Dan, Hyper-Active Man

Dan is a boss. A Director in a world that goes downhill like this: Owners (2, same family), Vice Presidents (6), Directors (5), Managers (a lot), Supervisors (a lot more), Leads (a few dozen), and the rest of us. This world is small enough (500 or so employees) that you can see up and down most every day - except that most people are afraid to look up too far. 'Don't know why, that's just the way it is.

Dan is hyperactive. Yep, when he was born and going to school, if A.D.D. had been a diagnosis available, Dan would have been an A.D.D.-Plus. Which probably drove his teachers and parents crazy -

- just like it drives crazy anyone who works for Dan.

- just like it makes him a valuable man.

Dan is not untalented, by the way. One of the smartest men in the company - in terms of brain smarts. DUMBEST man in the world when it comes to people skills, though. Dan is thinking so fast, and reacting so swiftly to changes that he can see before anyone else that he comes across as the most abrupt jackass in the world. And his face shows it, that he knows he's ahead of the pack, even if he doesn't outright boast about it.

He is - for the right management - the perfect employee. Dan will work faster than anyone else for longer than anyone else and better than anyone else.

But, WHEW!, he's tough to keep up with!

Dan has about 25 patents or shared patents under his belt - in about five different subjects - and he's not even an engineer or chemist or scientist for years now. At one point, he jump-started three different small business on his own, handling all the marketing, planning and logistics. But these were all service-oriented, and Dan likes to make Products and take them global. He's here because this Company is about his size: small enough to be personal, big enough to go places.

And, from the Company's side, Dan is perfect for their needs: they need someone to whip in shape a lackadaisical Development department, work closely with Marketing, and make sure that Production is on top of things and, just as important, fully supported. ('Seems the Company suffers from a VP level of legacies from "the early days" - and now they're tired.)

So Dan comes in running and jumping through hoops for them, to show them what he can do, what he can do for them, and producing, Producing, PRODUCING!

WHEW!, it's tough keeping up with Dan the Hyper-Active Man.

'Sort of fun, though.