David Murdock, Richard Branson, David Neeleman and Charles R. Schwab.
What do these entrepreneurs have in common?
They’re dyslexic.
In fact according to Julie Logan of the Cass Business School in London it turns out that a third of all entrepreneurs are dyslexia. Her study peeked my interest today when I heard Julie being interviewed on NPR.
In this study she found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs surveyed (35 percent in the USA) identified themselves as dyslexic. This study was based on a survey of 139 business owners in a wide range of fields across the United States and was eclipsed the 20 percent of British entrepreneurs who said they were dyslexic in a poll she conducted in 2001.” Those statistics are outstanding when you consider that approximately 10 percent of the American population is believed to have dyslexia.
So what’s the link, why is there such a prevalence of successful dyslexia entrepreneurs?
Julie believes the coping skills dyslexics developed early on both drives and enables dyslexics to be successful entrepreneurs. Because they fail in basic tasks early on (like spelling) dyslexics gain insight into their abilities and strengths. They excel in sizing up other people, identifying skills and delegating to them. Because they are used to failure and that builds an atypical confidence, they’re used to dealing with obstacles and rejection and finding solutions.
Perhaps most important, to compensate Dyslexics build strong oral communication skills enabling them to get people behind them and rapidly build networks. David Murdock said ''having dyslexia didn't stop me anywhere; any way….it was probably an advantage.''
It seems skills honed early on seem to set dyslexics up to be successful. One might argue that these ARE the attributes we value and seek in the leadership of Fortune 500 companies. But there Dyslexics are severely underrepresented; according to Julie less than one percent of senior executives in corporate America admit to being dyslexic. Now that’s food for thought….
What do these entrepreneurs have in common?
They’re dyslexic.
In fact according to Julie Logan of the Cass Business School in London it turns out that a third of all entrepreneurs are dyslexia. Her study peeked my interest today when I heard Julie being interviewed on NPR.
In this study she found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs surveyed (35 percent in the USA) identified themselves as dyslexic. This study was based on a survey of 139 business owners in a wide range of fields across the United States and was eclipsed the 20 percent of British entrepreneurs who said they were dyslexic in a poll she conducted in 2001.” Those statistics are outstanding when you consider that approximately 10 percent of the American population is believed to have dyslexia.
So what’s the link, why is there such a prevalence of successful dyslexia entrepreneurs?
Julie believes the coping skills dyslexics developed early on both drives and enables dyslexics to be successful entrepreneurs. Because they fail in basic tasks early on (like spelling) dyslexics gain insight into their abilities and strengths. They excel in sizing up other people, identifying skills and delegating to them. Because they are used to failure and that builds an atypical confidence, they’re used to dealing with obstacles and rejection and finding solutions.
Perhaps most important, to compensate Dyslexics build strong oral communication skills enabling them to get people behind them and rapidly build networks. David Murdock said ''having dyslexia didn't stop me anywhere; any way….it was probably an advantage.''
It seems skills honed early on seem to set dyslexics up to be successful. One might argue that these ARE the attributes we value and seek in the leadership of Fortune 500 companies. But there Dyslexics are severely underrepresented; according to Julie less than one percent of senior executives in corporate America admit to being dyslexic. Now that’s food for thought….
