Why Short Men Make Excellent Entrepreneurs

Motivation

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Fact: An increase in height by one inch results in an increase in salary by close to one thousand dollars. 

To explain this, a study published by the Economic Record is often misquoted by many Heightists. The study established that taller people are perceived to be more intelligent and powerful; this is in direct contrast to what heightists claim that taller people are more powerful and intelligent. In this case as in many others, perception has absolutely no bearing on reality, as is the case with this perception.

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Author Arriane Cohen explains it perfectly, "While taller people make more money, there is no logical explanation for it. “They are not prettier. They are not nicer. They are not anything else justifiable. They have however gotten some sort of halo in society.” Simply put, its not that they perform better or have better skills, the corporate world is just heightist.

It is crucial to point out that the effect of height on income is infact bigger than the effect of gender. Worse yet, it does not decline with age. Therefore, unless heightism is addressed, short men in the corporate world will keep earning less regardless of the experience they amass and their age. After several decades in the workforce, a short man will have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because of an aspect of himself he cannot control and which also has zero effect on his performance.

Stats Don't Lie. Heightist Society Means Taller People Get Paid More | Source: Mother Jones

Every executive below average height will tell you of promotions they have been passed up for very abstract reasons such as "you are not ready’ or "you need some more time". There is a glass ceiling when it comes to height which a few short guys have managed to get past through putting in hours and overcoming silly obstacles. Such men include 5’6 Jack Welch who did a remarkable job as the head of GE.

The CEO is the face of every company, a physical representation of what the company stands for. It has a lot to do with optics, it is therefore no surprise that appearance matters a lot. However, when it comes to entrepreneurship, very few people will care very about how you look. Most of the up-and-coming entrepreneurs look nothing like company executives, down to their hair, weight, dressing style and most importantly height.

Lloyd Blankfein CEO Of Goldman Sachs Is 5'4 | Source: Wall Street Journal

So what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur that is different from being the CEO of a successful corporation? The answer is simple - resilience, patience and a full four inches on average. All entrepreneurs will tell stories of doors being slammed on their faces, about going on when all others have given up and amazing comebacks. Great ideas and innovations are just that - great; regardless of first impressions and appearances. A man who has overcome the obstacles which short men face in a heightist society can withstand just about any of the obstacles that face a startup.

That short men make great entrepreneurs is a fact and here are a few examples - Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook is 5’ 7, Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google stands at 5’ 8. Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg LP is 5’ 6” and Lloyd Blankfien of Goldman Sachs is just 5'4. This proves that it is a lie that only tall men can lead businesses. Short men on average have simply been denied the chance to prove their worth in the board room because of heightist attitudes which plague many established corporations and society as a whole. 

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The important question then is, "What can we do about it"? There is very little we can do to change people’s perceptions, less making sure our voices are heard. Some of that the energy could as be used in a more profitable way also - building our own successful business. 

Sergey Brin, Co-Founder Of Google Stands At 5'8 | Source: Men Daily

The conclusion then based only on facts is that if you are short, you already have most of the skills you need to be an excellent entrepreneur. The rest, you can quickly learn. How far you have come already is a testament how far anyone can go if you they relegate themselves to negative circles. We now live in a world where if you have a great product or service, no one will give a damn about how tall you are. As numerous studies have been quick to point out, our chances of sitting behind the majestic desk at the top floor of at the headquarters of a big corporation are pretty low, however, our chances of building such companies from the ground are pretty fantastic.

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