Paul Babiak & Robert Hare's latest publication, Snakes in
Suits: When Psychopaths go to Work is a fine study and examination
of the "corporate psychopath." However - and this should be noted
early on - the book's primary goal, as the authors clearly state,
is to inform businesspeople about psychopaths, how they operate,
and how they work in the corporate world. To that end, the book
uses "nontechnical language and case studies" to explain the world
of psychopathy to its readers since most are obviously not schooled
in the technical jargon often used by the experts (xiii). For this
very reason, Snakes in Suits is, I think, a fine companion piece to
Robert Hare's earlier book, Without Conscience (1999). Much like
Snakes in Suits, Without Conscience is geared towards a general
readership, explaining psychopathy in non-technical, easy to follow
language. Both books also contain a nice list of sources that the
"specialized" reader may wish to consult for further information.
However, unlike Without Conscience, Snakes in Suits does have the
benefit of being a much more focussed work. As the title of this
missive suggests, it deals largely with the corporate psychopath
whereas Hare's earlier book seemed to be more of a general
introduction to psychopathy, touching on the numerous sub-types of
the psychopath just very briefly.
Snakes in Suits is divided into eleven demanding chapters, each one
leading and transitioning nicely into the next. The opening
chapter, "Nice Suit. Would a Snake Wear Such a Nice Suit," is more
of a prose fiction piece, explaining a company's apparent elation
at the firing of "The Pit Bull," Helen (Babiak & Hare 5). At
first, this might seem like a strange way to start a book, but this
technique is actually very smart for it tracks and traces the
activities, in microcosm, of a suspected psychopath in Helen. The
chapter illustrates - without going into too much detail - how
Helen had manipulated her way to power, using what Hare and Babiak
refer to later on as "pawns," "patrons," and "patsies" (125-6). It
also illustrates the idea of the "psychopathic fiction" (48),
whereby the psychopath creates the fiction - the mask - of being
the ideal employee, leader, or friend using a mask of deceit, which
has been tailored to the wants, and needs of the individual the
psychopath has targeted. By the end of the chapter, though, Helen's
activities have been discovered and the "psychopathic fiction"
ultimately revealed. Of course, the reader does not know most of
the terms mentioned until they have weaved and read their way
through the entire book.
Chapters two to seven deal with explaining the characteristics of
psychopathy (some of the primary characteristics being liars,
superficial, grandiose sense of self worth, deceitful, lack of
remorse and empathy, manipulative, impulsive, irresponsible, and a
lack of any real goals [Hare & Babiak 27]); how psychopaths
live and manipulate people; the "three faces of you" and the
"psychopathic bond" (68, 74); how the psychopath enters the
corporation and is generally successful; how they manipulate the
"pawns, patrons, and patsies" once within the organization; and,
lastly, how they generally tend to take advantage of the
fast-moving corporate organizations in the world of the living,
each day, now. All of these chapters are interesting for they make
some necessary distinctions and create some new models for
explaining psychopathic behaviour. For example, when explaining how
psychopaths manipulate and fool people for so long, the "three
faces of you" is especially insightful. By this model, we have a
"private personality," which is "the 'me' that we experience inside
ourselves" (69). Secondly, there is also the "public" personality,
which is "the 'me' that we want others to see" (69) and, lastly,
the "attributed" personality (also called our "reputation") which
is based on what others think of us. Once a psychopath has
established a friendship with us - and has managed to weasel his or
her way into our "inner" selves - the opportunity to manipulate
becomes so much easier.
Lastly, the chapter entitled "Darkness and Chaos: The Psychopath's
Friends" is quite useful in its explanation of how and why
psychopaths are successful in modern business organizations. Hare
and Babiak explain, in clear and concise language, how the modern
fast-moving organizations of today are almost perfect for the
psychopath (since checks on potential employees aren't done until
much later in the hiring process if at all). Their loose,
non-bureaucratic structure also benefits psychopaths, as they are
constant rule benders or breakers. In short, people are always
moving in and out of these organizations. The old "psychological
contract" of the older business organizations has been replaced by
the "transitory" employee-employer relationship (Hare & Babiak
159).
Chapters eight to eleven end this missive with some warnings (not
everyone is a psychopath even if they may exhibit some of