“I want to be able to give hope to children or parents of children with dyslexia and ADHD that they can be successful” –SELIM BASSOUL
Would you believe if I told you that a person diagnosed with dyslexia and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) would turn a struggling firm with market capital of $15 million in 2000, into a global powerhouse worth $5.5 billion? SELIM BASSOUL, CEO of the Middleby Corporation is the man.
Selim Bassoul was born on 3 February, 1957 to Antoine Bassoul; an athlete who competed for Lebanon in 1948 London Olympics. From his childhood, Selim suffered with severe dyslexia which was diagnosed during his college time. But this didn’t stop him, Selim’s company Middleby is one of the best performing firms in NASDAQ for the past decade.
Selim abstains himself from e-mails and social media to forestall circumventing into details as it buys him time to indulge into philanthropy. He runs a company entailing 7500 employees and a market cap worth $7.8 billion. It surely is fascinating when you come across a CEO who is leading a company without using e-mails, attending meeting or reading memos.
DYSLEXIA & ADHD as an inspiration…
Selim admits that dyslexia has forced him to be more conceptual. Dyslexia helped abide him being specific, allowing him conceptualizing a bigger picture rather than indulging into details. This helped him achieve goals faster. Dyslexia made him rely on others thus making him a great judge of character in order to have the best team around him.
ADHD has barred him from using social platforms such as Facebook and twitter as it requires a lot of time. He thinks that most of the time is being wasted on e-mails and social media platforms by the millennial generation. Selim admits that his colleagues have to cope and compromise due to his relentlessness and perspective approach.
Dyslexia has made Selim more restless and impatient which sometimes causes a friction with his subordinates and colleagues.
Disability revised my modus operandi …
Selim confessed that his disabilities made him more performance driven, conceptual and efficient. It helped him achieve goals faster. Board meeting are short and more focused on the agenda, governance and the big picture. Yes, the disabilities have made him impatient making his colleagues and sub-ordinates vexed and thus many of his co-workers couldn’t stand him and resigned. Selim admits he is a go-getter. He believes not to jump onto any action and thus is providing the world with an alternate way of managing (via: WSJ).
‘Best CEO of all time’…
Selim’s proven, effective and unconventional management style has been featured in The Wall St. Journal, Fortune, Forbes, CNBC and other top business media. He was named The Motley Fool’s “Best CEO of all time.”
So what’s your excuse?
