Over the weekend, The Economist (@TheEconomist) published a unique take on “why” entrepreneurs tick, In praise of misfits.
The ‘why’ is sometimes called the ‘Geek Syndrome.’ This is the person who has a fascination with new ideas, inability to focus on one subject for long, and whose brain never sleeps. The ‘Geek Syndrome’ is also exceedingly helpful and a must for entrepreneurs as well.
Entrepreneurs also display a striking number of mental oddities. Julie Login of Cass Business School surveyed a group of entrepreneurs and found that 35% of them said that they suffered from dyslexia, compared with 10% of the population as a whole and 1% of professional managers. Prominent dyslexics include the founders of Ford, General Electric, IBM and IKEA, not to mention more recent successes such as Charles Schwab (the founder of a stockbroker), Richard Branson (the Virgin Group), John Chambers (Cisco) and Steve Jobs (Apple).
The article goes on to note: Attention-deficit disorder (ADD) is another entrepreneur-friendly affliction. People who cannot focus on one thing for long can be disastrous employees but founts of new ideas. Some studies suggest that people with ADD are six times more likely than average to end up running their own businesses.
So, if you want to create a new business or maybe more importantly, innovate and create new services or products for your business, don’t quickly brush off the person who is a bundle of ideas but not necessarily great at ‘the details.’
Being a geek is the new chic.
Patrick Goodman
Red e App Product and Engagement Lead
