Entreprenarcissism reloaded: short comments

Last time out, I wrote something a bit challenging. It wasn’t the most flattering light in which to see ourselves, or a trusted peer.

But I stand by it. We each have the first responsibility to mind our own character. Don’t let necessary self-belief become corrupted, or it will poison personal and professional lives alike.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Gandhi

Here are a few more observations.

The most catastrophic (entrepre)narcissistic injury—the real or perceived slight that most threatens “brand equity”, and consequently provokes the nastiest response—is to be accused or exposed as incapable of delivering on the false self.

It’s surprisingly inconsequential to simply accuse or expose a narcissist as such. Many wear the label as a badge of honor given the trauma to which they’ve reacted. However, the “brand” requires a number of core competencies; if one of them is broken in the moment of delivery, the individual will be in crisis. Everyone who comes in contact with the wounded animal will have a good chance of encountering crisis as well.

Thus, there’s an important corollary when facing an (entrepre)narcissist: the worst thing one could do would be to impugn the false self—accuse it of non-delivery—and be wrong. When retaliation is underpinned by factual vindication, the person committing the affront is in nearly endless peril.

So with regard specifically to the entreprenarcissist: a time comes at which they’re unable to separate personal offense (or gratification) from valid market signals. There’s no telling how their reaction in either case will impact things like talent, solution delivery, customer experience, marketing, sales, investor relations, or financial health.

A successful business codifies its values and bestows responsibility to uphold those values, at scale, for money, on its team. If a corrupting narrative causes self-belief to become toxic, the venture will serve compromised values. The business then pivots to serve the false self rather than building from empathy for stakeholders, and serious trouble is brewing.

Let’s find ways to avoid this.