Somewhere on the Spectrum...: Once Upon a Business

By John Leonard Hart IIII and Caroline Banton

A relaxed and enjoyable exposé for those on the spectrum and those who have (or may come to have) the privilege of regularly engaging with individuals of this all too often misunderstood personality type.

A business biography spanning one hundred

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bowker
• Release date: Aug 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986720234

Book preview

Part NAN. Structure

My first thought when I was given the opportunity to interview John for this book was Yes! My emotional response stemmed from the fact that my father had Asperger’s, although he never was diagnosed.

Hello… Okay… So, you’ve noticed me sitting here quietly observing you as you read… My apologies, I didn’t mean to be a distraction… but since I’ve got your attention and presuming that you’re at least slightly interested, on the right side of the page, I’ll share with you my thoughts (or director’s commentary if this is the DVD version) about this the story of the writing of this book (please, don’t let Caroline know that our side-bar conversation is going on as we look over her shoulder. So fragile, I imagine, are collaborations of this sort…)

Speaking of first thoughts, my first thought regarding finding a ghostwriter was, Who’d want to delve into my experiences? I had a less than optimistic expectation that an angel could be found (perhaps after several months of searching) to help me sort what I saw (and what I still in many ways see) as the rubble of my career… [so dramatic]… It was and it is, Caroline Banton (on behalf of StoryTerrace) who chose to listen and react with her words on these pages…

Ultimately this is her story about hearing my story and working with me. In this, our collaboration, we are sharing our experiences with you.

User’s (Reader’s) Guide:

How to read this book: yes, there are options…

Option one: just read the left side (you know, the stuff written by a professional author) while ignoring my right side nattering…

Option two: read as you have already by alternately reading all of the precious words (indeed?) contained herein in the sequence presented on these pages. Moving from the left side to the right side as the three intermingled stories play out.

Option three: just read the right side. It’s a very strange and sometimes contextless experience, not recommended unless you’re using the appropriate pharmaceuticals (I do not necessarily advocate, condone, or suggest this option unless under the close supervision of a medical professional (or your cousin, you know the one that I’m talking about)).

Option four: audiobook (cassette tape or DVD), you get what we decide you get…. Muahahaha….

Warning: In case you hadn’t noticed, I… love… ellipses… (my editor and I strenuously disagree on acceptable usage… of course… he’s the professional… so I should acquiesce… to his position… we’ll see… we’ll see…) [smirk]

Usage: often when I use an ellipse there’s one or more tangential thoughts that have been omitted (or left until later). Treat ellipses as an opportunity to ask me a question should you encounter me in person (Eeek! People!!!). If you have an ellipse related question, please have the book open to the relevant page so I can examine the text and mentally load the context.

My editor also dislikes the way I use containerizing punctuation (or at least I think he does)… I am, at heart a, programmer; and therefore, I like brackets, braces, parenthesis to establish scope… expect to see these all over the place. Pairs of brackets, braces, and parenthesis often represent a change voice (sometimes even yours). This is another structural issue that you, the reader, will need to manage…

Apology: (already apologizing? Geez) No matter how the Battle of the Ellipses ends I sincerely hope that your enjoyment of this work is not significantly diminished by my proclivity to engage in punctuation abuse. (Is there a rehabilitation program for this? (Yes! It’s called elementary school.) Sigh, you got me.)

Hey, maybe I should let Caroline get on with it… shhhh…

Selfishly perhaps, I hoped to gain insights into my own experiences while helping John describe his. But that’s the whole point of this book: For you, the reader, to gain insights from John’s experience as someone with Asperger’s.

That’s enough…

Asperger’s (syndrome, profile, disorder) being a defunct diagnosis; where simply Autistic is the fashionable term for a personality such as mine. Leaning into the label, I am somewhere on the spectrum (maybe there’s book subtitle in there). The on the spectrum slogan is presumptuous to me because it lays claim to a (or the entire) range of electromagnetic frequencies… Of course, I’m (perhaps purposely) missing (or in reality attempting to nullify) the underlying point of the on the spectrum marketing campaign. Nonetheless I am of this personality type and to do justice to who I am within these pages idiomatically correct I will endeavor to be… (thank you, Yoda)… I ask you, isn’t it my function to take things in narrow, overly technical, and inconveniently literal ways??? (In case you are wondering, the correct answer is yes.)

I promise, I’ll be quiet now…

John’s approach to the project was much different from that of other clients. I was not taken aback—you learn quickly not to assume anything from someone with Asperger’s because if you do, they will surprise you every time. Unlike most clients who crave guidance and suggestions, John was measured, logical, and structured, which makes for the perfect client.

I blush, perfect client, yikes. Of course, this is just an example of the beginning of the project reaction on Caroline’s part (so young and so unaware of what’s about to unfold). We’ll see if by the end of the story she takes me down a couple pegs. The reality is that I am extremely grateful to Caroline for being open to my story and the process that evolved between us.

At the beginning of the process, I expressed a preference for a female writer because in my experience professional women tend to be more adaptable collaborators (sexist you say? Yikes, or is it just well-considered preference based upon personal experience? There’s psychological literature that probably backs up (or refutes) my feelings. Nonetheless, I’m actively, and with some sense of personal risk, choosing to be open with you as I have been with Caroline. My collaborative aspirations seem to have been fulfilled and resulted in what I think is a fascinating prototype for the Once Upon a Business series of books (really, dude? fascinating… we’ll be the judge.)

I’m guessing that it’s Caroline’s relationship with her father that attuned her to being gotten. It makes me sad that sometimes people feel as though they are at risk of being put on the spot or embarrassed by me. The feeling is understandable given that, I see everything. My nimbus is silence until there’s a need to fix something (trivial or greater), I have a hard time not chiming in or sometimes barking.

Well, this isn’t working out. Whose writing this book anyway (me at the moment, obviously (Now John, you’re such as silly person. They’re never going to take this seriously))…

OK Here, Caroline continues…

For StoryTerrace assignments, the writer first has a short phone call or interview with the client to find out if they are the right fit. That usually includes a brief introduction by the writer and some questions about the process and preferred work styles of each party. It wasn’t quite like that with John.

Lacking an understanding of the typical way of getting acquainted with my (prospective) writer, I invented something (in retrospect this was unnecessary, but I was working in a vacuum. Lacking obvious guardrails, I tend to take charge [sometimes this bugs people, sorry]). As I viewed it, I was hiring Caroline, so it made sense that we needed more than a quick meet and greet. For Caroline’s benefit I wanted to provide her with an immediately honest sense of who I am (at times atypical to the point of being strange). I sought someone who would be able to accept and thoughtfully react to the emotions of my experiences. I was wary of how we might interact because a lack of understanding or outright prejudice (in the most technical and mild sense of the word) would be trouble for our collaboration.

I have to just relax and let Caroline get into a flow… but I can’t resist… Let’s try this again…

Before the brief phone call, John sent a questionnaire by email with a list of questions that he wanted me to answer. He was extremely polite about it (I appreciated that), he was concerned that I would think it invasive (I didn’t), and he explained that his process was necessary to make sure I was the right person (I concurred). I answered the questions and sent them back to him. Only after discussing each question did John feel comfortable in our working together.

I think we talked for about 45 minutes, and yes, I was very interested in our mutual comfort and very interested that Caroline would be able to work with me (my mind sometimes goes three or four ways at once). Apparently, her father had prepared her well for our collaboration. Thanks, Dad!

Before we embarked on the interviews, John sent another document called Chronology and Points of Emphasis. This was a structured list of poignant events and stories from his career that John wanted to tell, along with work-related themes.

™Chronology and Points of Emphasis? Isn’t that just a resumé? Why, yes, it is! But in this case, a poorly constructed one.

It was thorough, and John followed it for the most part as we conducted our interviews. It gave structure to our conversations. The document also listed the books that John had read on leadership and the results of various personality tests that he had taken.

As Caroline has pointed out, I actively participated in the wide array of professional development opportunities offered by my employer (under the premise that management was investing for a purpose that would open opportunities for me within the organization). How naïve, or perhaps just plain foolish, I was.

We scheduled the interviews at the outset: 10 in total, to be held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11.30 a.m. for one hour over the course of five weeks. I’d never had a