Goals and Brutality

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Do you know people who are this way?

I am going to ask because I have met such people before and I have a few characters in an upcoming book I am written who are like that.

People who so goal oriented that they don't care what happens to anyone or to anything. Their only motivations are fears of failure and inadequancy.

Bottom Line, profit, development, and brutally honest. Some of the lines in the book are

"The reason why Malawi is a third world country is because of our sentimentality towards our inadequancies".

"I am trying to make this country a first world country but you are my obstacles to national progress".

"If we don't do the Great Malawi Development Intiative(a mass infrastructure development scheme), we will become a third world backwater good for only charity appeals and junk loans from the IMF and we will be the quintessential example of how we Africans are incapable of self-governance".

"I am called a b***h, but if I am not, then nothing will ever get done and we will remain a failure. Also, it shows the sexism in this country. If I was a man(my character is a women), I would be called a brave warrior".

I could go on and on but I wanted to ask how realistic is this? Do you know people like this? Brutal honest, tunnel vision, goal oriented at all costs, and someone who can only see the end. Begin with the end in mind, yes, but the means justifiy the ends, those kind of people?

I am sure there are real politicians and business leaders like this, but do you personally know such people and generally what is your opinion of such people?

In real life...

sort of, they are usually looooong standing leaders in organidations like book clubs through to girl guides (and amazingly enough women seem to be the worse culprit of this line of mentality)

...but Mugabe also comes to mind... even after a democratic election, still can't let go, but hey, they say the leader of a nation has the responsability to represent the nations people, and in Zimbabwe, Mugabe's persona fits the typical ideosyncracies of the demography like a well worn stocking.

I personally know such people.

My opinion of such people is that they are extremely efficient. They're not the kinds I find surfing porn or even surfing hotmail. They are also extremely results-driven. I'll level with you, I've made some significant social screw-ups that were quickly swept under the rug because I am a performer.

But their task is all-encompassing. These are the ones who call me on the weekend because their computer has crashed and they have another twelve hours worth of work to do. These are the ones who have their children raised by their maids, they nannies, their butlers, etc.

I met with success in dealing with these people when I started to see and treat them exactly like the machines. They ARE machines. They want to work. They don't particularly care to socialize with you, no matter how high you may be in the company as a whole, unless you are directly related to their work. And they're not mean about this -- being mean would require effort focused your way. This doesn't happen.

So, nutshell: I abhor what they stand for and I dislike their treatment of others intensely, BUT I find them extremely easy to work with and predict.

One way to describe these people is "choleric.' In general people that are goal oriented and disciplined have power in society and are respected. The ability to stay focused is viewed as a good thing.

This is called narcissism. It's like fat: we all need some to survive, but too much can be harmful, if not deadly.

Beliefs of people with excessive:
"It's all about me."
"If only everyone would do what I tell them, the everything will be OK."
"I'm special, and I'll kill you if you deny it."

Taken to its pathological extreme, it becomes Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Mugabe probably has it. Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Saddam and a host of other low lifes had it.

Yes, I have met people like this. I do like dealing with them. They are direct, and as such you dont need to bother with being tactful. It makes it much easier to get stuff done. The only problem is that they like to work long hours, and expect others too also. But I find that as long as you are firm about what you will and will not do, they generally wind up being good co-workers.

BTW, this is NOT narcissism. People with narcissism like to belittle, harass, and abuse others because they enjoy it. The demean, and insult anybody they disagree with, or who gets in their way. They go out of their way to be the center of attention and be in the spotlight. They work not because they are interested in the result, but because they want to be recognized for their achievement. If they can bluff and lie in order to get respect rather then work they will gladly do so. Narcissist are all flash and no substance.

What the OP is describing is a concern for a goal, even if they have to work hard and be unpopular because of it. A narcissist will avoid anything remotely like hard work if possible, and certainly never pursue a goal that makes them unpopular.

Again, based on personal direct observation from working side by side and one on one with such individuals, I can state unequivocally that I have never heard any of them engage in any kind of behavior or oration that would be indicative of self-love. In a way, their behavior seems the opposite; such a total focus on their business that they themselves become secondary.

If you consider them to have in this sense "become" their business, then they exhibit the highest form of Narcissism. Otherwise, I would have to respectfully disagree with you WoodenNickel and reinforce Tracker's assessment.

To the OP, for writing these characters: I would also be wary of thinking of this behavior as "brutality" in the conventional sense. While there may be brutal decisions (i.e. this person is not performing. Term them (even though the economy sucks and they have a wife and twelve kids)) they are made without malice. It is more of an absolute, total focus that gives these actions this appearance.

Aw gee guys....you're describing me! I'm blushing!

And in fact, the whole thing about "this is a third world country because it is"; may I remind you folks that you were the ones who helped me understand that, because of the 48 Laws of Power.

As I now tell people--and trust me they squirm when they hear it--"the people over in Somalia who bathe in goat sh*t all the time don't mind it all that much; if they really did, they'd do something about it. They haven't...they like things that way; I don't condone their choice in any way; I think it's disturbing and sick...but it's also their choice".

So yes, my mentality is much the same. I'm results-driven; My personality is that of Driver and Analytical.

The people who don't like hearing it are comfortable with their lives and just want that: comfort.

The problem with that, IMO, is that based on the choices that those people are making, they won't be comfortable for long when their stupid choices come back to hurt them.

I say either reach for the stars, or pay the consequences.

My business partner had a brush with richness, as his folks are pretty damn wealthy. I've been financially shot my whole life; so believe me when I tell you I have that thirst for blood required to kick ass in the world of business.

that's right....

narcassistic sociopath.

to the OP I don't consider Mzingu Mtwetwe to be a sociopath because she has genuine and compassionate interest in her people.

She is a Hugo Chavez kind of personality, someone who will work wonders for their people and turly and genuinely mean it.

Provide better social services, develop infrastructure and make this country diligent but her view is

"this brutal procedure is the necessity of circumstance, I have to be brutal and be mollycuddling then I might as well leave State House and become a pauper in a small Malawian village on the side of the highway".

To keep this post politically balanced, a lot of her ideas of national development come from Lee Kuan Yew's ideas on development of Singapore into a first world country. Her view is very succinct

"In 35 years Singapore went from being one of the poorest and worthless countries in the face of the world, to one of it's most influential and economically important. Singapore has less natural resources then we do (that is a FACT, believe it or not), and they accomplished more then we have? Why?".

Of course she runs into culture clashes

She is one of those kind of people. National development at all cost, and she quotes this Stalin phrase often

"Mother Russia was beaten for her backwardness. We must hasten the pace of development".

DO you know people like that?

Who do their goodhearted, altruistic and yet utterly self-interested procedures for the benefit of the nation but in a brutal and underhanded manner? "the necessity of circumstance" arguement.

In real life, people who would say in a corporation during this terrible recession

"The brutal truth is that if we fire enough people, there will be a surplus in the company's books

and "the reason for the economic crisis and the subprime mortgage debacle is because of our incompetancy, our immaturity and our greed and our deluded and distorted view of free markets and capitalism?".

In a teacher telling her students

"If you don't study, you will not get good grades, you will not get a good job, and you will live at home and be a worthless piece of s**t to your parents".

Again, great goals and trully beneficial criticism for everyone, but the procedure executed in a harsh and unforgiving manner and coercive to the extreme".

/\ Singapore is the first world country with the lowest amount of crime per capita. Why is that?

This goes to show you that jail sentences do not work on criminals. Social and monetary punishments are a far more effective way for determent.

Why, in the NT world, social status is everything. How is this described? Through money and conformance to social conventions. This is the way the Singaporean judicial system exploits. This is especially true in Asia.

Another thing, Lee Kuan Yew made Singapore a first world country in 35 years, the fastest tunaround period ever, so while he imposed tough and brutal laws on his people, he accomplished his goal. That is Mzingu Mtwetwe's attitude of "This is all in the best interest of our country and if we want to be a first world country, we should stop being so apathetic, complacent, lazy and ambivalent".

That's the kind of person she is. Whatever it takes to accomplish her goals, Machiavellian to the extreme, intense tough love and brutal honesty (Very Un-Malawian BTW) and extreme goal-oriented person.

What would you call a person who is willing to do almost anything to accomplish his or her goals and is persistent/aggressive to the extreme doesn't have much of a need for social status? What if this person wants self-satisfaction above all and doesn't care what anyone else thinks or believes?