That's just bonkers, don't these people have any sense of self preservation?
Possibly not but I always considered it my job as Captain to preserve my own skin and therefore protected them too.
Some successful business people are high risk takers by nature but obviously that characteristic isn’t at all ideal if you’re their helicopter pilot! The big problem comes when having to deal with ebullient and/or aggressive characters where you might be the only person who ever says “NO!” to them. I’ve been there, too. Walked away from that pressure in one employment because I felt it almost every day and it was doing my health no good.
Guaranteed, in the event of an accident (and history proves it), those who applied pressure for the flight to go ahead will likely be the first ones taking very large backward steps, away from accepting any responsibility and dumping it at the pilot’s door.
Paradoxically, prior to flying in the military one has to prove to an authorising officer that the flight can safely be undertaken. In the civilian world, the pilot might find himself having to prove that it cannot!