Features
Executive madness: A threat to organisational sustainability and global stability
Executive madness, a phenomenon characterised by irrational, erratic, and destructive behaviour among high-level executives, poses a significant threat to organisational sustainability and global stability.
This article provides an in-depth examination of the concept of executive madness, its causes, consequences, and implications for organisations and society.
The concept of executive madness
Executive madness refers to a state of mind where executives exhibit abnormal behaviour, including impulsivity, recklessness, and a disregard for consequences. This phenomenon can manifest in various ways, such as:
1. Hubris and narcissism: An inflated sense of self-importance, leading to impulsive and reckless decision-making.
2. Paranoia and isolation: A sense of siege mentality, causing executives to become isolated and disconnected from reality.
3. Cognitive dissonance: Rationalising or denying the consequences of one’s actions, leading to a disconnection from reality.
Causes of executive madness
Several factors contribute to the development of executive madness, including:
1. Power dynamics: The concentration of power and the lack of accountability can foster an environment conducive to executive madness.
2. Personality traits: Certain personality traits, such as narcissism and Machiavellianism, can increase the likelihood of executive madness.
3. Organisational culture: A culture that values aggression, competition, and short-term gains can contribute to the development of executive madness.
4. Societal pressures: The pressure to meet shareholder expectations, combined with the fear of failure, can create an environment that fosters executive madness.
Consequences of executive madness
The consequences of executive madness can be severe and far-reaching, including:
1. Organisational instability: Executive madness can lead to impulsive decision-making, causing organisational instability and damage to the company’s reputation.
2. Financial ruin: Reckless and impulsive decision-making can result in catastrophic financial losses, damaging not only the organisation but also its stakeholders.
3. Social and environmental harm: Executive madness can lead to decisions that harm the environment, exploit resources, and disregard social welfare.
Case studies: examples of executive madness
Several high-profile cases illustrate the dangers of executive madness:
1. Enron and Jeffrey Skilling: The energy company’s collapse in 2001 was attributed to the reckless and hubristic behavior of its CEO, Jeffrey Skilling.
2. Volkswagen and Martin Winterkorn: The 2015 emissions scandal, which resulted in massive fines and reputational damage, was linked to the autocratic and paranoid leadership style of CEO Martin Winterkorn.
3. Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes: The biotech company’s downfall in 2018 was attributed to the hubris and deception of its CEO, Elizabeth Holmes.
Preventing executive madness
To mitigate the risks of executive madness, organizations can implement several strategies:
1. Governance and oversight: Establishing robust governance structures and oversight mechanisms can help prevent the concentration of power and the erosion of sanity.
2. Leadership development and coaching: Providing leaders with training, coaching, and mentoring can help them develop emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and effective decision-making skills.
3. Culture and values: Fostering a culture of transparency, accountability, and empathy can help prevent the development of executive madness.
Conclusion
Executive madness poses a significant threat to organisational sustainability and global stability. By understanding the causes, consequences, and implications of executive madness, organisations can take proactive steps to prevent this phenomenon and promote more effective, responsible, and sustainable leadership.
By Robert Ekow Grimmond Thompson
Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
