I really struggled to understand the motivation for why otherwise intelligent beings would lie, steal and cheat when this clearly was not to their own longterm benefit.
Today I started reading Paul Babiak and Robert Hare's 'Snakes in Suits - When Psychopaths Go to Work'. Here's an excerpt that already goes a long way to explain it:
Most workers are honest, loyal, law-abiding citizens, concerned with making a living, contributing to society, and raising a family in a fair and just world. Others, though, are more selfish, concerned only about themselves with little regard for fairness and equity.
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Some who have faltered may have experienced a weakened moral sense of "right" in the face of excessive temptation and easy access to power. Others may feel justified in reaping the rewards in proportion to the size of the organization they lead, arguing that their extravagances seem excessive only to those who have little hope of being so rewarded. Still others have embraced the self-serving mantras that "greed is good" and that success at any cost to others is justifiable and even desirable.
But another group exists, one whose behaviors and attitudes are potentially much more destructive to the organization and its employees than those noted above who are motivated by greed or big egos. This group, the subject of this book, displays a personality disorder rooted in lying, manipulation, deceit, egocentricity, callousness, and other potentially destructive traits. This personality disorder, one of the first to be described in the psychiatric literature, is psychopathy.
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Some people with psychopathic personalities are in prison because of their crimes against people and property. Others are in prison for committing economic or white-collar crimes, such as fraud, embezzlement, or stock manipulation.
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In addition to the problems their abusive behaviors cause to spouses, friends, and family members, individuals with a heavy dose of psychopathic traits are potentially harmful to professional relationships. For example, their grandiosity, sense of entitlement, and lack of personal insight lead to conflict and rivalry with bosses and coworkers, and their impulsivity and "live in the moment" philosophy lead them to keep repeating these and other dysfunctional, antisocial behaviors, despite performance appraisals and training programs.
The key here is that "most" people are honest and law-abiding. I think it's crucial for good, honest and law-abiding people to team up against the psychopaths.
As Edmund Burke said: "The Only Thing Necessary For Evil To Triumph Is For Good Men To Do Nothing".
1 comment:
Henk, you have the support of a very tight and well-networked community who have been truly impressed by the way that you choose to do business.
We would rather NOT stand by and do nothing - it isn't in the nature of pioneers & explorers who share your values of doing work with clean hands, warm hearts and blazing minds.
Short-term greed cripples the progress of all of us - as Telkom as proven.
You have only to tell us how best we can stand with you.
I know without hesitation that I don't just speak for myself in your favour.
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