two guys with a laptop
Once, a senior leader at an agency were I was working announced that we had lost a client. She justified the loss by saying, "they just need two guys with a laptop," implying that they were far too unsophisticated for a prestigious agency such as ours. But I remember thinking, wait, I want to be two guys with a laptop.
Since my Forbes feature, a lot of people have been asking about how I built a business (not really consciously) that works for my particular ADHD way of life (and makes our clients very happy).
It mostly comes down to having the right support and the right people to cover for the things I’m bad at, and leveraging my superpowers for good.
Here are a few pain points, that have superpowers behind them, and innovation that has been born as a result:
Pain point: Don’t understand time.
Many ADHD people including me have time vagueness, and think it should take ZERO time to do anything. This is delusional and makes others crazy.
Superpower behind it: Vision
The reason I’m bad at understanding time is because I (like many ADHD people) have the ability to visualize all the steps and the final result in a flash as if it’s already done. This creates a relentless drive and optimistic certainty that helps us get to the finish line in short timelines (just not ZERO time).
Innovations and good practices as a result:
Repeatable process for client work with prep time, client time, and wrap time all mapped out
Teammates who are great at understanding time and setting realistic timelines
Pain point: frustration with layers and processes, just want to get to it.
I used to get so frustrated in big agency life with so many layers and rigid roles that inhibited creativity and collaboration. Too-long strategy meetings talking in a circle, and too much talking about what we are going to do would make my skin crawl.
Superpower behind it: Connection
This might be a stretch, but the only way to cut through the frustration is to work with people directly. Two guys with a laptop. The more cooks in the kitchen, the more frustrating. So even though I’m an introvert, I’ve become a huge people person in the name of getting sh*t done! And in the process it turns out I love collaborating closely with clients and it’s one of my great joys.
Innovations and good practices as a result:
Ok we’re way more sophisticated than 2 guys with a laptop but that’s kind of the idea.
We work together with our clients in sprints called Leap Days. So, we can’t go in the wrong direction for 2 weeks because of our creative ego only to have a bad meeting and go back to the drawing board.
We don’t waste anyone’s time or money on fluff that is unnecessary.
We have work sessions whenever possible instead of meetings. A work session is a meeting but you come out with a list of 5 action items instead of 12.
We mostly work on Zoom but yes, I might come to your office with my laptop if you’ll have me.
There’s a lot more and I’ll continue to share here. Want to connect and talk about this stuff? Reach out any time.
