Hello all,
Here's a real brief intro. I'm 37, just had my first company go belly up because of a handful of problems: partner with a substance abuse problem, partner ruined image with very visable suicide attempt, poor financial decision made two years ago, couple of bad jobs kicked cash flow in the jewels. Started a new company with two people I knew. Things are going great so far.
I posted here recently, looking for the answer to the question "is this stress or ADHD." I've come to the conclusion that it's probably both. My coach turned me on to Thom Hartmann's book "Focus Your Energy" (now "ADHD Secrets of Success").
I stopped cold when I read the following lines.
"... The trap that many Hunters (Hartmann's theoretical version of someone with ADHD) fall into is that they end up creating not a business, but a job for themselves. They start a company to manufacture or sell a widget, they help make the widgets, and they do the sales. They build themselves so intrinsically into the business that it cannot function without them...
... The entrepreneurial stage of a company's life is when the Hunter/Entrepreneur really shines. Doing a little bit of everything, always rushing about, attending to a thousand things all at once, all with a mind-boggling hyperfocus...
... The Hunter founder/boss finds himself rambling around, meddling in other people's work, starting new projects and taking new risks just for the pure stimulation of it. He diverts precious focus and resources away from activities that the company has already proven successful."
That is the most complete description of me I have ever read or heard. That is me to a "T".
Fortunately, I now (having read the book in its entirety) have some solid strategies to move forward. And serendipity has blessed me. My two partners are highly organized, very process driven, very "let's keep the ship pointed in this direction." If I don't drive them nuts, we should do well.
If anyone out there is familiar with this book, please contribute. I'd like to hear about experiences. I'm also going to use this space as log, in the hope that someone else gets something out of it.
Here's what I've put in place:
I carry a digital recorder everywhere. If a thought or an idea floats into my head, I record it.
I set my cell phone up with reminders, about five a day. Check planner, check priorities, call wife, etc.
I use my planner religiously now. I run out of room every day and have to add sheets. I spend a minumum of 1 hour on a Sunday setting up the week. Every morning I review it with my partners. I carry it everywhere. At lunch, I update it. In the evenings, I update the current day and redo the next day.
When I get home, I focus on the kids. I get on the floor with them and play. I do that until they go to bed.
I have a conversation with my wife after the kids hit the sack. It might last 10 minutes or an hour. We go over our schedules, and work stuff out. Then we relax.
The thing about planning is this. It takes time, but planning begets efficiency, and efficiency begets more time. More time begets more output at work or more time with the family. More output begets more income. More time with the family begets more happiness in my life.
It's a start. I saw an immediate improvement at home, and an immediate improvement at work.
The next big thing I need to work on is my communication. My problem is that I tend to look at solving the problem for the person I'm talking to, while they are talking. I'm horrible at chit chat, small talk, and looking for the words unspoken. Gotta work on that somehow.