LIAR’S PARADISE

THE SEVEN DEGREES OF CORPORATE DECEIT

by Graham Edmonds

We’re now living and working in the golden age of bullshit and whether we like it or not we’re being constantly bombarded with lies, fakery and spin. This is especially true of the work place and here is a book that by using test cases (including Enron, the European Union, Boo.com) exposes the techniques used by liars and corporate cheats.

Although the book is written with a wry humour, in it you will find out about the various degrees of deceit, about they they are used, how to spot a liar and how lying is used at every level at work and how damaging it can be.

If you think your company is fraud free then you’ll be one of the 80% of companies who believe that’s the case, the only problem is that in a recent survey (by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Martin Luther University in Germany) some 45% of companies found cases of fraud within their own staff.

There’s a bullshitter sitting near your desk, in your office…

Read Graham Edmonds’ article on the need for dishonesty in business and in life, in The Guardian Online >>

About the Author: Graham Edmonds, the author of the Good Web Site Guide (over 300,000 sold to date) and Bullshit Bingo, has over 25 years’ experience of being on the receiving end of corporate bullshit. Now it’s his turn.

Pub Date: September 2006
Extent: 128 pp
Format: 186mm x 124mm
Binding: Hardback
Price: £9.99
ISBN13: 978-1-904915-15-7
Territory: World English Language

CONTENTS

  1. Introduction – what the book is about, personal reasons behind the book, aims of the book
  2. Levels of honesty – the seven degrees of deceit – the mechanics of lying, what the seven degrees of deceit are and how the various techniques are used.
  3. Chinese Whispers – how we start lying when we’re young (I have a good research source here), how misunderstandings happen, how we can’t help embellishing stories and information.
  4. White lies and fibs – how small lies grow and accumulate
  5. Blatant lies – the whoppers told when things are desperate (1st test case here)
  6. The Danger of Denial – how companies think fraud doesn’t happen to them (2nd test case)
  7. Self deception – how not to run a company (Boo.com test case)
  8. Criminal lies – the arrogance of companies and leaders who think they are above the law.  Enron test case
  9. Leading and lying – how leaders use lies to work for them
  10. Political lies – political scandal, AWB test case, how PR and spin are used
  11. Bullshit – how the techniques are tied together (Test case)
  12. Excuses and why it all went wrong – a catalogue of excuses
  13. Spotting a liar – behaviours, body language and signs to look for
  14. The Language Of Lies