Ego Check

The Fall of Icarus

The sin of “hubris,” or excess pride, carries a heavy price. Extreme ego or misplaced self-confidence often destroy the culprit, and his or her company and associates. A CEO’s arrogance can harm a company’s employees, stockholders and creditors.

Excess confidence is widely evident in literary classics, such as the Hellenic myth of Daedalus and his son Icarus, who escaped from prison by using artificial wings that Daedalus invented. The son was so thrilled with flying that he arrogantly ignored his father’s advice, flew too close to the sun, melted the wax in his wings and plummeted to his death.

Business schools now teach students about “the Icarus Paradox,” which says that originality and confidence can lead to enormous success, but arrogance and pride generate disaster. This ancient wisdom applies to modern culture, especially to the actions of large corporations. Consider CEO Ken Lay at Enron.

The Danger of Excess Confidence

Overconfidence manifests itself in four intermingled, dangerous qualities: acting based on excessive pride, failing to get the right help, failing to evaluate the reality of a business problem or opportunity...