Economics, Business, Money, Finance : How Corporate Sociopaths Affect IT Productivity

sociopaths exist in all areas of our life, everywhere. basically, they are people who cannot feel compassion or empathy, they are inclined to antisocial behaviours and are the biggest control freaks. in corporations, many people work either under them or are their superiors, naturally.

now, in the every day proceedings within corporations and since sociopaths are seldom aware of other people’s needs, they tend to manipulate colleagues, especially those above them, to achieve their clearly defined selfish goals. they can be confrontational, and use bullying tactics to control those around them bc they don't know how to collaborate or share with them. they are socially corrosive - and cruelly destructive.

their colleagues often understand exactly who the sociopaths are, bc their self-serving behaviour generates a constant stream of human interest stories carried in whispers across the organisation. their bullying tactics are most forcefully directed at their subordinates, with dire consequences to the productivity of knowledge workers, who must be mentally and emotionally engaged in their work. now, since sociopaths’ behaviour may produce short-term personal gains, they may initially be held in high regard by management, but ultimately move from job to job.

think of this scenario: an individual, a sociopath, coming into a corporation, walking into the data center, without saying anything and turning the power switch off. all the machines immediately power down because that's what happens - the human infrastructure goes offline and stops working. normally, he or she would be immediately fired for cause. people would be shocked and angry at such damaging behaviour, which causes online systems to go dark, data processing to stop and business to grind to an abrupt halt.

yet, sociopathic leaders do something similar every day: they shut down the “human infrastructure.” not unlike a data center, the human infrastructure is prewired with sensors.

humans, not unlike machines in a data center, have sensors. in our cases, a threat sensor called the limbic system, and when there's a threat, they basically go into protective mode, and you can see it when you walk around - people are very, very guarded. they parse every word that comes out of their mouth, they're watching your every action. there's something called fear conditioning, which is exactly the same thing. that person's image gets imprinted on the brain in the brain of the other individual that they've threatened. your brain would maintain an image of that cuz it was a great threat to your survival. as you focus on the threat, your mind prepares your body for flight, so your pulse increases, muscles tighten, perspiration starts to form, your heart rate increases, and the mental focus shifts to the person who is threatening you. protective behaviours take over, reallocating energy from productive activities to defensive ones. you are now in a totally unproductive state of mind, focused on your survival rather than on your work.

all you need is the mere presence of that individual to set off the limbic system - a cascade of events, it could be passing them in the hallway, it could be them coming to a meeting where you have to be there with them. the fact of the matter is, the minute that person shows up, the meeting becomes completely unproductive; everybody is focused on the threat, not on the work. and it's the same thing: it's like having a room full of equipment, when none of it is working - suddenly these people are so - so damaging.

unfortunately, the effects of antisocial behaviour manifest themselves internally and are therefore invisible to corporate executives who build cultures in which workers are interchangeable parts, mere “human resources.” managers are neither trained to create an emotionally productive social climate nor socially tuned to the workplace. we have tools to manage and monitor everything - except the people.

consequently, corporate sociopaths can disengage large portions of the human infrastructure and remain undetected. if one of the “machines” is not working, just get another one; the current one is obviously defective. paradoxically, although these sociopaths can be highly damaging to the workforce, they are often highly valued by executive management for being “tough but effective.”

Did you write this yourself or copy/paste it from somewhere else? I ask because I'm building a shrine to worship whoever wrote it because it's so fucking brilliant. 👌👌👌

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My password is password

thanks!

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My password is password

Not to call anyone out, but the second video begins with near identical words to some of those in your post. I think you was plagiarized

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My password is password

was i really? holy shit

i will have to call the cops on Jean and Chris then. fuck those rappers, i can't believe this! whats the number of NYPD again?

I'll handle this one myself. No one fucks with Sophie on my watch.

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My password is password

aw thank you! but don't kill them, they make great music. just make them pay… and i mean with money not their lives lol

bc they stole from me, i want now 50% profit sharing on their next album, can you tell them? they both might come from a gangsta background, so watch out

my hero

Ok. I'll try not to kill them, but if they try to lowball your cut I may just have to bust a cap, ngl. Can't let people think they can do this to you without paying the price.

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My password is password

ok, true. you gotta do what you gotta do amirite

Unfortunately, I encountered many corporate sociopaths over the years, and found that unproductive, antisocial behaviors are widespread, and tolerated. The sociopath is an extreme case, but a totally uncaring environment is not. Traditional corporations still focus most of their energy on processes and technology, although the digital era has finally woken them up to the human side of business. When companies focus exclusively on the former, they are using their left-brain to transform the enterprise, leaving the innovative capacity of their workforce untapped, at just the moment it is needed to reinvent themselves (see Whole Brained Change if you would like to know more).

As a turnaround specialist, I witnessed the aftermath of toxic leaders, and their socially corrosive leadership practices, ultimately coming to understand just how damaging uncaring, antisocial behavior is to knowledge worker productivity. The neuroscientific, psychological, and industrial/organizational research clearly shows that caring about others is highly productive, and antisocial behavior is highly destructive.

So, the “human infrastructure” can be shut down. Corporate sociopaths, and antisocial behavior, need to be seen for what they are: Highly damaging to the productive and innovative capacity of any organization. They destroy an organization’s return on human capital. Chief executives must finally understand that if their knowledge workers are not flourishing, then their company won’t either. Is it any wonder, then, that the companies leading the digital business era are continuously hiring, nurturing and growing the best talent? They understand that their knowledge workers are assets, not expenses, and they create environments where they can excel.

What outdated leadership practices are holding your company back? If you do not know how to methodically get the best out of your people, you are going to lose. It is just a matter of time.

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🙏

very well said, Master Osho! and so very true.

A certain darkness is needed to see the light. 🙏

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i disagree.

Salient post.

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Good luck.

nah. not convinced.

consequently, corporate sociopaths can disengage large portions of the human infrastructure and remain undetected. if one of the “machines” is not working, just get another one; the current one is obviously defective. paradoxically, although these sociopaths can be highly damaging to the workforce, they are often highly valued by executive management for being “tough but effective.”

humans, not unlike machines in a data center, have sensors. in our cases, a threat sensor called the limbic system, and when there's a threat, they basically go into protective mode, and you can see it when you walk around - people are very, very guarded.

sociopaths exist in all areas of our life, everywhere. basically, they are people who cannot feel compassion or empathy, they are inclined to antisocial behaviours and are the biggest control freaks. in corporations, many people work either under them or are their superiors, naturally.

They're probably aliens now. Got kidnapped by the aliens and were cloned. The real person is more than likely dead somewhere.

yes.

I was going to use the word psychopath more then sociopath in today's corporate society,but it's really half of one or a dozen of the other.

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I'll be monitoring you in private 💦💦💦

but it's really half of one or a dozen of the other.

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My password is password

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My password is password