Occupational & Organizational in The Books Store

Let's say you're about to hire somebody for a position in your company. Your corporation wants someone who's fearless, charismatic, and full of new ideas. Candidate X is charming, smart, and has all the right answers to your questions. Problem solved, right? Maybe not.

We'd like to think that if we met someone who was completely without conscience -- someone who was capable of doing anything at all if it served his or her purposes -- we would recognize it. In popular culture, the image of the psychopath is of someone like Hannibal Lecter or the BTK Killer. But in reality, many psychopaths just want money, or power, or fame, or simply a nice car. Where do these psychopaths go? Often, it's to the corporate world.

Researchers Paul Babiak and Robert Hare have long studied psychopaths. Hare, the author of Without Conscience, is a world-renowned expert on psychopathy, and Babiak is an industrial-organizational psychologist. Recently the two came together to study how psychopaths operate in corporations, and the results were surprising. They found that it's exactly the modern, open, more flexible corporate world, in which high risks can equal high profits, that attracts psychopaths. They may enter as rising stars and corporate saviors, but all too soon they're abusing the trust of colleagues, manipulating supervisors, and leaving the workplace in shambles.

Snakes in Suits is a compelling, frightening, and scientifically sound look at exactly how psychopaths work in the corporate environment: what kind of companies attract them, how they negotiate the hiring process, and how they function day by day. You'll learn how they apply their "instinctive" manipulation techniques -- assessing potential targets, controlling influential victims, and abandoning those no longer useful -- to business processes such as hiring, political command and control, and executive succession, all while hiding within the corporate culture. It's a must read for anyone in the business world, because whatever level you're at, you'll learn the subtle warning signs of psychopathic behavior and be able to protect yourself and your company -- before it's too late.

Do you feel that if you could get rid of some of the chaos in your work life, you could take your performance to a greater level? Do you stay late at the office many nights, trying to empty an inbox that never seems to diminish? Do you have difficulty dealing with cantankerous bosses or passive-aggressive coworkers? Do you find yourself checking your BlackBerry—almost against your will—during dates, family dinners, or your children's soccer games? If you've answered yes to any of the above, chances are you feel fragmented, pulled in too many directions at once, frustrated. Your work life has taken over your personal life.

In The One-Life Solution, Dr. Henry Cloud, consultant, bestselling author of the Boundaries series and Integrity, and clinical psychologist, examines the workplace. He demonstrates how our failure to maintain a unified life with good boundaries at the office not only blurs the line between the professional and the personal, but leaves us less equipped to deal with the problems of today's workplace: stress, heavy workload, and a blistering pace. As a result, we are overworked, overstressed, and unhappier than ever. Through real-world examples from years of working with leaders at companies large and small, Dr. Cloud shows us how to construct and enforce better boundaries against the technological devices, bullying bosses, and distracting coworkers who invade our time and space.

From conducting an audit of your time, to developing a policy of who you are and what you stand for, to learning how to overcome a paralyzing inability to say no, Dr. Cloud provides invaluable strategies and scripts for moving toward a more unified, coherent sense of self and a life that fully encompasses work, family, and spirituality. In a clear, conversational voice, he will help you develop the ability to:

• contain self-destructive behavior and keep it from spreading.
• define yourself and know who you are.
• set limits when needed.
• communicate effectively.
• learn how to improve your performance at the office and outside it.

By starting to do what's best for you, you'll find the key to living the one happy, fulfilling life that only you can live.

"Your story is your life," says Loehr. As human beings, we continually tell ourselves stories -- of success or failure; of power or victimhood; stories that endure for an hour, or a day, or an entire lifetime. We have stories about our work, our families and relationships, our health; about what we want and what we're capable of achieving. Yet, while our stories profoundly affect how others see us and we see ourselves, too few of us even recognize that we're telling stories, or what they are, or that we can change them -- and, in turn, transform our very destinies.

Telling ourselves stories provides structure and direction as we navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and helps us interpret our goals and skills. Stories make sense of chaos; they organize our many divergent experiences into a coherent thread; they shape our entire reality. And far too many of our stories, says Loehr, are dysfunctional, in need of serious editing. First, he asks you to answer the question, "In which areas of my life is it clear that I cannot achieve my goals with the story I've got?" He then shows you how to create new, reality-based stories that inspire you to action, and take you where you want to go both in your work and personal life.

For decades, at the Human Performance Institute, Loehr has been examining the power of story to increase engagement and productivity, and Fortune 500 companies have paid millions to send employees to his program, in which he applies the principles and methods that he now offers in this book. Global business leaders, world-class athletes, military special forces, and thousands of individuals from every walk of life have sought out and benefited from his life-altering insight and expertise.