“Accept the fact that there is almost always going to be someone mad at you.”

This is a difficult concept to accept, particularly if, like me, you are a “people pleaser,” or worse still, an approval seeker. Yet I’ve found that if you don’t make peace with this virtual inevitability, it guarantees that you will spend a great deal of time struggling with one of the unfortunate realities of life – disappointment.

– entry No. 55 in Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff at Work, by Richard Carlson, Ph.D., 1998.

Adults with attention deficit disorder are particulary sensitive to criticism.* For us, Carson’s advice is doubly useful.

Click here for a full ADDexec review for this book.

*stay tuned for an ADDexecutive article on this topic.

Unfulfilled Potential: The A.D.D. Child as an Adult
Glenn Hunsucker
1993

ADDexec summary:
Unfulfilled Potential is a questionable book by a questionable writer. Though it includes some interesting tidbits on ADD in the workplace, don’t buy this book unless you also enjoy getting news via The National Enquirer, in which case you should definitely buy this book.

Additional review and commentary:
Hunsucker’s several ADD titles are in many bibliographies for attention deficit disorder. Maybe they’re listed for their info, but maybe also for the quantity and vibrancy of his writing which is, in truth, a lot of fun to read.

From p. 182, here’s a glimpse of Hunsucker’s argument (punctuation copied here as published in the original from ):

Consider this: It is a fact that the number of people with ADD increases every day. Why? Because it’s hereditary. This means that the problems caused by ADD will increase. (ie: crime, alcohol/drug abuse, dropouts, irresponsible workers.) The problems will not increase immediately. It will take ten years or more for the accumulative effect to be noticed.

…If we do not start diagnosing and treating ADD at an early age, I see it as having one of the biggest negative impacts on our society since Aids. It may be more serious than Aids because, unlike Aids, treatment isn’t the problem. …Getting it properly diagnosed and treated by professionals is the biggest problem.

Hyperbole aside, Hunsucker does make a useful argument in Chapter 1:

Focusing on those [untreated] ADD people who are successful is the most negative thing you could possibly do. These people are exceptions to the rule.

…If we give the false impression that there are just as many successful people as unsuccessful, we are sending the same message as those who don’t believe that such a thing as ADD exists.

Here at the ADDexecutive, we agree that attention deficit disorder has a significant downside in the workplace that can be mitigated with treatment. We also believe that when the downside is managed, the upside potential of an ADD mind in combination with other mental and emotional strengths can bring great gifts to its owner. Our plan for the ADDexecutive is to address ADD holistically for the executive or business owner: managing the downside, taking advantage of the upside, and keeping all the pieces working together.

To read more of Hunsucker’s ideas, including his offer to drastically reduce alcohol/drug abuse and crime while also increasing academic test scores for your contribution (or loan) of $5 million, buy here from Amazon: Unfulfilled Potential available used from $0.01.