Posted on 12/08/2007 7:08:55 PM PST by neverdem
It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play on their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought.
The report, compiled by Julie Logan, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Cass Business School in London, found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs she had surveyed — 35 percent — identified themselves as dyslexic. The study also concluded that dyslexics were more likely than nondyslexics to delegate authority, to excel in oral communication and problem solving and were twice as likely to own two or more businesses.
“We found that dyslexics who succeed had overcome an awful lot in their lives by developing compensatory skills,” Professor Logan said in an interview. “If you tell your friends and acquaintances that you plan to start a business, you’ll hear over and over, ‘It won’t work. It can’t be done.’ But dyslexics are extraordinarily creative about maneuvering their way around problems.”
The study was based on a survey of 139 business owners in a wide range of fields across the United States. Professor Logan called the number who said they were dyslexic “staggering,” and said it was significantly higher than the 20 percent of British entrepreneurs who said they were dyslexic in a poll she conducted in 2001.
She attributed the greater share in the United States to earlier and more effective intervention by American schools to help dyslexic students deal with their learning problems. Approximately 10 percent of Americans are believed to have dyslexia, experts say...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Same here.
Great tag...
There might well be an association. But they are different things, and the previous poster appeared to me to be confusing them. Incidentally I know someone personally who could simultaneously take two different sets of notes in a lecture class with her two hands. And she isn’t dyslexic in the least.
I have understood that left handedness, dyslexia, genius, insanity, nearsightedness, musical ability, allergies, and a few other things I can’t remember are all correlated to each other. (Meaning, a group of people with one of the traits is more likely than the general population to have the other traits; however, no trait necessarily causes any of the other traits.)
That’s “Lysdexics, Untie!”
I hope I go like Grandpa, peacefully in my sleep.
Not screaming in terror, like the passengers in his car...
I’ll be damned if I would let some crappy thing like that keep me down, just had to work harder and be willing to look like an idiot and deal with a$$holes sometimes...
dyslexic here.
Figured out how to overcome it in reading, but not with numbers, alas.
Never interfered with my adult life, but sure messed up my GPA.
No, but Cisco’s founder is as was Sammy the Bull.
Just a little triva. (g).
John
htats funny.
I always liked a motto that was attributed to Bill Hewlett: “If it can’t be measured, it isn’t worth doing”.
I use it in my work all the time to illustrate to my colleagues the value of the quantitative expression of everyday business problems.
Funny you should mention pianos. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:
A country lad once traveled to the big city to seek his fortune, but had no luck finding a job. One day, wandering through the red light district, he spotted a Help Wanted sign in the window of one of the ‘sporting establishments’.
They were looking for a bookkeeper, but after the madam quizzed the boy about his education and discovered that he could neither read or write, she turned him away.
Feeling sorry for him, she gave him two big red apples as he left. A few blocks down the street, he placed the apples on top of a garbage can while tying his shoe, and a stranger came along and offered to buy them.
The boy took the money to a produce market and bought a dozen more apples,which he sold quickly. Eventually he parlayed his fruit sales into a grocery store, then a string of supermarkets. Eventually he became the wealthiest man in the state.
Finally he was named Man of the Year, and during an interview a journalist discovered that his subject could neither read or write.
“Good Lord, Sir,” he said. “What do you suppose you would have become if you had ever learned to read and write?”
“Well,” he answered, “I guess I would have been a bookkeeper in a whorehouse.”
I know a dyslexic that runs a successful god kennel.
I am heartened by stories like this, but I once knew a guy who was not only dyslexic, but agnostic and insomniac as well. He used to lay awake all night wondering if there really is a dog.
I click on Spellcheck and I get the answer back:
"You have got to be kidding me!"
I have been, too - but I’m not dyslexic. I just had what I considered the “misfortune” of working for a large number of them and having to constantly clean up their messes because of the not being able to read or write problem.
Of course, they’re all zillionaires and now I’m too sick to work. Go figure.
Charles Schwab has created Schwab Learning (www.schwablearning.com), and it is very helpful to parents of special needs kids.
He’s a great advocate for special needs kids.
My daughter has brain damage that has caused difficulty with speech/reading/writing. However, she still gets mostly As and a few Bs. Basically, she gets the same grades as her gifted brother and sister. The only difference is that she works for her grades.
She doesn’t like to be identified by her weaknesses. She likes to be known as the girl who likes challenges and likes to work hard.
I think she’ll do well in life with her positive attitude. She’s only 11, so we still have a long way to go. Hopefull, she’ll continue to have her positive attitude.
This article really explains so much to me about the way I have developed into a leader, and CEO...
God always has a plan for all of us to bring our talents to the world for good!
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