Features

How ego-driven strategies lead to total destruction

Published

2 years ago

2024/09/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

National and Corporate Narcissism:

Corporate Narcissism

Corporate culture often mirrors the traits found in individuals with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), such as an inflated sense of self-importance, lack of empathy, and exploitation of others for personal or organizational gain. Companies that engage in unethical practices like excessive borrowing, environmental pollution, marketing gimmicks, and account manipulation often embody characteristics akin to narcissism, which can lead to detrimental consequences for both the organization and its stakeholders, including the general public.

In a corporate context, narcissistic tendencies manifest in behaviours, such as aggressive branding through so-called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to artificially build an image, using deceptive marketing to cheat customers, or manipulating financial accounts to inflate performance and share prices. Like individuals with NPD, corporations often exhibit a grandiose sense of their importance in the market, believing they are immune to failure or criticism.

Symptoms and Characteristics of Corporate Narcissism

• Grandiosity: Corporations may exaggerate their achievements through aggressive marketing or overstated CSR activities to appear more socially responsible than they truly are.

• Lack of Empathy: Just as individuals with NPD struggle to understand others’ feelings, narcissistic corporations may disregard the well-being of customers, employees, or the environment to maximize profits.

• Exploitation: Corporations may engage in unethical strategies, including financial manipulation, environmental pollution, or deceptive marketing, to artificially inflate stock prices or secure a competitive edge, often disregarding the long-term consequences for stakeholders.

Causes and Diagnosis of Corporate Narcissism

Corporate narcissism often stems from leadership cultures that prioritize short-term gains over long-term stability. CEOs or executives with narcissistic tendencies may push companies towards excessive borrowing or misleading performance indicators, leading to a facade of success while masking underlying financial instability. This behaviour can result in bankruptcy or a collapse in stakeholder trust.

Just as therapy can help individuals with NPD, corporations can manage their narcissistic tendencies through regulatory interventions, governance reforms, and fostering ethical leadership. Implementing stringent corporate governance standards, transparent financial reporting, and accountability measures can mitigate the risks associated with narcissistic corporate behaviours.

Like individuals with NPD, corporations are sensitive to external triggers that challenge their inflated self-image. Economic downturns, increased competition, or public scrutiny may push corporations to engage in even more aggressive and unethical behaviour to maintain their perceived status. For instance, companies facing financial instability may resort to excessive borrowing, hoping to maintain operations and market dominance, without a realistic plan for repayment.

Marketing Gimmicks, Financial Manipulation and Deception

Narcissistic corporations often engage in deceptive marketing practices, using gimmicks to attract customers and boost sales. This behaviour reflects the narcissistic need for admiration and external validation, often at the cost of consumer trust. Misleading advertising, over-promising product features, or manipulating customer reviews are tactics used to maintain a company’s grandiose image.

Narcissistic corporations may manipulate financial reports to exaggerate performance, inflating revenue figures or underreporting liabilities. This financial “window dressing” is akin to an individual with NPD exaggerating their achievements to gain admiration. While such tactics may temporarily boost share prices or attract investors, they ultimately lead to long-term damage, such as regulatory fines, reputational harm, and in extreme cases, corporate bankruptcy.

These characteristics can indeed be applied to countries engaging in excessive borrowing for projects without proper cost-benefit analysis or realistic cash flow projections. Just as narcissistic organizations or individuals exploit financial resources beyond their capacity, countries can also fall into the trap of reckless borrowing, driven by overconfidence or the desire to enhance their image through grandiose development projects. This often leads to unsustainable debt burdens, economic instability, and a potential inability to meet repayment obligations, ultimately risking financial collapse or a loss of sovereignty.

National Narcissism

Countries, much like corporations, can fall victim to behaviours resembling narcissism when it comes to managing their financial resources. National leaders, driven by a desire to showcase large-scale development projects and bolster their image among the general public as well as on the global stage, may engage in excessive borrowing without proper cost-benefit analysis or realistic cash flow projections. This phenomenon is evident in countries like Sri Lanka and Argentina, where the pursuit of ambitious, debt-funded projects has led to severe economic challenges, pushing these nations to the brink of financial crises.

The Drive for Image Building through Grandiose Projects

In many cases, governments embark on grand infrastructure projects, often beyond their actual economic needs or repayment capacities, with the primary objective of boosting national pride or elevating their global status. This drive can be compared to the narcissistic traits of grandiosity and the need for admiration. In Sri Lanka, for example, projects like the Hambantota Port, Suriyawewa International Cricket Stadium and the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport were pursued with significant foreign borrowing, particularly from China. While these projects were intended to boost economic development and enhance the country’s international standing, they quickly became financial burdens as the expected returns failed to materialize.

Lack of Realistic Cash Flows

A key characteristic shared by narcissistic individuals and these countries is the failure to realistically assess cash flows and repayment capacities. In both Sri Lanka and Argentina, debt-funded projects were often initiated without a proper analysis of the revenue streams required to service the loans. The absence of realistic cash flow projections led to a situation where the countries became unable to meet their repayment obligations.

Sri Lanka’s mounting debt led to a sovereign default in 2022, forcing the country to seek debt restructuring and financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country’s inability to generate sufficient income from its borrowed projects, combined with economic mismanagement, contributed to its severe financial crisis.

Similarly, Argentina’s history of over-reliance on external borrowing, coupled with economic mismanagement, has led to recurring cycles of debt crises. The country has defaulted on its debt multiple times, most recently in 2020, as it struggled to balance its budget and generate the necessary revenues to repay its creditors.

Exploitation and Manipulation of Public Resources

In both cases, national resources are often manipulated or misallocated in ways that resemble corporate window dressing or financial manipulation. Governments may exaggerate projected returns on investment or misrepresent the true costs of these projects to justify continued borrowing. This behaviour mirrors the manipulation of financial statements seen in narcissistic organizations, where performance is artificially inflated to maintain an image of success.

For example, Sri Lanka’s overestimation of the economic benefits from certain large-scale projects led to unsustainable debt levels. The lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds further aggravated the country’s financial situation, as key sectors of the economy remained underdeveloped while debt repayment obligations grew.

National Bankruptcy and Loss of Sovereignty

The long-term impact of excessive borrowing without realistic financial planning is the potential for national bankruptcy and loss of sovereignty. In the case of Sri Lanka, the country was forced to lease the Hambantota Port to China for 99 years as part of a debt repayment deal, leading to concerns over the loss of control over key national assets. This mirrors the loss of autonomy seen in organizations or individuals who, due to excessive borrowing, are eventually forced to give up control to external creditors or investors.

Argentina, too, has faced similar challenges, with creditors imposing strict conditions on economic policies as part of debt restructuring agreements. The repeated cycles of borrowing and default have left the country with limited flexibility in managing its economic affairs, as it is often at the mercy of international lenders like the IMF.

In conclusion, narcissistic corporate behaviour—whether through excessive borrowing, financial manipulation, or deceptive marketing—leads to the same destructive outcomes as NPD in individuals. These behaviours are often driven by a desire to maintain an inflated self-image and control over market perceptions, but they are unsustainable and can lead to severe financial and reputational consequences. Addressing corporate narcissism through ethical leadership, transparent practices, and regulatory oversight is essential for long-term stability and trust in the marketplace.

This alignment highlights how narcissistic tendencies in corporations lead to the same self-destructive patterns seen in individuals with NPD, particularly in relation to corporate culture issues like CSR, borrowing, and manipulation of accounts.

Countries like Sri Lanka and Argentina serve as cautionary examples of how excessive borrowing, driven by a desire for image-building and a lack of realistic financial planning, can lead to long-term economic instability. Just as narcissistic individuals or organizations may manipulate resources and overextend themselves financially, nations can fall into similar traps when they prioritize grandiosity over sustainability. The result is often national bankruptcy, loss of sovereignty, and severe economic hardship for citizens. Effective governance, transparency, and realistic financial planning are essential to avoid these pitfalls and ensure long-term economic stability.

(Views expressed in this article are personal)

All News Advertisement

Features

Proactive peacemaking becomes a paramount need

Published

15 hours ago

2026/06/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

Wasting wars: Some war-displaced people in Lebanon. BBC

It may be some time before the full impact of food inflation is felt in the West. Until such time the world would continue to keep itself in suspense over whether the Trump administration is in earnest when it seeks to convey the impression that it is backing a negotiated solution in West Asia.

As is usually the case, consumer stress would be one of the final determinants of political change. To the degree to which the average US consumer somehow ‘muddles through’ and puts the food on the table, to the same extent would the Republican sections of the US public in particular be tolerant of the Trump administration’s inconsistent handling of the West Asian war and the main issues stemming from it. That is, there would be no grave popular disaffection and a demand for political change in the short term.

However, the indications are that the Trump administration’s support base is suffering some erosion in the wake of the current economic crisis. While reports indicate that Democratic sections are firming-up their opposition to the political centre, Republican support for Trump is also showing signs of waning, we are given to understand.

The above developments are probably why Trump is on record as having given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a ‘dressing down’ recently on his seeming intransigence on the question of giving negotiations a chance in West Asia. The show of displeasure could be really aimed by Trump at containing the impatience of the American public.

However, the current ground situation in the Middle East, particularly the uncontained bloodshed, is likely to impress on the thinking sections of the world that more than temporary political change is needed in West Asia and the US.

A well thought out political solution that addresses all the contentious issues at the heart of the Middle East conflict is what enlightened opinion would demand, and very rightly. Right now, the ‘peace efforts’ initiated by the Trump administration give the impression of being piecemeal solutions at best.

There have been, of course, numerous initiatives in the past aimed at bringing permanent peace to the Middle East. These failed mainly because they did not address in full the root causes of the conflict.

At bottom the Middle East conflict is mainly about race and religious hate bred by socio-economic and material inequalities. For instance, if the Palestinian people were not displaced and deprived of land occupied by them at the time of the founding of the Israeli state, ethnic enmities would not have grown to the current unmanageable proportions.

When addressing the above questions, though, it must be remembered that the Israelis too were a displaced people who were entitled to land and a state of their own in the Middle East. Basically, out of these seemingly irreconcilable and conflicting demands have grown the Middle East imbroglio.

Middle East peace is considerably about reconciling these demands and arriving at a solution that would ensure the creation of two states that would opt for peaceful co-existence thereafter.

As long as the US does not see the need for a non-partisan solution that addresses the needs of both ethnicities and religions and goes all-out, as it were, to have it implemented, the Middle East would continue to bleed.

However, staunching the blood flow through the creation of two states would be only half the job done, though a very important part of it. More pernicious, pervasive and difficult to remedy are the inter-ethnic and inter-religious hatreds that have been unleashed over the decades.

However, if substantial, long-lasting peace is to be fostered in the region the latter ‘demons’ would need to be exorcised from the hearts and minds of the communities concerned. No doubt an uphill task but one that must be undertaken by those who wish the region well.

The UN would need to put its ‘best foot forward’ in such undertakings but it is time that it dawned on the international community and other caring quarters that Middle East peace, and all other such uphill challenges, require proactive peacemaking on the part of all civilized sections for their effective management. That is, public involvement in peacemaking too is a must.

Since hatreds are harboured in the human consciousness the enmities embedded in the latter need to be managed and defused judiciously alongside other undertakings in a peace process. In the case of West Asia, such enmities could be even spread globe-wide besides being multi-dimensional. For instance, it ought to be thought-provoking that Iran is insistent on a peace initiative that would also include Lebanon.

Besides security considerations it is also ethnic and religious affiliations that account for Iran making this demand. For instance, the Shias are a numerically important religious community in Lebanon and they provide a significant number of Hizbollah fighters, who are in a vital sense carrying out a ‘proxy war’ for Iran. It also needs to be factored in that Iran is a Shia-majority country.

Thus trans-border religious affiliations could add to the complexities and enormity of ethno-religious conflicts. However, the task of managing centuries-long enmities needs to be launched and prodded on with by peacemakers since a downing of arms alone would not guarantee substantive peace.

It is not realized sufficiently that the process of ending hatreds begins with mutual apologies by antagonists to a conflict for the harm inflicted on each other. This would be anathema in some ears but there is no getting away from the requirement. It is the vital first step to permanent peace anywhere.

In fact there could be no reconciliation worth speaking of without such mutual apologies. It is a point worth re-iterating in these times when even the government of Sri Lanka is voicing the need for national reconciliation. Well, without the words, ‘I am sorry’, there could be no permanent end to enmities – they would do well to remember.

The above requirements may not go down very well with governments, but they resonate in the hearts and minds of most people, since they are inheritors of religious traditions of some kind.

This is a principal reason why peacemaking works well when publics too are involved in them. The effectiveness of such campaigns increases several fold when they have a Mahatma Gandhi or a Jawaharlal Nehru at their helm. A strong proactive involvement by the public in peace could lead to the emergence of such leaders at some point in these campaigns.

Features

Dialog Brings Sri Lanka’s Largest Digital Vesak Experience to Matara

Published

15 hours ago

2026/06/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

From left to right: Hon. Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, and Lasantha Theverapperuma experience the Dialog 5G Ultra-powered VR tours.

Official Digital Partner of the 2026 ‘Dakshina Prabha’ National Vesak Zone

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s #1 connectivity provider, collaborated with the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs to bring one of Sri Lanka’s largest and most technologically advanced Vesak experiences to the ‘Dakshina Prabha’ National Vesak Zone. The three-day celebration, in Matara attracted more than hundred thousand visitors, who engaged with a series of innovative digital activities powered by Dialog 5G Ultra, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) experiences, digital pandols and a Data Dansala. The opening ceremony was attended by Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development and Hon. Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Minister of Women and Child Affairs, along with distinguished guests and Dialog’s senior management.

One of the key attractions at the venue was the Dialog 5G Ultra-powered Virtual Reality (VR) experience, which attracted more than 35,000 participants. The activation enabled devotees to virtually visit and pay homage to sacred Buddhist sites, including the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in India and the Atamasthana in Anuradhapura, directly from the Vesak zone in Matara.

Visitors receive complimentary mobile data through Dialog’s QR-powered Data Dansala.

Dialog also conducted an AI Digital Vesak Greeting Card Competition from 21 May to 01 June 2026, attracting numerous entries from across the country. The shortlisted designs were showcased across 20 large LED screens throughout the venue and across Matara City, and were also made available for download via mobile devices. Further, through the use of AI, traditional Jathaka Katha were reimagined in a digital format, demonstrating how technology can be used to preserve and enhance cultural and religious heritage. Together, these initiatives blended traditional Vesak celebrations with emerging technologies, offering visitors a unique and immersive way to engage with Vesak traditions.

Extending the spirit of Vesak through connectivity, Dialog conducted a special Data Dansala powered by its QR Reload platform, enabling visitors to receive complimentary mobile data by scanning QR codes placed across the venue. In addition to the Matara National Vesak Zone, similar Data Dansala activations were also conducted at the Gangaramaya and Bauddhaloka Vesak zones in Colombo.Visitors also had the opportunity to create personalised Vesak-themed digital photos through an AI Photo Booth, generating AI-enhanced portraits using their own photographs and adding a contemporary digital element to the Vesak celebrations.

Visitors watch AI-generated Jathaka Katha

Commenting on the initiative, Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, said, “The 2026 Dakshina Prabha Vesak Festival marked the first time AI-powered digital innovations were incorporated into a National Vesak Festival in Sri Lanka. Presenting Buddhist stories and teachings through technology created a new and engaging way for visitors to connect with these traditions. We thank Dialog for supporting this initiative and for working closely with us to bring our vision to life. Their contribution played an important role in making this first-of-its-kind event a reality.”

Lasantha Theverapperuma, Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC said, “We thank the Government of Sri Lanka for the opportunity to support the 2026 Dakshina Prabha National Vesak Festival and for embracing technology as part of this year’s celebrations. As the Official Digital Partner, we were privileged to contribute through our Dialog 5G Ultra and AI capabilities, creating new ways for visitors to engage with Vesak traditions while preserving their cultural significance for future generations.”

Beyond supporting the National Vesak Zone in Matara, Dialog also enhanced the Gangaramaya and Bauddhaloka Vesak zones through a range of digital activations during the Vesak season. The company additionally continued its sustainability initiatives, including the Thirasara Aloka Poojawa, which illuminated rural places of worship through solar-powered lighting solutions.

Features

Beauty, elegance and talent…for women

Published

15 hours ago

2026/06/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

Universal Woman is an international pageant focused on “beauty, elegance, and talent” for women, positioning itself as a platform to shape global ambassadors. The 2026 edition will be held in Cambodia, and Sri Lanka will be there, as well.

According to reports coming my way, contestants, at the international event, will work with industry trailblazers, under international standards.

Sri Lankan supermodel, runway and pageant trainer Chulpadmendra Kumarapathirana, is the National Director for Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026.

With over two decades in the industry, Chula was crowned Miss Sri Lanka 2006, and has since shaped the next generation of titleholders through her Colombo-based Chulpadmendra Catwalk Studio, widely regarded as one of the country’s leading modelling academies.

The team behind Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026

A former host of Derana Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World 2008 and a judge for Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2025, Chula now serves as National Director for Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026, leading the franchise’s search for Sri Lanka’s delegate to the international final in Cambodia.

Applications for Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026 are being taken, via WhatsApp: 077 659 4994, says Chula.

The judging panel for Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026 includes Senaka De Silva, Pageant Aesthetic Advisor & Chairperson of the Judging Panel, Angela Seneviratne, Caroline Jurie, Rozelle Plunkett, and Suraj Mapa.

Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026 officially began its journey with a first round of auditions, held in Colombo, marking the start of an exciting new chapter in Sri Lanka’s pageant industry.

Launching the first round of auditions

The platform aims to empower women while selecting an intelligent, confident, and inspiring representative to compete at the Universal Woman International Pageant 2026 in Cambodia, this September.

Universal Woman Sri Lanka now moves forward with the vision of creating one of the country’s most prestigious and empowering pageants while preparing to crown a queen who will proudly represent Sri Lanka on the international stage.