There is a test for pretty much anything you want to be tested on these days. From quantitative ones to knowledge-based to personality tests, you name it and a simple Google search reveals its existence. No wonders then that USA Todayorganized a personality testing of 900 CEOs based around color preferences to see if they are wired differently from the rest of us. Any guesses on that?
Magenta appears to be the unequivocal winner. Weird? Test creator Dewey Sadka believes that the color choice speaks volumes of a typical CEO's mental makeup: "Sensitive, cooperative, and not a perfectionist." The test also revealed that the 900 testers disliked yellow and red, an averseness he attributes to them being "less dominant and confident" than the rest of us. Disclaimer: As I wrote this, I began to get serious doubts about this test and decided to take it for myself. The results it returned about my personality type were spot on.
The point isn't the validity of this test but the fact that its results attempt to question an oft-debated belief: Are we born leaders or can we be trained to become leaders? I was always told the latter when growing up, but as I entered the race to become a responsible working citizen, I realized it might not be true. While all of us might have certain leader-like qualities, not all of us can be trained to be become CEOs—or at least good ones. We need to have a certain mindset, a certain entrepreneurial bend of mind, and an acute perception of being a leader.