ADHD-ish Podcast Summary

Episode: When Your Business Has ADHD, Too

Host: Diann Wingert
Guest: Diane Mayer (Business Strategist and ADHD Entrepreneur)
Date: August 5, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the unique intersection between ADHD traits and entrepreneurship, focusing on how those with ADHD (diagnosed or "ADHD-ish") unintentionally build businesses that reflect their own neurological wiring—often leading to chaos, complexity, and burnout. Host Diann Wingert and guest Diane Mayer dig into how ADHD characteristics can be both a superpower and a risk factor when running a business. The conversation is both practical and validating, with actionable strategies for harnessing ADHD strengths while addressing common pitfalls, especially around structure, scaling, and leadership.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Does It Mean for a Business Model to Have ADHD?

(05:05–12:26)

• Many ADHD entrepreneurs build businesses that mirror their own tendencies: high on ideas and energy but low on follow-through and structure.
• The business becomes an extension of their strengths and weaknesses—e.g., a marketing whiz has a slick front end but chaos in operations, while a systems lover may have everything organized but struggles with selling.
• Memorable analogy: Businesses built by ADHDers can look “chaotic” externally, much like an ADHD brain—"duct tape and a prayer" holding things together.

"So we tend to go for dopamine. Big ideas, lots of fun things in the marketing. But then we also want to change direction really quickly and we want to make a lot of money. And we can't understand why our team can't keep up with us…"
—Diane Mayer (08:03)

• The episode title, “When Your Business Model Has ADHD Too,” refers to how these traits shape the very mechanics and culture of the business.

The Problem with Cookie-Cutter Advice & Neurodivergence

(05:31–15:10)

• "Proven" business systems don’t fit ADHD brains—advice like “do one thing, scale it, then add another” is anathema to the neurodivergent craving for novelty.
• The latest trend in online business: coaches encouraging “multipassionate” entrepreneurship, sometimes exploiting ADHDers’ tendency to chase shiny objects without giving them the support to manage the resulting chaos.

"If your goal is to just have 92 offers, because that's exciting to you, congratulations, you're in. If your goal is to create a certain level of financial freedom, time freedom, creative freedom, that's probably not the way to go about it."
—Diane Mayer (14:25)

• Caution: Whether it’s rigid systems or encouragement to “do it all,” one-size-fits-all advice usually backfires for ADHDers.

How ADHD Traits Show Up as Business Vulnerabilities

(19:16–29:58)

Diane highlights three core ADHD risk factors that can harm a business:

1. Dopamine-Seeking

(19:19–23:12)

• Craving novelty leads to starting endless projects, changing direction, and inconsistent marketing.
• Routine, admin, and detail work get neglected—systems become fragile, and delivery suffers.
• External chaos mirrors internal chaos; clients and team can feel this inconsistency.

"We're chasing all the things that get us high, and we're avoiding all the things that bring us down. So we land up with this very chaotic business..."
—Diane Mayer (21:47)

2. Executive Dysfunction

(23:13–26:18)

• Decision fatigue, open loops, and “paralysis” lead to last-minute pivots or indecision, leaving teams scrambling.
• The leader’s inability to move things forward causes bottlenecks and chronic stress for all involved.

"ADHD people are not good at closing loops because they're not good at getting the thing done. And that is exhausting."
—Diane Mayer (25:05)

3. Rejection Sensitivity

(26:18–29:58)

• Emotional reactivity to feedback results in overhauling offers unnecessarily or chasing validation over substance.
• Revenue, team morale, and business focus suffer from impulsive changes based on emotional reactions.

"We're so sensitive to the rejection or the positive feedback that we don't actually look for the data."
—Diane Mayer (27:08)

The Love/Hate Relationship with Structure

(39:14–49:41)

• Most ADHD entrepreneurs resist structure but secretly rely on it, often having piecemeal systems in daily life.
• The trick isn't imposing rigid systems, but finding structures that provide “flexible safety”—enough of a container to enable creativity and reduce cognitive friction.
• Structure is reframed as a tool for freedom: "Structure is designed to allow you all of this capacity to do the things that you're amazing at...and less of the stuff that you're not great at or you don't want to do."
  (Diane Mayer, 41:02)

Example ADHD-Friendly Structures:

• Idea Parking Lots and timed “sandbox” periods for safe experimentation (41:23).
• Checklist Systems: Convert lengthy SOPs into dopamine-boosting checklists to make unexciting tasks more rewarding (44:14).
• Minimum Viable Systems: Simple, actionable workflows rather than elaborate procedures.

Decision-Making Hurdles:

• Use "bumpers"—if/then rules—to simplify decisions and save executive energy (45:55).
• Build in “pause statements” to slow down impulsive reactions to feedback—the standard: “Thank you, let me think about that. I’ll get back to you in 24 hours.” (47:39)

Can You Just Hire an Implementer & “Be the Visionary”?

(34:02–38:50)

• Many burnt-out entrepreneurs fantasize about hiring “an implementer” so they can do only creative work.
• Reality: Implementers still need clear decisions, focus, and direction from the founder. They can’t execute 47 competing ideas at once.
• ADHD leaders often struggle to delegate effectively, resist letting go of certain responsibilities, and become overbearing about implementation details.

"The implementer wants to pull their own eyes out on day three because they can't implement anything because you won't make a decision. You keep trying to do 17 things, you keep swapping all the time..."
—Diane Mayer (35:38)

Scaling, Simplifying & Self-Awareness

(29:58–33:23, 51:21–52:47)

• Scaling isn’t just doing more; it’s doing things more simply, sustainably, and profitably. It requires understanding personal and systemic weaknesses.
• ADHD entrepreneurs often resist teams but actually need them to compensate for their own blind spots.
• Self-awareness—knowing your wiring and embracing it without shame—is critical.

"It's the self awareness and self acceptance of that ADHD entrepreneur that says, this is me and this is what I need, without shame, without self recrimination."
—Diann Wingert (51:21)

The Unique Advantage of ADHD in Business

(52:47–55:15)

• The real strength isn’t just ideas or creativity. It’s the grit developed from adapting to a neurotypical world—resilience, systems, creative workarounds, and the ability to try many solutions until one sticks.

"We have learned in our personal life...how to cope with the fact that we live in a neurotypical world...when something doesn’t work in our business...we’re gonna go, well, hang on a second. I know there are 17 solutions to every problem because I’ve had to try that many solutions for every problem at school, at college, at a normal corporate job, at home, in relationships."
—Diane Mayer (54:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On “fun ADHD”:

  “He said, yeah, you have like the fun adhd. It lowers your inhibitions just enough...but it doesn't seem to be having like a negative impact on your life.” —Diane Mayer (01:34)

• On entrepreneurship trends:

  “The multi passionate term...is this really interesting space where business coaches are giving ADHD people permission to ADHD all over their business.” —Diane Mayer (13:53)

• On structure as freedom:

  “What structure is designed to do is exactly what you want. It’s designed to allow you all of this capacity to do the things that you’re amazing at and that you love to do—and less of the stuff that you’re not great at or that you don’t want to do.” —Diane Mayer (41:02)

• On gritty advantage:

  “Our personal resilience could translate so easily into business resilience.” —Diane Mayer (55:15)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro and diagnosis story: 00:58–05:05
• How ADHD shapes your business model: 05:05–12:26
• Critiquing “cookie-cutter advice” for entrepreneurs: 05:31–15:10
• Dopamine seeking and chasing shiny objects: 19:16–23:12
• Executive dysfunction and open loops: 23:13–26:18
• Rejection sensitivity and impulsive pivots: 26:18–29:58
• Why structure helps, not hinders, creativity: 39:14–49:41
• The “just hire an implementer” myth: 34:02–38:50
• Scaling for ADHD-ers, customization, and self-awareness: 29:58–33:23; 51:21–52:47
• How ADHD can be a business advantage: 52:47–55:15

Takeaways for ADHD-ish Entrepreneurs

• Recognize how your natural strengths and challenges shape your business—for better and worse.
• Reject rigid systems and reckless “do it all” advice; aim for customized, minimum viable structures that support your creativity without chaos.
• Build systems and supports that account for dopamine needs, decision fatigue, and emotional reactivity.
• “Structure as freedom” is possible—create containers and bumpers that give you room to play without self-destructing your business.
• Self-awareness and self-acceptance are essential—your ADHD can be your competitive edge if you leverage the resilience and resourcefulness it breeds.

For more, check out Diane Mayer’s business diagnostic in the show notes, or Diann’s curated playlist on choosing the right model for your neurodivergent brain.