Being a Successful CEO (or Psychopath)— 3 Must-Have Characteristics

Did you know that being a successful CEO or psychopath require very similar characteristics? According to his research, journalist Ron Ronson says they share a few key characteristics that allow for their “success.”

One of the primary common traits both share is their inability to empathize. Although empathy is hard for everyone, these two groups of people often fall in the sociopath/non-existant range.

To be a sociopath however, does not mean one is a psychopath. There are many good CEOs who may find it difficult to empathize with people, but still desire to do good. Psychopaths on the other hand, cannot empathize and have no desire to do good.

Since most stuff out there looks at what makes CEOs successful, I thought I’d write about what makes the psychopaths.

What does it take to be aCEO? Learn the 3 C’s of successful CEOs and psychopaths.

When you think generally of the successful CEO, you most likely will think of someone charming and who can schmooze a crowd. This doesn’t mean that they’re a nice or good person, but simply a person that is good with people.

If you haven’t yet watched the television drama on Ted Bundy starring Zak Efron, you need to. In the show you will see what made Bundy so “successful” was was due largely to his charm and charisma. If you take a moment to look Bundy up, you’ll discover his charm was a well documented truth.

Currently, I am reading A Serial Killer’s Daughter. It is the memoir of a Kerri Rawson’s life with her loving father, the BTK (bind, torture, kill) killer of Wichita, Kansas. He killed 10 people, 2 of which were children and many who were parents over the span of 17 years.

This man was by all accounts a loving father. If you read Rawson’s memoir, you’ll see he was very protective, affectionate, and even fun at times. He was well esteemed in his community and served as an assitant to the pastor at their church.

If there’s one lesson that can be learned, charisma can go a long way to one’s “success.”

If you think about a lot of successful people, they often have a natural ability to compartmentalize. Their home and relationships do not get taken to work. When they get to work, everything is blocked out and only their goal is in view.

In her memoir, Rawson writes,

“Dad committed murder three more times after I was born. Even now, it’s not possible to reconcile the man and life I knew with the other man—and his other life. After his arrest, Dad talked about his ability to “compartmentalize” his two sides. It was his way of separating the dark from the light.”

Being a successful CEO or a psychopath requires compartmentalizing their life into categories that do not mix.

Lastly, “success” comes by control. Being a successful CEO or psychopath requires controlling both the environment and one’s self.

Rawson writes,

“Dad always fought hard to be in control. Not just his emotions or demeanor, but his whole body. He was careful about who got to see what side of him. He was almost always on excellent behavior in front of anyone who wasn’t Mom, Brian, or me, but now he was losing a little bit of control and quickly boiling over.”

Many successful and high-achieving people I know are able to wake up early and live on less sleep. I do not think it is because they need less sleep than others but instead because they are better at controlling their body. Michael Hyatt is a very successfull CEO and one of the first tips he has for productivity is sleep.

Let’s be clear, this is not a comprehensive list of the greatest attributes of human beings or even successful CEOs. Truly great people and leaders inspire, uplift, and better the lives of others.

But these 3 traits are what CEOs and psychopaths share in common that enable them to get stuff done (be it for good or ill).

And you need to get more stuff done.

So learn from CEOs and even psychopaths and find a way to:

Out of the 3 traits of CEOs and psychopaths, which do you find hardest to have?