Bulldozer00's Blog

Perhaps disturbingly, I’ve always been curious about the factors and causes of individual and (especially) group psychopathy. Thus, this Ronald Schouten piece, “Psychopaths on Wall Street” (which is a PR pitch for his forthcoming book “Almost a Psychopath“), caught my attention. Specifically, Mr. Schouten’s “good news” paragraph triggered a sinister, internal BD00 “LOL!“.

But there is good news. First of all, it is possible to screen out “almost” and “full-blown” psychopaths during the hiring process and after. Some of the key indicators are:

Glibness and superficial charm (BD00?)
Lack of empathy (BD00?)
Consistent decisions in their self interest, even where it is ethically questionable (BD00?)
Chronic, sometimes transparent lies, even with regard to minor things (BD00?)
Lack of remorse (BD00?)
Failure to take responsibility for their actions, and instead blaming others (BD00?)
Shallow emotions (BD00?)
Ignoring responsibilities (BD00?)
Persistent focus on gratifying their own needs at the expense of others (BD00?)
Conning and manipulative behavior (BD00?)

How can one possibly confirm or disconfirm these traits during a job interview – especially since psychopaths are brilliant at masking their agendas? But wait! On second glance, the list looks like it could serve as a bona fide set of prerequisites for executive team membership at Enron and Goldman Sux type borgs, no?