoria para identificar os sinais de que se pode ser vítima de abuso/assédio/manipulação de psicopatas.

Having read this book twice and some of the reviews & comments (earlier - most viewed ones) I feel compelled to stand up for the co-authors :

1. Paul Babiak (PhD)- Organizational Psychologist, (and HR expert) and

2. dr Robert Hare - professor of forensic Psychology - creator of the standard tool for diagnosing psychopathology.

Starting with dr Robert Hare. He dedicated all his life relentlessly researching and developing Cleckley's theory who was already a pioneer in attempting clarifying issues in the field of psychopathology [The Mask of Sanity]. Hare's research is not fully conclusive -partly because of the rigorous and robust brain studies are still ongoing in Canada and the US, nevertheless this is the best we have so far and if you are those 'smarty pants' who are trying to outsmart both Hare and Babiak - why don't you start further-developing rather than finding shortcomings regarding i.e. the language of the book ('cheap' -really ?) or not answering the question : 'how to psycho -busting them?' . As I recall - Hare had some 'help' to simplify the academic style -so that a wider audience -'simple souls' with no master degrees- could access it. When authors write books like this -it is hard to strike a balance between 'eloquence and banality'. I personally think that it is very well written re: 'standard English' - informative, enlightening, practical, clear -no unnecessary page filling sentences, no ambiguity.

With regards to the Big Question - how to defeat them ? I think if you read in between the lines you do find techniques on how to catch them out (and 'combat' them) and make sure it's not the 'HR who hires' - HR should 'just cross check' re: Interpersonal skills/ Values/ Career Goals etc ..(page 146-147) but it should be an Executive decision jointly with other expertise. If your company can afford one - do hire a Psychologist - either an Occupational Psychologist or a Clinical Psychologist - some OP-s are freelancers and are available for recruitment purposes. Don't just delegate it Human Resources who focuses on the 'first impressions = business acumen + presentation' (see Helen's case study).

I will elaborate more on Organizational Manipulation later ...

I wish more people in the world were aware of what a psychopath really is. I commend the authors' efforts to enlighten the rest of our species, with all of my heart.

I want to mention something in particular - gaslighting. In the story of Dave and Frank, Dave gaslights Frank by getting him to believe he has a memory lapse. This is a popular technique used by manipulators that should be seen as a red flag.