As anyone who has been on one of my Leadership, Line Management or Influencing training courses will tell you I like to quote old Aristotle and his theory of Ethos, Pathos and Logos. That’s not the Three Musketeers (though that’s how I remember them) but the triangle of values, emotions and logic that Aristotle claimed were inextricably linked.

Around 2000 years later science is proving him correct. A report in the Wall Street Journal details the findings of fascinating new research in a field called ‘Neuroeconomics’, which shows that there is a link between emotions and financial decision making.

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My poolside read this summer was Jon Ronson’s, The Psychopath Test

This intrigued me enough to keep me turning the pages and my inner hypochondriac set me questioning myself (as he pointed out I would) on whether I am a psychopath. Thankfully, I failed the test pretty comprehensively but, worryingly, I know a couple of people who are well set up for an A*.

According to Mr Ronson, that’s not surprising given the field I work in, as about 1% of the population can be diagnosed as a psychopath and that figure rises to around 4% when you’re looking at business leaders and CEOs.

Here’s Jon Ronson’s story:

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