Some time ago I did some research on the role Dyslexia plays in entrepreneurship. I came across some research performed by Sally Shaywitz of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity that indicates that dyslexia is a key attribute of successful entrepreneurs. Richard Branson, William Hewlett, Henry Ford, Ted Turner, and Charles Schwab are all dyslexics, just to mention a few. In fact, in addition to entrepreneurs, some of the most successful and wealthy inventors, politicians, artists and athletes are also dyslexic.
While dyslexia occurs in about 10% of the general population, according to a study performed by Julie Logan, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Cass Business School, for entrepreneurs that number is more like 35%. Dyslexics are more likely to become entrepreneurs because their entire life has been about overcoming obstacles to traditional ways of learning and thinking.
Being an flaming dyslexic myself and raising two dyslexic children, there is a lesson here even if you are not personally dyslexic. Because it requires more energy and effort for a dyslexic to process written words, they read more slowly than non-dyslexics. This additional time gives the other parts of the brain more time to think critically, rather than just react to the words on the page, and provides the time for more insights.
In another study, a test was administered to two academically equally matched classes of non-dyslexic students. One test used an easy to read font and the other a much harder to read font. Which class do you think had an overall better score? The harder to read test. Why? The harder to read font caused the students to spend more time reading the questions, similar to the way dyslexics process normal text. The additional time required to read the less readable font provided more time for the students to come up with background information on the topic, improving their final score. Therefore, slowing down the process of reading proved beneficial.
