Yes, I think definitions (and understandings) need to be made more explicit.

People who break eggs for the fun of breaking eggs are usually called something along the lines of sadists and psychopaths.

In the context I would assume an "asshole" is someone who just wants X done and does not care at all about your feelings, opinions, convenience, etc. Example one: a recruit training sergeant. Example two: Steve Jobs.

An alternative definition would be "someone who wants to play power and status games" and that's a different case.

An yet another alternative definition is "someone who's more ambitious/aggressive than me".