Episode 537: Is my ADHD affecting my work and my startup got acquired

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:

1. Middle Management in the Midwest says,

   I recently accepted a new position at work, bumping up into an Assistant Director role. At our company this means I’ll have at least two teams, ICs directly reporting at first, potentially managers later.

   I am in the process of working with an Earth Psychologist and Psychiatrist to figure out potential ADHD I’ve been living with. Previously I just thought I was a bad person and couldn’t focus. I want to succeed at this role and do what I can to overcome or work through the distraction, inability to start, and the lack of follow through I’ve been struggling with.

   I know you can only speak about Space ADHD with your Space Psychology and Psychiatry degrees, but I’m wondering if anything could transfer. What have you seen work for people? How would you suggest someone who has big ideas learn to follow through on those ideas?

2. I’m been a software engineer at a tech scale-up (is that still a term?) for about 1.5 years. When I first joined, I felt buzzing energy, and one of the main selling points of working here was the “minimal organizational overhead”. We grew fast and got acquired end of last year by a large tech company. Since then, process has creeped its way slowly but surely, partly because of natural headcount growth, partly because of the acquisition.

   This has been especially apparent on my current project, in which I feel like we need to make a strong pivot. People largely agree, but it’s been difficult to actualize this. And I can’t help but think back to when I first joined - a pivot like this would’ve been a much easier endeavor.

   With that context to set the table, my question is: How can I fight this, to try to preserve the agility of the startup days of before? Even if it is a losing battle, how do I lose less badly? In these ever-changing crazy times, I feel agility is at a premium.