Short Review for ADDexecs

Since childhood I’ve had lots of creativity, but it often seemed more curse than blessing. Can I bring it back in a way that brings me joy as an adult – as part of my working world, and more importantly, as part of me?!

If this sounds like you, consider A.D.D. and Creativity: Tapping Your Inner Muse by Lynn Weiss, PhD. Chapter 10, Overcoming Practical Problems, addresses issues like self-discipline, self-honesty, organization, and negotiation that are relevant in career management for creative souls. Chapter 11, Making a Living with Your Creativity , addresses the greatest hope for creative ADDexecs – getting paid for the daily act of invention. Chapters 1 through 9 focus on the relationship of ADD and creativity, the suppression of creativity in both childhood and adulthood, and ways to recapture the lost creative spirit.

ADDexec Relevance

For an ADDexec who only wants workplace tips and analysis, the book may be frustrating, because Weiss gives equal time to (1) creativity as something worthy in and of itself and (2) creativity within the context of the workplace. Other books provide much better concrete advice on business organization, working with people, goal-setting and related business topics. Weiss’s book should not be considered a complete coverage for ADD in the working life, even for the ADDexec who wants to make the most of her creativity.

Click below for longer review and excerpts:

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Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.

– Thomas Edison

Of course no one knew about "attention deficit disorder" as such when Edison was around, but his name always comes up as an example of famous adults with ADD.  True or not, he clearly had a clue about the need for both creativity and diligent work.

In its short history, the library of books on adult ADD has almost always spoken to the challenges and needs of self-discipline.  Increasingly, ADD literature has also focused on the joys (and challenges) of creativity.  That in mind, here is an axiom to propose:

For an executive with attention deficit disorder, the challenge and opportunity is to integrate self-discipline with creativity. 

Some would argue that this axiom ignores the need of a sound business strategy.  However, the reality is that sound business strategies most readily emerge from a mind that has both self-discipline and creativity.  There is no paradox of "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" in this case.  Self-discipline and creativity come first.  Strategy comes second.

Note also that we say "the challenge and opportunity IS", rather than "are".  Why the grammar choice?  Because for the ADDexec, challenge and opportunity are not two different entities.  They are very much bound into one.

"Poor listening skills" ranks among the top complaints about managers with attention deficit disorder.  This complaint is no surprise  — if only because few people talk as fast as an ADDexec’s mind can process information.

With bandwidth to burn while listening to our "slow-talking" colleagues, our minds give themselves permission to consider other things — our calendars, our next meeting, the bird flying by the window…   Sometimes, of course, our minds save enough bandwidth to stay tuned in to whoever is trying to talk with us.   But other times that bird flying by the window hooks our attention completely and takes it all away.  And then who’s the bad guy?  No, not the pretty bird — but the Boss Who Never Listens.

But maybe there’s a good side to this fat bandwidth habit.

Harvard Business School professor John J. Gabbaro has pointed out a "managerial paradox" in the the need to listen in two different ways that seem to contradict each other:

"…while it is crucial that managers be able to listen nonjudgmentally (to understand other points of view and get valid information), the essence of management is to do just the opposite–to make judgments…  The danger, then, is that this bias for judging will subvert a manager’s inclination to listen carefully and, in doing so, sabotage his or her ability to make accurate business and people judgments.

"Managers may be tempted to resolve this paradox as an either/or…  But if one thing has made itself clear in the past 40 years, it is that managers must have the capacity to do both.  They must recognize that to make judgments, you must suspend judgment."

"Normal" managers might have a hard time with this.  But for the ADDexec whose mind needs more than some talkers give in real time, might this be the great opportunity: to simultaneously hear everything "twice" — with half of the mind listening to understand, while the other half listens to judge?

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Reference:  John J. Gabarro, "Retrospective Commentary" (Harvard Business Review, November-December 1991) on "Barriers and Gateways to Communication" by C.R. Rogers and F.J. Roethlisberger, originally published in the Harvard Business Review, 1952.)

"The biggest part of being a ‘Ritalin kid’ growing into adulthood, says 31-year-old Providence artist David Cole, ‘has been learning to define myself in terms of my successes instead of my deficits.’"

Reference:  "David Cole: How a ‘Ritalin kid’ learned to handle success", by Pam Thomas, Providence Journal, March 25, 2007.

Note: the ADDexecutive is requesting permission to reprint the full article.  Meanwhile, enjoy the quote, and click over to projo.com to see the whole thing online (you may have to register).

Adult ADD and Money: Adult ADD & ADHD Personal Finance, Money Management, and Business Blog

As is obvious from its title, this blog covers territory far beyond the ADDexec workplace, but there is plenty of relevant material — particularly in categories like ADD/ADHD Business Articles and ADD/ADHD Business Tips.

But if you want to indulge your ADD self before reading those categories, check out the blog’s other fun at Stupid Things To Do With Money and Celebrity Money Issues which are competing for “my favorite category” status.

Adult ADD and Money author John MacKenzie is a small-business consultant who has worked with numerous ADD/ADHD clients. MacKenzie is also an instructor with ADDClasses which offers teleclasses on a variety of ADDult topics.

"You’d be perfect for our board of directors.  We could really use your [insert your expertise here] skill at [insert local non-profit here].

You’re smart.  You’re busy.  You’re successful.

Of course everyone wants to you to serve on their board of directors, or fundraising committee, or homeowners association.

And for folks with attention deficit disorder, nothing quite sparks our excitement like a new opportunity.  And for folks with attention deficit disorder, nothing quite takes the edge off like saying "yes" when someone asks for it.

If you’ve read this far, you know that saying "yes" isn’t always the best idea.  And saying "no" so often hurts.  But on the days when you do say "no," consider all the good.  They asked because you are smart, and you are busy and you are (quite possibly) successful.  That’s something worth smiling about.  And if you really are smart and if you want to stay successful, you know you’re going to say "no" pretty darned often.  So put those "no" moments in your "win" column — they’re something to smile about.  And don’t forget to say "thank you" to the folks who wanted you, for recognizing you as the sharp person that you are.

Just for Today: see if you can give five unique and sincere expressions of praise to the people you work with.

Write them down.  Count them.  Make sure you get to 5.

Sincere praise is a gift.  It’s the gift of noticing something good.  It’s the gift of letting someone know that you noticed.  And it’s the gift of taking the time to tell them, with at least some unique detail, just what you saw and why you liked it.  It isn’t just "Nice presentation, Jim," as you rush out the door to your next meeting.  But maybe "Nice presentation, Jim.  I appreciate how you helped us get clear on the risk/opportunity options for changing production line B.  I’m glad you didn’t gloss over that part before addressing the rest of the agenda."

This attention to detail is extra important for the ADDexec who can often appear distracted in the eyes of their staff and colleagues.  I once heard a businessman say about another, "Pete is so ADD — I don’t think he’s heard a word I’ve said in the last ten years."  When you give good praise, you’re not only doing something right — you might be helping yourself out of a hole you didn’t even know you’d dug.

And one last thing about giving sincere praise to your "subordinates."  Done right, it lets them know that you know you need them.   That message of intelligent humility is a communication worth having.

“Sure I am a religious man who is also passionate about conserving the environment. But I am also a CEO, with all the bad habits and attitudes that are natural to the species.. . . I am still naturally self-interested, overconfident, full of pride, and eager to control a meeting as any CEO in America. Every day, I struggle with my ego.”

— Tom Chappell in Managing Upside Down

Chappell understands that anyone with the strength to be a successful CEO is not likely to be a perfect, considerate, or quiet soul 24/7. But this doesn’t mean he’s given up on character. Instead, it means he knows he’s got a wrestling match, every day.

Those of us with attention deficit disorder and a C-level job can share some of his attitude. We’re not always easy to work with, and we can apologize for where our nature hinders progress or makes life harder for others. But at the same time, we can embrace the fact that our nature is also part of what makes us motivated and strong.

About Tom Chappell, in case you didn’t already know: In the 1970s, Chappell co-founded Tom’s of Maine, which has grown into one of the most enduring success stories of business done right. Last year, Chappell sold Tom’s of Maine for $100 million to Colgate-Palmolive. Fifteen years ago, Chappell endowed a professorship at the Harvard Divinity School, where he had just completed his Masters degree in Theology. Clearly, Chappell knows something about the spirit as well as the marketplace. Chappell is author of several books, including The Soul of a Business: Managing for Profit and the Common Good and Managing Upside Down: Seven Intentions for Values-Centered Leadership.

"You won’t see how to do it until you see yourself doing it…  Many of us hold ourselves back from imagining a desired outcome unless someone can show us how to get there.  Unfortunately, that’s backward in terms of how our minds work to generate and recognize solutions and methods."

–David Allen in Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, chapter three, which cites some decades-old research on how our brains work.

In a business context, the above quote recognizes the importance of having both a Vision and a Business Plan.  We ADDexecs — with our natural ability to visualize many wonderful scenarios — have no shortage of Visions to dream about.  However, we can quickly run into two new challenges: (1) choosing which Vision we’re willing to focus on and work toward and (2) hobbling ourselves by saying, "oh, it’s just another dream, just like all the other dreams I’ve had but never succeeded at." 

Left unmanaged, these two attention deficit disorder hindrances can keep us from moving forward.  Thus the importance of business analysis and a business plan.  Analysis doesn’t answer all questions, but it does give us a chance to see which Visions are more important to us, and which Visions appear most viable.  A business plan forces us to examine our commitment to a single Vision and lets us find out how we can make it real. 

And if we commit, we have an answer to our ADDexec selves when our impulses tempt us elsewhere.  "Sorry, impulse," we can say, "I’ve got a plan and I’m committed."

In his brilliant book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, Barry Schwartz observes that at beyond a certain point, the privilege of having more choices becomes the burden of having too many choices.  At this point, he writes:

"Routine decisions take so much time and attention that it becomes difficult to get through the day.  In circumstances like these, we should learn to view limits… as liberating not contraining.  …By deciding to follow a rule (for example, always wear a seat belt; never drink more than two glasses of wine in one evening), we avoid having to make a deliberate decision again and again.  This kind of rule-following frees up time and attention that can be devoted to thinking about choices and decisions to which rules don’t apply." — Chapter 11, "What to Do About Choice".

Attention Deficit Disorder + Infinite Choices = Great Lack of Productivity for many ADDexecs.

As business owners and professionals, we have the privilege to choose and the responsibility to choose well.  At times, this can be more curse than blessing.*  Fortunately, there are some answers.  Among them:

(1) read Barry Schwartz’s book, which offers a path to both intellectual and spiritual calm that would be useful to any ADDexec and

(2) delegate and delegate completely.  For those of us with staff, there is great power in telling someone, "Please handle this assignment.  You know what our corporate goals are and you know what we’re trying to get done.  I trust you and I trust your batting average.  Let me know when it’s done or when you really need my input."

Those two items won’t take care of all your worries, but they will help.

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*"Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it!"  Who among us doesn’t remember the joy and relief we get when — now and then — we leave it up to someone else to tell us how to spend our time?  Surely a sign that we know when too many choices and too many responsibilites have made work+thinking = less than fun.