Devoted to small businesses and those who run them

Syndicated columnist, Dale Dauten found a business book he considered so woeful that he created a special award.

He says,

I hereby announce that the first Double Flush Award for Bad Business Writing goes to "What Men Don't Tell Women About Business."

Dauten's shares some of author Christopher Flett's version of a high octane alpha male's agressive and often manipulative approach.

Flett claims to have seen the error of his ways, hence the book, but talks of things he has done and witnessed.

Flett talks of his past alpha male strategies -

If a competitor dared get in my path, they'd either yield or I'd destroy them. I even on occasion sent black roses to competitors when I'd get one of their key employees to quit or when I'd steal a contract from underneath them.

Wow! This blows me away. Flett talks about the attitude of alpha males to others not like them. He cites the instance of an alpha male purposely eliciting sympathy that working over the weekend will break his son's heart, until a co-worker offers to take some of his load.

Dauten shares the alpha male's desired result,

Now that I have alleviated my three-foot pile of paperwork that has to be done by Monday . . . I'm free to take the weekend off.

I'm absolutely amazed that anyone could be so manipulative. It's even more disturbing that a father could use his own son as emotional blackmail to exploit others, just to decrease his workload.

He has not only betrayed a trust to his son, but to his colleague, and has taken advantage of a team member's kind nature.

It all boils down to your interpretation of the alpha male. In Dauten's overview of Flett's book, they are a long way from the team values of the quiet leadership style or of supportive mentors and coaches. 

This type of approach is also about the culture of an organization, which comes from the top.

• How would you handle an employee, colleague or manager who treated you or others in this way?