I suspect that the sad truth is that the most intolerable CEOs are the most successful CEOs. The traits that make them a PITA to deal with are the very same traits that give them success. Among those traits are a tendency for narcissism, dominance and recklessness that lies above the norm. One CEO I worked with had originally planned to become a fighter pilot, and I think that choice reveals something about your personality traits.
@thor
I wanted to be a fighter pilot, now I write software for a living. Does that mean I'm missing out on a potential career as an executive?
@skypage The guy I'm talking about used to work as an engineer. Now he's the CEO of a startup.
@thor
Ha, go figure. Luckily, I make a concerted effort to not be an asshole like the person described in your original post.
@skypage He doesn't come across as that most of the time. He carries himself sympathetically, with a slight cockiness. It makes you take interest to him. He's quite a character and it charms people. It's more that he has his moments where you want to strangle him. If he was a complete jerk, it wouldn't be so infuriating, because then you wouldn't expect better of him.