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JUNE 2005

Barbara Corcoran Speaks at the NYU Child Study Center

By Richard Kagan

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that can be overcome. That is the message that Barbara Corcoran, Founder and Chairman of the Corcoran Group, imparted at the Adam Katz Memorial Lecture Series held at the New York University Medical Center recently.

The Adam Katz Lecture Series was created in 2003 in memory of Adam Katz, son of NYU Child Study Center board member Howard Katz. Adam Katz struggled with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and learning difficulties throughout his life.

Corcoran’s talk “Brokering Success: The Possibilities Within A Disability” focuses on her struggle to cope with dyslexia which affected her reading and writing skills as a child.

Corcoran, discovered that she had difficulty reading while in 3rf grade and did not perform well in grammar or high school. She became an outsider and didn’t fit into the social circles that one finds while in school. But she did not let this stop her and went on to become, according to CNN, one of “the most sought after (real estate) brokers in New York City, and a nationally known real estate executive.” The Corcoran Group has sales of $5 billion dollars, with 1200 agents operating in New York City, The Hamptons, and Palm Beach, Fl..

According to NYU’s Child Study Center, approximately 10 to 30 percent of children have some form of learning disorder. Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability and occurs to people of all background and intellectual levels. There is a genetic predisposition of acquiring a learning disorder from a parent who has one.

Corcoran spoke about feeling lonely and an outcast at school because of her learning disorder, but she compensated by using her mind to imagine and think of great possibilities. Barbara Corcoran was one of 10 children. Her mom gave each child a label, describing a positive trait. Corcoran’s Mom dubbed her the “Imagination Child” of the family. Feeling frustrated by her inability to read well, she sat in class and daydreamed. Daydreaming became a time where Corcoran developed her sense of visualizing, of creating images and ideas. This later served her well in business. At a business meeting, she could see a business plan in all its detail, without having to read the numbers.

Being an outsider as a child led to her becoming an “innovator” in her career. “You can see differently,” said Corcoran. It became a great advantage for her in building a business which started out with a $1,000 loan from an ex-boyfriend in 1973 to become a multi-billion company. Corcoran sold the Corcoran Group in 2001 to NRT, the nation’s premier residential real estate company but retains the title of Chairman, and is actively involved in generating publicity with many television appearances.

Cocoran remembers the day her college teacher read aloud her poem on “Raindrops” in her freshman creative writing class at St. Thomas Aquinas College. “Maybe I’m not stupid,” Corcoran thought. She had 23 jobs before she found her niche. She took her thousand dollar loan and parlayed it into a dream. She stepped out and “talked triple-time and a half” as she developed Corcoran Group into a major force in the NYC real estate market.

Corcoran’s 11 year old son is also dyslexic. She was diagnosed with dyslexia when her son was also tested for learning disorders when he was in second grade. By then, her company was firmly established as a leader in the city but now she knew there was a name to what she experienced. “Oh, that’s what was wrong,” she said at that time.

As Chief Executive of her company she gave tasks she hated to employees who could perform them better. Corcoran cites Esther Kaplan as being a great administrator who was very good with financial matters. Delegating tasks helped her focus on creative ideas for marketing strategies. “I still can’t read a financial statement,” Corcoran said.

Corcoran has written a best-selling book, Use What You’ve Got And Other Lessons I Learned From My Mother. All proceeds from the hard-cover and paperback versions go to fund the specialized needs of dyslexic children. #

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