By Gautam Mukunda, Former Contributor. I write about leadership, innovation, and policy for entrepreneurs and execs.
Sep 26, 2024, 11:51am EDT
[...]
Look and you’ll see that TR didn’t just manufacture our understanding of what it means to be president; he’s also the prototype of the present-day CEO. A spellbinding speaker? He literally coined the phrase “bully pulpit.” An adventurer? Even apart from his Medal of Honor-winning combat record he explored uncharted branches of the Amazon and helped bring downhill skiing to the United States. Intelligent? He wrote 40 books and hundreds of articles. Ruthless? He used the Justice Department to gather information on those he saw as enemies of his reforms. A quick ascent to power? He was, at 42, the youngest person ever to become President. Imagine a combination of Bill Gates’s intellect, Mark Zuckerberg’s learning mixed martial arts, Jamie Dimon’s charisma, and Sam Altman’s ambition, all of them equipped with the full power of the presidency, and you can start to imagine what he must have been like IRL.
[Insert: in real life, for those as thick as i can be at times. ]
But most psychopathic traits are not beneficial. A second cluster, known as “Impulsive Antisociality,” can be toxic in leadership (but is often camouflaged by the aura of Fearless Dominance). This cluster is characterized by irresponsibility, a lack of self-control, and an inability or unwillingness to follow rules and social norms. While very small levels of impulsive antisociality may be helpful in winning in-office political battles, too much renders someone unable to function productively in any type of organization.
Psychopaths’ behavior may be driven by a diminished sensitivity to negative affect. The amygdala, which processes fear, is less reactive in psychopaths. Extreme psychopaths may appear—or actually be—fearless (it’s a lot easier to be a racecar driver if you literally feel less fear than most people would). They generally show less response to negative stimuli of all kinds. They may even find such situations to be enjoyable instead of threatening. And while the stereotype is that psychopaths lack empathy, that’s not quite correct. Psychopaths often have superb cognitive empathy—they understand what others are feeling, which helps them manipulate others. What they lack is affective empathy, the ability to share feelings with others. Most people react to seeing someone’s pain by feeling a lesser version of it themselves, which makes them reluctant to hurt others. Psychopaths, though, have a diminished response to their own pain—so why would they care about yours?
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
