adhd
How ADHD Became My Professional Superpower
ADHD is often considered a disability, but in the complex and fast-paced world of business, it has become my greatest competitive advantage. This is the story of how this condition changed the way I work, view problems, solve them, and deliver value.
The Turning Point
My diagnosis came as a surprise through my oldest daughter. After a car accident left her struggling to focus, testing revealed her high IQ had been masking undiagnosed ADHD. As the psychiatrist detailed her symptoms, my wife looked at me and said, ‘That’s you.’ Six months later, the tests confirmed it.
The Superpowers vs. The Struggle
I began researching ADHD after my daughter’s diagnosis, and this new understanding explained so many things about my life. I realized I was much faster at taking a big-picture concept and distilling it into specific “work packages”—a project management term for sequences of related tasks tied to a single deliverable. At the same time, I was often much slower with routine tasks and activities. The diagnosis helped explain the best and worst aspects of this condition: hyperfocus and procrastination.
To many people, these contradictions did not make sense. To some, they were frustrating. But they all trace back to how the ADHD brain processes information.
I didn’t enjoy routine activities or the lack of focus they brought, so I developed systematic approaches that provided consistency, let me do more with less effort, and helped me complete those tasks faster. Later, I learned to automate those systems, and that was a game changer. These systems were accessible to anyone, delivered better results in less time, and made business more predictable and scalable.
However, as a consultant and later as a salesperson working with organizations ranging from small businesses to large companies, I realized that what corporate mindsets categorize as a limitation is actually a specialized toolkit. I do not see details sequentially; I tend to see entire systems simultaneously and then start considering potential problems and opportunities for improvement. That perspective led me to begin at the end, focusing on the “what” (goals and outcomes) instead of the “how” (often the status quo approach) when problem-solving.
While repeatable motions that have proven successful in business are highly desirable, not every business has achieved that goal. This is an area where creativity, understanding, relentless focus on a goal, and a continuous improvement mindset often lead to the desired goal.
How to Leverage ADHD in Your Career
- Audit Your Energy: Track when your hyperfocus naturally kicks in and what triggers it. Schedule your most complex, big-picture strategy sessions during those exact peak windows.
- Outsource the Routine: Automate, template, or delegate administrative tasks. This protects your brain from the mental fatigue caused by repetitive, linear work.
- Build Micro-Deadlines: Break large projects into immediate work packages. Artificial urgency helps trigger the dopamine required to power through procrastination.
Conclusion
For years, I couldn’t understand why I could map out massive, complex projects in minutes, yet struggle to finish a simple, routine task. My ADHD diagnosis and understanding of this condition helped me feel more normal. Additionally, it allowed me to better control and leverage it. Hopefully, this helps others understand themselves and expand their potential.
As Albert Einstein stated, “The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.” This is something that the ADHD brain does well. Probably half of the business leaders that I have worked with exhibit many of the characteristics of this condition. I believe that knowing how to manage it can turn it into your superpower as well.
Interesting Article about ADHD and Creativity
This “pocket” story is from Scientific American, originally published on March 5, 2019. The Creativity of ADHD.
Over the years, I have found that some of the most interesting, creative, and effective CEOs have ADHD-like tendencies. Strangely, they may not even be aware that they have it. Hyperfocus can be incredibly effective when attached to a driven person.
Below are links to a couple of posts that make these concepts and their benefits tangible:
These are examples of why it is best to look beyond labels, set aside preconceived notions, and explore each individual’s potential to contribute. The best managers and leaders tend to have this ability.
If you want to take it a step further, let it guide you in finding the best approach to teaching, coaching, and motivating your team members. It may take a little extra effort, but the results are amazing.
Non-Linear Thought Process and a Message for my Children
I have recently been investigating and visiting universities with my eldest daughter, a Senior in High School. Last week we visited Stanford University (an amazing experience) and spent a week in Northern California on vacation. After being home for a day and a half, I am in Texas for a week of team meetings and training.
On the first night of a trip, I seldom sleep, so I listened to the song “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” by Annie Lennox, a cover of a Neil Young song. That led to a YouTube search for the original Neil Young version, which led to me listening to “Old Man” – a favorite song of mine for over 30 years. That led to some reflection, which ultimately led to this post.
I mention this because it is an example of the nonlinear or divergent thought process (generally viewed as a negative trait) that occurs naturally for me. It helps me “connect the dots” faster and more naturally. It is a manner of thinking associated with ADHD (again, something generally viewed as negative). The interesting thing is that to fit in and succeed with ADHD, you tend to develop logical systems for focus and consistency. That has many positive benefits for me – such as systemic thinking, creating repeatable processes, and automation.
The combination of linear and non-linear thinking can really fuel creativity. The downside is that it can take quite a while for others to see the potential of your ideas, which can be extremely frustrating. But you learn to communicate better out of necessity. The upside is that you tend to create relationships with other innovators because they think like you, making you relatable and interesting to them. The world is a strange place.
It is funny how there are several points in your life when you have an epiphany, and things suddenly make complete sense. That makes you realize how much time and effort you could have saved if you’d figured something out sooner. As a parent, I always try to identify and create learning shortcuts for my children so they reach those points much sooner than I did.
I started this post thinking that I would document as many of those lessons as possible to serve as a future reminder and possibly help others. Instead, I decided to post a few things I view as foundational truisms in life that could help foster that personal growth process. So, here goes…
- Always work hard to be the best, but never let yourself believe you are the best. Even if you truly are, it will be short-lived, as there are always people doing everything they can to be the best. Ultimately, that is a good thing. You need to have enough of an ego to test the limits and capabilities of things, but not one that is so big that it alienates or marginalizes those around you.
- Learn from everything you do – good and bad. Continuous improvement is so important. By focusing on this, you constantly challenge yourself to try new things and find better (i.e., more effective, more efficient, and more consistent) ways to do things.
- Realize that the difference between a brilliant and a stupid idea is often perspective. Years ago, I taught technical courses, and occasionally someone would describe something they did that seemed strange or wrong. But if you asked questions and tried to understand why they did what they did, you would often identify the brilliance in that approach. It is both exciting and humbling.
- Incorporating new approaches or the best practices of others into your own proven methods and processes is part of continuous improvement, but it only works if you can set aside your ego and keep an open mind.
- Believe in yourself, even when others don’t share that belief. Remain open to feedback and constructive criticism as a way to learn and improve, but never give up on yourself. There is a huge but sometimes subtle difference between confidence and arrogance, and that line is often drawn at the point where you can accept that you might be wrong or that there might be a better way to do something. Become the person people like working with and not the person they avoid or want to see fail.
- Surround yourself with the best people that you can find. Look for people with diverse backgrounds and complementary skills. The best teams I have ever been involved with consisted of high achievers who constantly raised the bar for each other while simultaneously creating a safety net for their teammates. Those teams grew and did amazing things because everyone was very competitive and supportive of each other.
- Keep notes or a journal because good ideas are often fleeting and hard to recall. Remember, good ideas can come from anywhere, so keep track of others’ suggestions and make sure you attribute them to the proper source.
- Try to make a difference in the world. Try to leave everything you “touch” (job, relationship, project, whatever) in a better state than before you were there. Helping others improve and leading by example are two simple ways of making a difference.
- Accept that failure is a natural obstacle on your path to success. You are not trying hard enough if you never fail. But you are also not trying hard enough if you fail too often. That is very subjective, and honest introspection is your best gauge. Be accountable, accept responsibility, document the lessons learned, and move on.
- Dream big, and use that as motivation to learn new things. While I funded medical research, I learned about genetics, genomics, and biology. That expanded into interests in nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural networks, and interfaces such as natural language and non-verbal/emotional communication. Someday I hope to tie these together to help cure a disease (Arthritis) and improve the quality of life for millions of people. Will that ever happen? I don’t know, but I do know that if I don’t try, it will never happen because of anything I did.
- Focus on the positive, not the negative. Creativity is stifled in environments where fear and blame rule.
- Never hesitate to apologize when you are wrong. This is a sign of strength, not weakness.
- And above all else, honesty and integrity should be the foundation for everything you do and are.
Hopefully, this will help my children become the best people possible, ideally early on in their lives. I was 30 years old before I had a clue about many of these things. Until that point, I was somewhat self-centered and focused on winning. Winning and success are good things, but are better when accomplished the right way.
Where Ideas, Experiences, and Lessons Learned Intersect 