Impulsivity and Entrepreneurship: Can a Negative Trait Produce Positive Results?

Self-control is the capacity to override an impulse and to respond appropriately. Entrepreneurs must exercise the self-discipline required to undertake innovative actions. This paper offers a self-control technique called pre-commitment agreements in which individuals freely make decisions that are intended to bind or constrain themselves in the future. Such directives are often referred to as "Ulysses contracts" after Homer's story of Ulysses who commanded his crew to fasten him to the mast of his ship and ignore him should he beg to be released after hearing the songs of the Sirens. Sometimes, however, adaptive traits such as selfcontrol have a dark side, and dark traits such as impulsivity have a bright side. We explore this paradox by examining the relationship between entrepreneurship and attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).