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Luck found in ADHDers! Or the Right Brained

1. At-bats. ADHDers are on to something new every 5 minutes.
2. Try it. ADHDers try before thinking. (Some see as a negative lack of restraint. Why restrain?)
3. Ready. Fire. Aim. See above.
4. “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”—G.K. Chesterton. ADHDers go with the big idea and worry about the details later. Why get bogged down.
5. Read odd stuff. ADHDers read and watch everything. No over focusing on one industry or job.
6. Visit odd places. Want to “see” speed? Watch an ADHDer think or work.
7. Make odd friends. Do I even need to comment?
8. Hire odd people. Boring folks, boring ideas….you said it TP on me.
9. Cultivate odd hobbies. Golfer today, skaterboard yesterday, painter tomorrow, etc…
10. Work with odd partners. No problem.
11. Ask dumb questions. “How come computer commands all come from keyboards?”
Somebody asked that one first; hence, the mouse. Don’t ADHDers always ask child like questions?
12. Empower. ADHDers don’t want power…..please take it.
13. Train without limits. ADHDers want to try everyones job and learn everything….until you start bogging us down with red taped details. “That’s not how we do things here or you have to do it this way or…” Or what?
14. Don’t back away from passion. ADHDers….duh!
15. Pursue failure. Failure is success’s only launching pad. ADHDers are seen as failures.
16. Take anti-NIH pills. ADHDers have more original ideas in one day the most have in a lifetime.
17. Constantly reorganize. Why organize…..we don’t. Fight the urge its ok!
18. Listen to everyone. We can’t stop listening to everyone that’s what we do….until (see below).
19. Don’t listen to anyone. ….We become hyper focused with the idea spider web in our heads.
20. Get fired. I’ve been fired 5 times…..tell me one ADHDer that hasn’t been more than once.
21. Nurture intuition. ADHDers are the most intuitive people in the world….we see things way ahead of the curve.
22. Don’t hang out with “all the rest.” We are the others!
23. Decentralize. Nothing centralized about us.
24. Decentralize again. See above.
25. Smash all functional barriers. ADHDers no problem crossing boundaries….is usually why we get fired. See #20.
26. Destroy hierarchies. See #20.
27. Open the books. No rules….just think it then do it.
28. Start an information deluge. We are an information deluge.
29. Take sabbaticals. That’s what day dreams are for.
30. “Repot” yourself every 10 years. Every two years….Lets see I’ve been Helpdesk, Tanning professional, Call center engineer, web designer, programmer, and now marketing manager,….soon to be a business owner and public speaker…oh and 2x dad. That’s what ADHDers do.
31. Spend 50 percent of your time with “outsiders.” Inside is boring.
32. Spend 50 percent of your “outsider” time with wacko outsiders. We are the outsiders no problem joining them.
33. Pursue alternative rhythms. See #30.
34. Spread confusion in your wake. Ha ha ha ha ha. Just follow our trail of thoughts….how long can you hang?
35. Disorganize. That’s what we are known for……DISORGANIZED ORGANIZATION. Check out TP’s desk photo on flickr.
36. “Dis-equilibrate ... Create instability, even chaos.” Not even going to comment here….think it is apparent.
37. Stir curiosity. Igniting youthful, dormant curiosity in followers is the lead dog’s top task, according to Sony chairman Akio Morita. Aaaah, Yeah!
38. Start a Corporate Traitors’ Hall of Fame. “Renegades” are not enough. You need people who despise what you stand for. Don’t they all hate us.
39. Give out “Culture Scud Awards.” We would be the MVP.
40. Vary your pattern. ADHDers never follow the same pattern. See De Bono’s “Lateral Thinking”
41. Take off your coat. Check….Fired once for this.
42. Take off your tie. Check..and this.
43. Roll up your sleeves. Check…and this.
44. Take off your shoes. Check…and this.
45. Get out of your office. Tell me, honestly, the last time something inspiring or clever
happened at that big table in your office?! We usually take jobs not in the office.
46. Get rid of your office. That’s what we have been saying man!
47. Spend a workday each week at home. And all the days after we were fired.
48. Nurture peripheral vision. I think we invented peripheral vision along with peripheral thought.
49. Don’t “help.” Let the people who work for you slip, trip, fall—and grow and learn on their own. We never do. You do the details and we will help by questioning everything you do that you learned while getting your MBA.
50. Avoid moderation in all things. Moder…what? We are the most likely to become addicted.

Posted by jgervin at August 31, 2006 4:41 PM

Thanks for posting this; always a great reminder. Right brained is just fine (not a genetic defect) and luck is good.

Posted by Kate at September 1, 2006 8:09 AM

Strategies 1 - 50: Look for the good in every idea and even if it is not applicable today, fully or in part, do not dismiss but instead defer it.

Posted by MarkJF at September 1, 2006 8:58 AM