Scott Sobel MA, Media Psychology – President, Media & Communications Strategies, Inc.
A major business publication reporter is gathering information about a fascinating angle that provides many lessons and warnings for businesses and communications professionals interested in understanding the dynamics of a potential reputation crisis and how to mitigate crisis. What types of personalities and especially personal tendencies of leaders present warning signs of trouble? Please see part of the Q/A between the reporter and me:
Scott – My credentials and experience provide a unique perspective on rule breaking. I’ve been a police and investigative reporter at the major market and network levels; my agency Media & Communications Strategies, Inc. in Washington, DC has and does represent major law firms, multi-national corporations, hospitals, associations, financial concerns and celebrities among other clients, and has won numerous crisis communication awards including Bulldog PR Crisis Agency of the Year; and I have a media psychology degree from the Touro University system.
I am often called on to mitigate business and reputation crisis caused by business leaders who have stretched the truth, been indicted or investigated because they have broken rules to varying degrees. These cases are usually the ones that draw the comments: “What were they thinking” or “How did they ever think they would get away with that?”
The rule-breakers may be politicians or celebrities caught in an affair – A CEO documenting a racial slur in an email or bragging about “crushing or killing” a competitor in a classic Sherman Anti-Trust scenario.
These rule-breakers act because they are self entitled, selfish, surrounded by yes men who reinforce bad behavior, tend to interpret their own reality, maybe be sociopaths with no conscious or have a such a strong limbic drive for survival that any selfish act of thinking rules are not made for me is justified.
I’ve also seen similar behavior in some CEOs and the dozens of career criminals I’ve interviewed in and out of prison as a journalist.
The media, the movies and even our schools, in many cases, reward breaking the rules by lionizing some very successful businesspersons or celebrities who have broken rules and assist in the desensitization of society in business or violence.
Reporter – In those ³What were they thinking?² situations, in your experience, what do you see as a common cause? Is it a mix of ambition and pressure of success at any cost? Or some other underlying trait/external factor?
Scott – Sometimes a prerequisite for success is an extreme competitive drive that may be juiced by borderline sociopathic behavior or even an overblown limbic system, a primal survival compulsion. Those often manic manifestations can fuel narcissistic personalities drowning in the inability to recognize any fallibility. Couple that bullet-proof behavior with a tendency to surround oneself with “yes-men” and you have an individual who feels the rules just don’t apply to them, they are better than others and deserve to be self-serving since everyone else will be blessed by the rule-breaker’s success. More simply put: Some rule-breakers in business are compulsive narcissists who surround themselves with sycophants. Those rule-breakers feel bullet-proof because all they feel and hear is “you are great, you are right.” Some Super CEO’s, celebrities and even successful thieves can be narcissistic and selfish to the point of not seeing reality. Of course, that “me me me” behavior can lead to success which feeds on the immense ego-driven position that rules don’t apply to me.”
Reporter – What are the early signs of a rule-breaker who¹s doing edgy work now, but might lead to a big fall later?
Scott – The news media loves to stroke hyper-successful types, even edgy entrepreneurs, who can be rule-breakers. When someone is described as “that guy who breaks all the rules, but he’ll eventually pay the piper,” you can easily recognize an individual who is potentially setting himself or herself up for a big failure. Little transgressions may lead to bigger examples of rule-breaking later. Common sense tells us to watch out for those who tend to always cheat at scoring their golf card, always speed while driving, cut in lines or pocket that candy bar at the check out. Generally, we all know and don’t trust someone who always bends the rules but may be forgiving of those who break inconsequential rules that have no real victim — but who decides the severity of the rule-breaking? It’s likely we are all rule breakers to some degree and do intuitively know when we are going too far. The definition of a sociopathic rule-breaker is probably the individual who isn’t aware of when that line is crossed.
Naturally, the news media also likes to cover those whose pride comes before a fall and those who achieve greater heights can fall farther with a more spectacular crash, e.g. Bernie Madoff. Those kinds of rule-breakers seem to always be amazed that their media “friends” turn on them so viciously. There is a very long list of politicians who cheated on their spouses, stole public funds and broke the rules but thought they were bulletproof. There are a few exceptions, who do get away with murder, but a very, very few do using a lot of luck, charm and big-time lawyers.
Reporter – You mention that society glorifies rule-breaking as a path to success. Brilliant minds often go too far, but ultimately are rewarded for their hubris. Is there a happy medium between creatively solving problems that bend the rules, and behavior that¹s abusive to the system/people they¹re working for? How do we get there?
Scott – You answered your own question really. Creatively solving problems and bending rules where there are no victims and there is a general societal benefit is very different than a rule-breaker who is narcissistic and selfish to the extreme. If there is no social redemption to an action, then that action should be questioned.
Dear Readers, please look out for the entire published article that covers rule-breakers and we will post the link to the article once the story runs. I’m also very interested to hear what other’s interviewed have to say on this very important topic, “The Psychology of Rule-Breaking.”