Hello robgambrill,
I smell a rat. I prefer honesty and straight talk.
This sounds like a manual for a used car salesman.
Still, it is interesting and informative. One should be aware of the tactics used to gain confidence and thus be better armed to combat them.
"To be forewarned is to be forearmed." (Praemonitus praemunitus)
Respectfully,
O.A.

Your right, this does sound like the exact opposite of a Dale Carnegie course, almost point by point.

On some level, even with the best of intentions, like getting the job, it seems dishonest to me.
However, I could see using it upon one's enemy or someone that is a threat to who you are or who or what you represent.

All that to seduce someone? Ef it, if they can't tell it's the truth when they hear it, then I say goodbye have a good life.

Ellsworth Toohey? You mean Dorian Grey.

I get an emotional response right off when being manipulated. I dont always know what their agenda is, but I get the feeling I am being gamed !!

I also think it might be a good list of things to watch out for. And like Machiavelli, tools someone would use to gain power.

Kinda funny, but also creepy in a sociopathic way. But I suppose there are people who think like that.

Yeah, might be a good manual for a spy trying to infiltrate an enemy organization.

What I thought funny is that the article appeared in Business Insider, although they did do a rather tongue in cheek summary.

Announcement over the intercom:

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your autopilot speaking. The pilots has lost the plot and are now in a deep coma. We are low on fuel. Please meet the airborne re-fueling station 40 miles south west from here. The flight manual is under your seat. Would the most conscious 2 people please proceed to the cockpit.

how about Machiavelli?

If there is a Con Man's Handbook, this must be one chapter.

Reads just like Machiavelli's "The Prince".

Well, that doesn't do much good toward how to get
a job interview in the first place. Besides, I think
it would require a considerable sacrifice of self-
respect.

Its a good article if you are into the ART of Manipulation. Its disgusting I think to use these tactics, although they are necessary in this day and age. I would rather just be yourself and say what you think (This is what people like about Trump). Forget political correctness. Make mistakes and then correct them if you see them as mistakes. We only live once.

I think you are on to something! Change the title and it could be written by a number of Rand's villians...

"How to Succeed on K-Street" by Cuffy Meigs

"The Means to Make The World a Fairer Place" by James Taggart.

I wonder if he's had opportunities to test this,maybe on the truant officer: https://twitter.com/RichFeloni

Where is the picture of Ellsworth Toohey?
He wrote this, didn't he?