It’s a “true that,” according to me, that most successful entrepreneurs have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). None other than USA Today recently had a fantastic spot on article about accommodating hyper-activity children in K-12 education with free radical active learning approaches. The thesis was that confining (“chaining”) ADHD students to a desk is counter-productive and fails to tap into the child’s potential. Where was this research when I was a kid?
So fast forward the movie and now you and I are professionals who march to a different drummer as entrepreneurs. I’d offer that giving us a desk job is a jail sentence and makes us under perform. But un-leash us with mobile devices and cloud services and we’re world beaters. Case in point is Exhibit A: myself. I have the high honor of traveling the world right now telling the Modern Tour story surrounding devices and services on behalf of Microsoft, Intel and ActionTec. Its 30+ countries in 90-days to inspire and motivate top performer to leverage migration opportunities into get modern wins.
It translates to this: with my numerous devices, I can work anywhere in the world at any time I choose. Simply stated, I love this work style! I pop into a locale for a day, preach SMB IT Pro profitability and then zoom to the next destination. My own devices (two laptops, one tablet) plus my Office 365 account and a fantastic support staff “back home” on Bainbridge Island allow me to run my company while living in my travel addiction “Jack Rabbit” mode. And to think I get paid to do this!
So what does it mean for you? If you’re like me and have a hard time sitting still, then don’t sit. Read e-mails while working out on a treadmill or stationary bike (exercise is a healing elixir for ADHD). Buy a MiFi device (that typically has the five 4G connections available) and get your mobility on. And yes, even work from the sticky table at your local hip-and-cool coffee shop.
Why am I promoting such radical work restructuring? Because that’s where I see the work environment heading, and quickly to boot! The Modern Tour deck I present during my executive briefings display double-digit growth in mobility. So you should lead the parade (if the shoe fits), and then have your SMB customers follow. In short, tell them “dig me” and then sell into a devices and services win.
If Microsoft is reading this, I’d offer that a “Get Modern” target message to ADHD business people with mobile devices and cloud services should be an advertising campaign unto itself. If I witnessed such a television ad from Microsoft, I’d offer my reaction would be that Microsoft “Gets it,” and it comes to “Get Modern.”
And as for ActionTec’s ScreenBeam Pro wireless display devices (using MiraCast), you also have a mobile asset. I’ve used this device to turn an HDTV at the hotels into my second monitor via your WiDI HDMI connection (see photo above). I get the big screen to work on my PowerPoint slides and also watch streaming movies from Netflix at night. How cool is that?
As a resource for your mobility next step, consider reading “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris. In one of the first chapters, he defines his “DEAL” methodology that is his work less for more thesis. Pay close attention to the term “L” for Liberation where he speaks toward “…forever breaking the bonds that confine you to a single location.” That is, mobility is the third and final ingredient in his success formula.
