CHAPTER 17

OVERLY FLATTERING

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“But when I tell him he hates flatterers, He says he does, being then most flattered.”

—Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

How do you spot a toady? There are three ways; kinesthetic, linguistic, and olfactory—how they move, talk, and smell. We're sure you've observed all three. The yes-man takes on the walk and gestures of the boss, begins to use similar words and phrasing, and even wears the same scent.

Like a particle drawn to a magnet, the yes-man, toady, sycophant, draws energy from the leader. Turn the magnetic field off, and the toady falls to the ground like a lifeless puppet, looking foolish and disjointed.

Insecure ...

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