Not only narcissism, imposture, or paranoid behaviors are significant for the exercise of power and influence in politics and business. It is the interplay between leaders and followers that determines the reality in the state, society, and economic organizations. Kets de Vries examines the unconscious motives that can influence the behavior and actions of leaders. The author suggests that the many status-seekers, emotionally illiterate individuals, impostors, and ordinary people in business and politics should be countered by a "court jester." This figure would be able, in the manner of the medieval court, to tell the leader the truth.