Cynical Theory Origin

Cynical Theory evolved from my knowledge, skills, experience, and observation of people over many decades.

My Career Path

I worked in blue-collar jobs after high school; in the last one, I served the public.

When you serve the public, you meet many people and observe differences in behavior. Patterns become apparent after you've dealt with several hundred people. One starts to spot types of behavior based on background, income, education, profession, gender, and age.

I improved my skills by taking administration, management, and computer science night classes at university.

My initiative opened an opportunity to transfer to white-collar work as a software developer. I worked with highly educated professionals in technical roles that required logic.

The stereotype of a programmer being someone you lock in a room and shove pizza under the door applies to only a small group. All roles in the Information Technology (IT) world require people to work together.

A product of software development is that people who use a computer system often have to change their processes and behavior. Change is one of the largest sources of resistance among people and impedes personal improvements.

I was promoted to lead the team and began to use my management knowledge. I realized there was a big difference between what the academics wrote and the practical application of management theory. I made significant rookie mistakes until I figured out how to motivate people so they perform at their peak.

I constantly sought new challenges and opportunities. As my knowledge and skills grew, I evolved to become a consultant. I leveraged my specialized knowledge to deliver value to large companies. Since I wasn't part of the official corporate organization, I learned how to use power and influence to promote and sell ideas.

My next challenge was to form a consulting business; it evolved into a dot com technical firm developing software. I was intimately involved in all aspects required to run a business. In particular, I had an amazing partner, the best marketer I've known.

After the dot com bust, I fell back into consulting. I upgraded my skill set by earning a Project Management Professional designation. That rounded out my skill set.

I could understand and contribute at every level of the IT stack: development, testing, business analysis, solution design, project management, and management. It provided a unique insight into how people at each level behave and how to work together.

Birth of Cynical Theory

One of my personality traits is that I genuinely enjoy people. I enjoy talking to people and understanding their lives and how they got to where they are today.

My curiosity allows me to learn from others. When I talk to people, they feel comfortable to open up to me. The more I observe and talk to people, the more I understand their motivation.

Another trait that I can't suppress is analyzing things.

I can't help but categorize, generalize, and organize what I've observed about people. It's an extension of my technical skills and knowledge that influences everything I do.

For decades, I thought about motivation and behavior.

In the mid-2000s, I started formalizing a specific theory. I quickly identified selfishness as the key motivator and chose the word "Cynical" to capture the concept.

I arrived at three rules that describe individual motivation and three rules that describe group behavior. I've tested my rules against many situations and observations and have found the original definitions stood up to scrutiny.

I discussed the six axioms with my peers: the word "cynical" always evoked an emotional response. I debated whether to continue to use "cynical", use "selfish", or find another descriptor.

I always returned to "cynical" - it most accurately captures the concept.

My Mission

After I retired, my goal was to present Cynical Theory to the world to help people help themselves.

But, post-COVID, I realized that we have entered the Cynical Age. The levels of selfishness has become so extreme that people are being taken advantage of in record numbers. It is resulting in the severe degradation of society and challenging democracy in western countries.

My goal is to educate the world about the dangers of the Cynical Age and how to survive and thrive in the Cynical World.

Thank you for letting me share my work with you.