Is this guy's behavior really so perverse? Most of what he did, aside from dropping old friends once he was promoted above them, seems like good advice.
>1. Choose your friends
Seem like a good idea to pursue friends who are similarly ambitious, smart, diligent, etc.
PG touches on this in a few of his essays, e.g. in News From the Front: "The other students are the biggest advantage of going to an elite college; you learn more from them than the professors. But you should be able to reproduce this at most colleges if you make a conscious effort to find smart friends."
> 2. Make sure your outwards appearance is perfect
Seems prudent to dress well and it's definitely a good idea to exercise.
> 3. Invest in your location
Nothing wrong with having a well appointed apartment.
> 4. Approach people and tell them what to do
This is kind of over the top, and is contradicted by the paragraphs beneath it, which reveal that "Saul" approached people "either [to] build a relationship with them, or to do something for them."
This seems like excellent advice. How is it perverse to build relationship or do things for others? And how is it anything but admirable to do be the one initiating?
>5. Keep your head when everyone else is getting caught up in the rush. Encourage others to lose their heads
First part seems like a prudent idea. Second part sounds manipulative, though. On the other hand, encouraging coworkers to drink heavily is maybe a little too widespread to qualify as Machiavellian.
People like him leave a scorched earth approach to anything, and at the end they end up being damaging to the companies where they work.
He doesn't make friends. He acts as a 'friend' to people to get ahead, while simultaneously backstabbing them.
We are not talking just simple "outdo the master" type of manoeuvrings. We are talking about lying, maliciously spreading rumors, destroying other people's careers, while keeping a "friendly and smiling face", and dropping people like a rock once done with them.
You will never understand what hit you, until it is too late.
The actual article is ambiguous. It really doesn't name any sociopathic behavior but kind of hints at it. Drop old friends and encourage others to drink to excess at company parties are the worst concrete behaviors I remember. But the article uses the adjective ruthless.
I can't make exact judgment about the guy from the article. But I'd judge the article itself to be something of a Rorschach test for reader. Sociopath or go-getter?
It doesn't say he was a sociopath (although it sounds like he could have been, perhaps a narcissist), but if he had no core business acumen, no ability to grow the business and the staff, then he'd have to be really good at trashing those that did, or faking that he did.
> We are not talking just simple "outdo the master" type of manoeuvrings. We are talking about lying, maliciously spreading rumors, destroying other people's careers, while keeping a "friendly and smiling face", and dropping people like a rock once done with them.
I try to do this as a hobby. (Diplomacy..) But it would piss me off mightily at the work place (or anywhere outside the game).
Can you elaborate on what you mean? Are you referring to "the game" as in Neil Strauss (women), or something more akin to The Wire (making money in dirty ways)
Edit: 3rd option, and almost certainly right, is that Diplomacy is a game, which a quick googling revealed. My nerd-fu is weak! Sounds like you'd be good at Mafia/Werewolf.
I know of Mafia/Werewolf, but they are too arbitrary for me. Diplomacy (the game, yes) puts some substance underneath the negotiations --- some alliances are easier to pull off and more natural than others, but they can all be made to work.
Also a honest and straightforward approach often works best. Or more accurately --- in the vein of Machiavelli --- being known for an honest and straightforward approach, which is not the same thing.
P.S. Please pardon that I only wrote "the game". I am too much involved in "the hobby".
Comments
Is this guy's behavior really so perverse? Most of what he did, aside from dropping old friends once he was promoted above them, seems like good advice.
>1. Choose your friends
Seem like a good idea to pursue friends who are similarly ambitious, smart, diligent, etc.
PG touches on this in a few of his essays, e.g. in News From the Front: "The other students are the biggest advantage of going to an elite college; you learn more from them than the professors. But you should be able to reproduce this at most colleges if you make a conscious effort to find smart friends."
> 2. Make sure your outwards appearance is perfect
Seems prudent to dress well and it's definitely a good idea to exercise.
> 3. Invest in your location
Nothing wrong with having a well appointed apartment.
> 4. Approach people and tell them what to do
This is kind of over the top, and is contradicted by the paragraphs beneath it, which reveal that "Saul" approached people "either [to] build a relationship with them, or to do something for them."
This seems like excellent advice. How is it perverse to build relationship or do things for others? And how is it anything but admirable to do be the one initiating?
>5. Keep your head when everyone else is getting caught up in the rush. Encourage others to lose their heads
First part seems like a prudent idea. Second part sounds manipulative, though. On the other hand, encouraging coworkers to drink heavily is maybe a little too widespread to qualify as Machiavellian.
Edit: typo.
No no no,
That guy looks like a textbook sociopath. You should read this to really understand on what's going on: http://www.amazon.com/Snakes-Suits-When-Psychopaths-Work/dp/...
People like him leave a scorched earth approach to anything, and at the end they end up being damaging to the companies where they work.
He doesn't make friends. He acts as a 'friend' to people to get ahead, while simultaneously backstabbing them.
We are not talking just simple "outdo the master" type of manoeuvrings. We are talking about lying, maliciously spreading rumors, destroying other people's careers, while keeping a "friendly and smiling face", and dropping people like a rock once done with them.
You will never understand what hit you, until it is too late.
Just beware.
The actual article is ambiguous. It really doesn't name any sociopathic behavior but kind of hints at it. Drop old friends and encourage others to drink to excess at company parties are the worst concrete behaviors I remember. But the article uses the adjective ruthless.
I can't make exact judgment about the guy from the article. But I'd judge the article itself to be something of a Rorschach test for reader. Sociopath or go-getter?
It doesn't say he was a sociopath (although it sounds like he could have been, perhaps a narcissist), but if he had no core business acumen, no ability to grow the business and the staff, then he'd have to be really good at trashing those that did, or faking that he did.
> We are not talking just simple "outdo the master" type of manoeuvrings. We are talking about lying, maliciously spreading rumors, destroying other people's careers, while keeping a "friendly and smiling face", and dropping people like a rock once done with them.
I try to do this as a hobby. (Diplomacy..) But it would piss me off mightily at the work place (or anywhere outside the game).
Can you elaborate on what you mean? Are you referring to "the game" as in Neil Strauss (women), or something more akin to The Wire (making money in dirty ways)
Edit: 3rd option, and almost certainly right, is that Diplomacy is a game, which a quick googling revealed. My nerd-fu is weak! Sounds like you'd be good at Mafia/Werewolf.
I know of Mafia/Werewolf, but they are too arbitrary for me. Diplomacy (the game, yes) puts some substance underneath the negotiations --- some alliances are easier to pull off and more natural than others, but they can all be made to work.
Also a honest and straightforward approach often works best. Or more accurately --- in the vein of Machiavelli --- being known for an honest and straightforward approach, which is not the same thing.
P.S. Please pardon that I only wrote "the game". I am too much involved in "the hobby".
Is this guy's behavior really so perverse?
Well, you have just neatly described American Psycho...