When the drive to succeed goes over the edge
Published: 24 March, 2009, 11:59
Edited: 25 October, 2009, 17:02
TAGS: Investment, Russia and the global economy, Big deal, Economy
A top psychologist who's proved links between inspiration and schizophrenia has warned against putting power in the hands of the most creative. It comes as the G20 prepares safeguards against out-of-control bankers.
Banks let talented traders gamble away billions of dollars, provoking the current economic meltdown. They held as little as 4% of the amount being risked, to cover potential losses. The German Chancellor's joined Britain to as much as triple the capital banks must keep. A joint proposal is expected at next week's G20 summit.
Top psychologist Mark Batey, from Britains elite Manchester Business School, advises companies like Rolls-Royce and SonyBMG on the link between talent and mental disorder. In a study to be published this autumn he warns those losses and future catastrophes could be avoided by resisting the most inventive.
“What we found is a process called latent inhibition. There's a brain mechanism controlled by the frontal lobes, with creative people that mechanism is less powerful. The risk would be to run with a very creative idea that someone's very passionate, who can persuade you to follow in a very egregious way, but that is not fitting for the business environment.”
Batey says Russia's top mobile entrepreneur may be a case in point. In nine years casual-dressed Evgeny Chichvarkin grew Euroset from 2 shops to more than 5,000, before a fire sale in December. Interpol's now hunting him for kidnapping employees and blackmail. Rivals say the 34-year-old would send Euroset-yellow vibrators, with vulgar notes attached. Mikhail Gerchuk, Chief Financial Officer at MTS, says other gifts were equally bemusing.
“We have received a set of other tools like a helmet, hammer, toys. Each has some meaning for his business. For example the purpose of the helmet was that no-one could put ”spaghetti on your ears,“ it's a Russian saying meaning to lie to you.”
On Friday millionaire businessman turned mayor of Kiev refused Ministry of Health demands for psychiatric tests. Leonid Chernovetsky's solution to financial woe in Ukraine’s capital is to “auction a kiss with me, or a trip in my armoured Mercedes.” The 56-year-old exercised in front of the cameras to prove his health, and compared himself to Einstein. He insists “sucessful businessmen are so busy they’re all crazy.”
Agreement signed on Ukrainian gas pipeline upgradeThe Ukrainian government, the European Commission, the EBRD, and the European Investment Bank have signed a declaration to upgrade Ukraine's pipelines. |
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I don't think so. I think you are looking for liars, manipulators and people who compensate. Example, in HS, I made average grades and had average test scores, meaning that I pretty much perform exactly as I retain. You can predict how well I'm going to do. My friend made straight As, and this person tested the same as I did, sometimes lower, but this person had these things called character qualities, which I do not have - and are very valued in today's field; I can be quite rude. So the teachers liked this person and helped the person. When we went to work or did projects, I did better than the person, and this person needed lots of help to do anything and had breakdowns constantly. Later in life, I got a psycho drive because I had a quarter life crisis. All of my friends were in fancy schools and looked like they were getting ahead, and I got jealous, which isn't like me, but it got really bad because I had red car syndrome, especially after all those years of watching them get help and taking tests over and over again to look better. So I decided to become an Engineer then go to school full time while working in this difficult career field. My "friend" who was jealous of me in our last job came back and said things, and my brain went psycho because it was stretched too thin like a balloon, and I had lots of stressors as well. You could trust me before I did too much but not after, and you can't trust me now because I seem to be stuck this way, but it's getting better. It's not like I'm going to be screwed up that bad forever, though I'll never get a decent job again.