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122 SNAKES IN SUITS
they study their coworkers’ organizational roles and almost instinctively
assess their short- and long-range utility or value. A person’s
value is based on where he or she fits into the organizational hierarchy
(sometimes referred to as position power), technical abilities (expert
power), access to information (knowledge power), and whether he
or she controls staff, money, and other assets (resource power).
There should be little surprise that the natural predatory manipulation
used by psychopaths to con people in public can be applied
to business settings. What may be surprising is how easily this can be
accomplished. Corporate cons use the early months of employment
to study, understand, and ultimately penetrate organizational barriers.
They identify key players, analyze personalities of potentially
useful coworkers, and study the interaction and communications
patterns among workers. They quickly begin to understand and then
integrate the culture of the organization into their outward style and
approach.
BUILDING A POWER BASE
When considering how people influence each other to get things
done in organizations it is always important to consider the role of
power. There are many kinds of power used in an organization, some
more obvious than others. One important type is called informal
power, which is the ability to influence what is going on without being
given the official ability or authority to do so. While every employee
has some asset (knowledge, skills, and abilities), informal
leaders typically have more ability to influence the operations of the
organization. Seasoned managers know who the informal leaders are
in their organization, and engage them in their own efforts to manage
the entire group. Almost instinctively, fraudsters find these individuals
and build strong relationships with them with the intent of
using them to their advantage.
In addition, there are others with power and influence that are
more formal. Individuals with position power are of significant inter-