15 CEOs With Learning Disabilities

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CEOs are a rare breed. They thrive on risk, when the rest of us would rather maintain the status quo.

So it makes sense that they process information differently. In fact, a number of them have learning disabilities — dyslexia is the most popular condition.

In spite of their difficulties, these businessmen have done quite well for themselves. We’ve gathered a list of 15 CEOs, many of whom you’ll recognize, who prove that perceived weaknesses can also be strengths.

Richard Branson’s dyslexia made high school especially difficult

The wildly wealthy head of Virgin used to routinely fail standardized tests in school due to his dyslexia. When he started an alternative newspaper at his high school and filled it with worthwhile content, the headmaster of the school said, “Congratulations, Branson. I predict that you will either go to prison or become a millionaire.”

Peter Kight started his own company because of his ADD

The CEO of Checkfree said, “I would have had a great deal of difficulty if I had gotten into a staff job. I knew that. That’s why I started a company. I was fearful to the point of being paranoid that I would end up working in a big company.”

The CEO of Kinkos embraced his dyslexia and ADD when he started his company

Orfalea calls his learning disabilities “learning opportunities.” In his case, his learning style helped him see the big picture and not worry about tiny details — very good skills for a businessman who has lots of ideas.

For group projects in school, Orfalea would take care of photocopying the notes for everyone in order to get out of writing them. It makes sense that he would end up starting the largest copy shop in the world.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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