My KJR column on psychopathic corporations and executives apparently hit a nerve, generating a lot of correspondence. Here's another question about the subject. - Bob Dear Bob ... OK, we have clinically proven what we already suspected - the psychopath in the corner office is, oh my goodness, REALLY a psychopath. Some are convinced that it takes a psychopath to lead many of today's multinational corporations. As My KJR column on psychopathic corporations and executives apparently hit a nerve, generating a lot of correspondence. Here’s another question about the subject. – Bob Dear Bob …OK, we have clinically proven what we already suspected – the psychopath in the corner office is, oh my goodness, REALLY a psychopath. Some are convinced that it takes a psychopath to lead many of today’s multinational corporations. As you indicate, this may be a trait that is preferred, rather than selected out. So here is what I struggle with: I have been debating for a few years now whether or not I should start a business of my own. I’ve carefully considered my skills, my weaknesses, market opportunities, capital requirements, and identified a few opportunities I would like to pursue. But here is what holds me back: I’m no psychopath. I’m the complete opposite. Does that mean that my chances of success are slim, in our current business environment? Will my competition “eat my lunch” because I won’t fight a dirty fight? Will my employees walk all over me because I want to run a company ethically, fairly, and in line with my personal code of ethics? Can a person build a successful, multi-million dollar business without sacrificing his/her standards?– Not psycho, yet Dear Not yet …Well, I’m running a business, albeit not a multimillion dollar one. So far I’ve managed to suppress my psychopathic symptoms.The most important questions to ask yourself are (a) who your clients will be (the larger they are the higher your risk of doing business with a psychopathic company); and (b) how large do you want to grow (the larger, the higher the risk of failure due to not being psychopathic). Size isn’t, of course, the only indicator, nor is it by any means a perfect one. There are many large, publicly held companies that operate with high integrity. So another, more precise way of asking the question is whether there are enough non-psychopathic clients around to satisfy your revenue requirements.– Bob Technology Industry