A German university professor says his studies show that “morning people” are more proactive and take-charge, while “evening people” tend to be smarter, more creative and more outgoing.
Smarter and more creative? Sounds to me like evening people have the edge over early risers who are “just” more proactive. But biologist Christoph Randler tells the Harvard Business Review that evening people may still be at a disadvantage in the business world because they are “they’re out of sync with the typical corporate schedule.”
That’s right: You might be smarter and more creative than the woman in the next cubicle, but her career could go further simply because her biorhythms happen to be more in tune with those of the boss. Maybe HR people should just dispense with all the questions about experience and skill set, skipping right to what really matters: “What time do you wake up in the morning?”
I’m exaggerating, of course. But smart, creative people who peak later in the day are bound to chafe at the chronological conformity of the business world. Maybe that’s one reason that 43% of entrepreneurs in our latest SmartBrief poll described themselves as “evening people” — why conform to someone else’s schedule when you can find success on your own time?
As a recovering political junkie, I try to stay away these days from anything that suggests partisanship or political debate. Still, I’ve been struck by the rise of the Tea Party movement, and I wondered how it was viewed by practical, hard-working entrepreneurial types.
