Psychology, Society

The Psychology of the Thought-Leading CEO

The archetypal CEO is a man who combines instinct and intelligence, who knows when to go with his gut and when to listen to the experts. He has strong convictions. He reads a lot, or as much as he can. He keeps in shape. He knows what to do and when. He is not afraid of the consequences. The proof is in his success.

He is inevitably male.[1. Or a female who is trying really hard to behave like a male.]

When he was young he got in trouble with the law or authority.

But what he did was minor enough that it didn’t harm his future success.

Because of his gender, because of the way he looked, and because of who his family was or because of his charm, someone gave him a second chance.

But it wasn’t just the person who gave him a second chance.

The system was designed to give people like him another chance. Had he been a woman, or had he looked different, or had he been more socially awkward, that person wouldn’t have given him a second chance. They would have been strongly encouraged to treat him like everyone else.

There were consequences, but they were not severe.

As a result, he found opportunities.

One day he was rich.

The money and success were entirely deserved.

He came to realize his intentions lined up remarkably well with ethics and the law and society.

And when they didn’t, people were willing to overlook it. Because he was a self-made man, a go-getter.

And because, with someone like him, well you just have to overlook the quirky and creepy stuff. He wouldn’t be so successful if he didn’t have a few personality quirks. So that thing that happened last year, well we can overlook it. He’s so successful after all.

I want to workshop this. Let me know if you have any feedback. I think there’s something here but I don’t like what I’ve written.

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