Business | Schumpeter

The Trump in every leader

Bosses must learn how to deal with the egomania that comes with power

DONALD TRUMP cheerfully breaks all the rules of good leadership, as codified in management books and taught in business schools. The modern CEO is supposed to be a consummate team player, modest and self-effacing, committed to equality and diversity, good at handling risk and adept at dealing with the press. Mr Trump flies around in a private plane with his name emblazoned on it. He humiliates job applicants in his television show, “The Apprentice”. Four Trump-themed businesses have declared bankruptcy since 1991. He refers to women as “pieces of ass” and boasts about how well he gets on with “the blacks”. NBC and Univision have stopped broadcasting his “Miss USA” and “Miss Universe” competitions over his comments on Mexican immigrants. He has also faced a firestorm of criticism for his misogynist comments on a Fox News journalist, Megyn Kelly.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “The Trump in every leader”

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From the September 5th 2015 edition

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