MindHub Analysis — Napoleon
Today, we will make the case that Napoleon is a tactical-leaning proactive social personality rather than the strategic genius some have made him out to be.
https://medium.com/media/63b1d84d3e8c999ebcfc3726e4128ed4/hrefToday, we will make the case that Napoleon is a tactical-leaning proactive social personality rather than the strategic genius some have made him out to be. It is not always the case that a leader with a high IQ is a visionary. When we are looking back through history, we often forget that successes were not inevitable and great risks were not always rewarded. Risk-takers who have succeeded are remembered, risk-takers who fail are not. Napoleon was one of the greatest risk-takers, often betting and succeeding against the odds.
So where did all of this courage come from? Napoleon was born to a noble family on the small island of Corsica. As many who have lived on islands can attest, it can feel confining. Napoleon wanted to try himself in a larger arena. Even at an early age, and likely throughout his life, Napoleon had very strong and fixed drives. In the MindHub system strong Ego is arrogance, strong greed is stinginess and extreme revenge is autocracy. Napoleon displays these drives at their highest levels. His revenge was likely developed due to his perceived lack of options for climbing important hierarchies quickly enough for his liking and at later stages was triggered by being exiled to Elba island. Napoleon’s Drives are primarily positioned in the upper right quadrant of the MindHub circle, which makes him a proactive extrovert. Proactive extroverts are often lively and physically present individuals. You might say Napoleon was concerned with the present and the near-future.
Napoleon’s personality can also be traced through his actions on the battlefield. As a general rule social proactive people primarily lean tactical. He introduced unconventional approaches for his time including splitting his army into smaller more mobile units and changing their formations which had been up until that time very linear. Here Napoleon’s arrogance was functional, because he was not a collaborative person and did not take counsel from others he was able to realize his own ideas and agendas which were strange for his time. He won through strong will and tactical inventiveness.
Strategy is planning and seeing what’s possible, while tactics is finding the best approach to handle a situation or process that’s already underway. Some people may have an understanding of both but every person leans toward one or the other, so one is less developed. That said, we expect to see strategic people on the left side of the MindHub, who are less concerned with or confident in implementing things in the present. Planners are less action oriented and generally more risk-averse. Being reactive is also correlated with conserving energy, while proactive people like Napoleon are more prone to pushing through regardless of reserves to the end. More evidence of Napoleon’s tendency to overwork can be found in his bouts of burnout, as he suffered periodically, rapidly declining in his physical vitality and health after long campaigns or other activities.
A quick word about Napoleon’s personal life. His relationship with Josephine is often seen as somewhat pathetic, as if Napoleon were simping for her. However, it more likely for his type to simply not be able to experience rejection as anything other than challenge. Napoleon’s extreme persistence is more of an indication of his arrogance than romanticism. He was unable to hear the word no or change his plans based on other people’s will or ideas. Other signs that he was not having a high Intimate Aim are his liaisons with other women and his preoccupation with power in other areas.
The real tragedy of Napoleon’s life was its end, as he died alone on St. Helena island, completely cut off from everything and everyone. Going from Emperor to someone marooned in obscurity, is likely to have drastic effects on his personality. Most likely, in his last stage of life, he may have had multiple inner drives. Many have speculated about his daily life guarded at all times and in confinement, but we don’t have definitive answers about particular behavioral changes.
We’ve mentioned previously that Napoleon is often praised as a strategic visionary, and we anticipate in the upcoming film that he may be portrayed similarly. From a brief glimpse of the trailer, we see a quite taciturn and steely characterization which seems to hint at multiple inner drives. He seems physically slow as if he has low energy or possibly depression. We would speculate that the second inner drive along with revenge is regret, meaning he may have primary Revenge, Regret and Ambition. This would make Joaquin Phoenix’s Napoleon a reactive ambivert and possibly a strategist type. Also noteworthy is the lack of Ego. In the trailer he appears quite humble even as they are winning battles or he is crowning himself emperor. It also seems that a lot of his storyline will be devoted to his obsession with Josephine which would make him seem to have high Intimacy aims. It looks as if Josephine will be designed to be a sort of muse influencing his major decisions. We’d wager that the real Napoleon wouldn’t appreciate this.
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