At dinner with Ken McCarthy the other week, we got around to talking about our experiences with people we had met in business that had left us, shall we say, a little worse for wear.

We compared notes on certain characters that had charmed their way into our lives and subsequently attempted to rip the guts out of our businesses. It was refreshing to know that I was not the only one who had experienced this kind of thing a number of times, but even better to know that it is such a problem in business that there has been a book written on the subject! It’s called “Snakes in Suits”.

I can’t recommend this book highly enough. If you’ve ever had a business relationship with someone that promises a lot, butters up your ego, manipulates you to such an extent you don’t realise it until it’s too late, brings in their own “people”, undermines you consistently behind your back, steals from you (ideas, money, shares and clients), lies to your friends – you will recognise the characters in this book.

If this has not happened to you, get this book now! It is far better to be forewarned.

The book itself describes itself as “A revealing look at psychopaths in the workplace – how to spot their destructive behaviour and stop them from creating choas”.

It is written by Paul Babiak, PH.D. and Robert D Hare, PH.D and gets right into the detail of how to become aware of the subtle warning signs of psycopathic behaviour – before it’s too late.