UNCOMMON EDGE

One of the most cutting edge observations in the Psychology of Success is John Gartner’s (2005) hypomanic edge. Dr. Gartner finds the entrepreneurial spirit inherent in the family of bipolar disorders. He categorizes hypomania as a milder form of bipolar disorder that is not normally debilitating like clinical mania or depression. Gartner speculates that the American spirit germinated from the seeds of hypomania and he says, "[hypomania] has made us what we are . . .”

The concept of finding entrepreneurial characteristics in bipolar illness may not be a new idea.  Harvard Business School’s Alexander Zelaznick (1986) said in a New York Times interview, "To understand the entrepreneur, you first have to understand the psychology of the juvenile delinquent." Zelanznick was talking specifically about risk taking. Peter C. Whybrow said to the Boston Globe (2005), "We do know that in the American population you find a much higher prevalence of the D4-7 allele, which is the risk-taking gene.

According to the DSM-IV-TR risk is characteristic of hypomania, along with inflated grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, easily distracted, flight of ideas, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, increased psychomotor agitation - not the kind of person that you want to be your financial investor. Alden Cass is a therapist in Upper Manhattan and he may not agree with your initial judgment. Many of his clients are bankers, brokers, traders, and financial advisers. He claims that the majority of his clients fit the description of a hypomania. He helps them work through the negative effects of the illness – depression, burnout, substance abuse, infidelity, and wrecked marriages and family, but then he adds, “Hypomania is great for business.” It may be great for businesses that want fast turnover and don’t mind high risk ventures, but companies that want to be establish themselves as landmarks and sustain long-term profitability should steer away from reckless business practices.

It is probably true that many entrepreneurs are hypomanic, but it may be true because they find it difficult to work for others for long periods of time. When the research is in, I suspect it will show that money makers have some characteristics of hypomania, as many of us do, but in order to sustain profitability there needs to be an uncommon stability and persistence that the hypomania is incapable of maintaining.