There have been more than a few articles during 2024 on the topic of corporate CEO’s making use of psychedelic drugs — ranging from ayahuasca to mushrooms, MDMA to ketamine, and beyond — in their never-ending search for ways to enhance their ability to lead in this increasingly competitive world.

Here’s a recent example, courtesy of The New York Times.

I have to wonder if this isn’t a fad. There have been a surprising number of fads in recent years in the field of business and management, but also in health and wellness.

By the way, what exactly is the job description of a corporate CEO? According to Forbes (who should know), it’s “…making major corporate decisions, managing operations and resources and acting as the main point of communication between the board of directors and corporate operations.”

Most CEOs are pretty good at those tasks, which is partly how they got the job in the first place.

But there’s a newer model being promoted by consulting and training firms — one that insists on a broader, more conceptual role for top leadership. It appears to attract younger CEO’s from industries such as Tech, Entertainment, Finance. It’s there that we encounter unfamiliar terms like ‘visioning’, ‘aspirationalizing’, and ‘future-proofing’, whatever that may be.

And this is also how psychedelic drugs get a foot in the door of the management suite– usually through experiential learning and self-exploration, augmented by mind-altering substances.

Tim Leary would be proud. Those same industries have long been more accepting of performance-enhancing drugs as a practical way to improve productivity. Psychedelics must have seemed like a natural fit. Now, as a result of the recent election, we have an acknowledged fan of psychedelics close to the White House.

Right, it’s Elon Musk. And along with his new role in government may come the need for higher security clearances. This issue has come up before.

From the article: “…SpaceX lawyers advised executives not to attempt to secure higher security clearances for the mercurial CEO, since that would force him to disclose information about his frequent contacts with foreign nationals… as well as his much-rumored drug use.”

Musk has allegedly used an array of drugs, including LSD, psilocybin, cocaine, and ecstasy, and he acknowledges current use of ketamine —  this time prescribed by “an actual, real doctor”, he assures us — “a small amount once every other week or something like that.”

“There are times”, he admits, “when I have sort of a… negative chemical state in my brain… and ketamine is helpful for getting one out of the negative frame of mind.” Furthermore, rather than being concerned, he insists his investors should be “glad” he’s taking it.

I suppose that now, with this new role, the rest of the nation is supposed to feel the same.

That may be asking a bit too much.