Many people in Eve think that violence is the best way to destroy a corporation or alliance, but it’s only one of the ways. Another way to do it is to infiltrate it and subvert its goals from within. If your corp can be influenced in a way that causes it to lose its direction, to falter and fall, then it can be destroyed without a shot being fired.
Subversion
“Subversion refers to an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, and hierarchy. Subversion refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place, are contradicted or reversed.”
– Wikipedia
If you get someone coming into your corp who slowly turns the corp members against the philosophy or style that you’re built the corp around, then they’re ‘subverting’ the operations of your corp. If you lose the direction you were heading because your corp members have decided that the words of the smooth-talking member are more attractive than your own, then you can potentially lose control of your own corp.
The members can start demanding changes to your management style, or the corp’s operations, because the smooth-talker has subtly influenced members to think that his way is the best way, and they demand you make changes accordingly.
The smooth-talker might even start giving members gifts of ships or money, to get them to associate the rewards with his own ideas – essentially buying them over, and influencing the corp in a direction that’s opposite to the corp’s goals.
The most dangerous threat to a corp is this kind of subversion, where the impression is given that he’s such a good fellow with the best intentions for the corp and its members, but the end result is the destruction of the corp’s goals. Everyone ends up dissatisfied and angry, and the corp may eventually dissolve if the CEO can’t keep it together.
The best thing to do? Remove the sweet-talking member from the corp immediately. Anyone not aligned with your goals is someone who’s always going to be a threat to your goals.
“If they’re not with you, then they’re probably against you.”
– Black Claw
Keep that in mind when you monitor the conversations of your members. You’re going to want everyone onboard with the goals of your corp, and if they’re not, then get rid of them. It’s the only way to save your corp before you lose it without even realising why.
