Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition

stand and will not be upset by anything he wishes to
say, he will probably be off to a fast start.

In this connection, can you remain undisturbed if
the man proceeds to tell you shocking things? He
may, for example, reveal that he has padded his ex­-
pense account or that he has planned to take your
best customers away from you. In fact, he may say
almost anything if he has accepted our solution which,
as you know, demands rigorous honesty. Can you
charge this off as you would a bad account and start
fresh with him? If he owes you money you may wish
to make terms.

If he speaks of his home situation, you can un­-
doubtedly make helpful suggestions. Can he talk
frankly with you so long as he does not bear business
tales or criticize his associates? With this kind of em­-
ployee such an attitude will command undying loyalty.

The greatest enemies of us alcoholics are resent-­
ment, jealousy, envy, frustration, and fear. Wherever
men are gathered together in business there will be
rivalries and, arising out of these, a certain amount of
office politics. Sometimes we alcoholics have an idea
that people are trying to pull us down. Often this is
not so at all. But sometimes our drinking will be used
politically.

One instance comes to mind in which a malicious
individual was always making friendly little jokes
about an alcoholic's drinking exploits. In this way he
was slyly carrying tales. In another case, an alcoholic
was sent to a hospital for treatment. Only a few knew
of it at first but, within a short time, it was billboarded
throughout the entire company. Naturally this sort of
thing decreased the man's chance of recovery. The