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132 SNAKES IN SUITS
from several others, was a major conduit of the office grapevine. Her
cubicle was a regular stop for Doug on his daily rounds of the company.
A simple “Hi, Mary! How was your weekend?” from Doug,
followed by a leisurely discussion of life’s events, would often lead to
his sharing “secret” information with Mary about critical organizational
issues, key managers, and potential changes. Enthralled with
this amount of trust and attention from someone higher up, Mary in
turn kept Doug informed of the behind-the-scenes information she
had obtained from others.
Understanding that in every organizational rumor there is a kernel
of truth, Doug was adept at singling out potentially useful information
and storing it in his memory for future use. Given the right
opportunity, Doug would “trade up” these bits of information by approaching
key individuals and hinting that he was aware of key organizational
issues and decisions. Believing that Doug was on the
inside track, they felt comfortable about revealing additional pieces
of information, which Doug mentally cataloged for future use.
Meanwhile, Mary spread positive, glowing stories about Doug
throughout the organization, testifying to his integrity, sincerity, and
generosity. “He’s going places, I’ve heard, and I know it’s true,” she
volunteered to anyone who would listen. She would then tell tales of
how Doug was being given important projects to work on, how he
helped others with their jobs without taking any credit for himself,
how some senior executives confided in him because they trusted him,
and how he was on the inside track of what was going to happen in the
future. These and other messages were relayed throughout the organization
long before Doug’s name made it to the corporate succession
plan. Who was the original source of the stories? Doug, of course.
Besides being manipulated into covering for psychopaths, some
coworkers actually carry their workload in exchange for things that
are not readily apparent to observers at the time. For example, all
Chuck needed was a little attention and praise for his work, a need
Dan managed to fulfill quite effectively. Mary needed a good source
of reliable information, and Doug knew how to play her like a fiddle.