Can An Autistic Person Have a Successful Corporate Career?
Large organisations can be a minefield for autistic people, and while success is possible, it often comes at a huge cost
The legendary ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.” While it is true that you get nowhere without moving, I think that in many situations, things are a little more nuanced than this. When we follow a course of action, we like to believe there is at least some chance of success. If you ignore this, you end up in Einstein’s definition of insanity — repeating the same actions, hoping for a different outcome.
Wasting time and effort on something that is proven to be hopeless from the outset makes no sense. There would be no point in me devoting years of my life to winning the Olympic gold medal for the 100 metres. I am not athletic; no man my age could do so, even if they were. Of course, we may like to pursue long shots, and sometimes, just a chance of success is more than enough to keep us going. I am all for following your dreams, even if they look far off at the outset.
So, given this, is it worth an autistic person setting out to succeed in a corporate career? Is there any chance of success at all, and if so, what will success need and…
