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190 SNAKES IN SUITS
pathic bully is what he is: a callous, vindictive, controlling individual
with little empathy or concern for the rights and feelings of the victim,
no matter what the context.
In addition to these two specific types—the manipulator and the
bully—we have seen a handful of cases that are even worse. Corporate
puppetmasters, as we labeled them, seem to combine the features
of each in a sophisticated way. They are adept at manipulating
people—pulling the strings—from a distance, in order to get those directly
under their control to abuse or bully those lower down in the organization.
In essence, they use both strategies—manipulation and
bullying—much like historical figures such as Stalin and Hitler, individuals
who surrounded themselves with obedient followers, and
through them controlled much of their countries’ populations. Any
sign of disobedience (often accentuated by a paranoid stance) led
them to attack their direct supporters as well. To the puppetmaster,
both the intermediary (the “puppet”) and the ultimate victim are expendable
since neither is viewed as a real, individual person. We believe
that corporate puppetmasters are examples of the much more
dangerous classic psychopath.
Origins of Aggression
Developmental research indicates that early childhood is a time of
considerable physical aggression, peaking between the ages of two
and four. After a gradual decline with age, aggressive (and antisocial)
behavior again peaks in late adolescence and then, in most cases, decreases
in early adulthood; this pattern is described as adolescentlimited.
However, the antisocial and aggressive behavior of some
individuals is lifetime-persistent, meaning it can extend well into
adulthood. Some of the features of the lifetime-persistent pattern
(such as impulsivity, narcissism, callousness), but not others (such as
verbal deficits, neurological problems, high anxiety), are similar to
those found with psychopathy.