Those are good attributes for an entrepreneur, though they are unlikely to make him loved in the world of art philanthropy, where his “candour” often “ruffled feathers”.
" Radical candour" is the idea that bracing honesty is the best way to run a business: no one dances around the truth, and swifter feedback improves performance.
Only the day before he had received a letter from May Welland in which, with characteristic candour, she had asked him to " be kind to Ellen" in their absence.