Rockstar Boss

Hugh MacLeod is a variable; this is indicative of the beauty of real artists. Hugh is most definitely a real artist in my books.

Evil Plans is a short read, punctuated by Hugh’s subtle-as-a-brick-to-the-nuts back-of-a-business-card cartoons. With the combined short chapters and cartoons, this book felt like spending time with that one wise uncle that you have in the family who is the successful one and worth spending time with.

Hugh is well travelled, been through the career grinder and – I’m quite convinced of this – was hit over the head by a corporate entity as a child leaving him visibly scarred as he went through the “9 to 5″ section of his career. All these battle scars and derived wisdom amount to a no b-s compilation of solid, realistic and enthusiastic advice. There is a personal authenticity to this book that’ll keep it levitating high above the usual business guidance that other books dish out in numerous disguises.

If there was just one thing unenjoyable, it was the handful of religious references sprinkled around the book. In my view they didn’t add any value or new context to the book and could’ve safely been excluded.

Did Evil Plans make me want to jump up and change the world? Not yet, but I will be rethinking and simplifying some of the more complex parts of my life after this to better fulfill the few plans I already have. I will also be buying a few more of Hugh’s classic cartoon prints to keep some subtle reminders around me.

Evil Plans = a valuably entertaining mental recalibration.

(more of my thoughts on Hugh’s work can be read in the I do not buy art post from last year)

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It’s really not me. It is not who I am, what I stand for, anything I enjoy or what I represent. Other people; much older, richer, attention-seeking people buy art.

However, earlier this week, I bought this…

Is it well crafted and pretty? Yeh, I suppose. Does it look good on my office wall? It’ll certainly liven up the beige overload that occupies it today.

So why buy it? Here’s why…

• I read a book a few months ago and it made sense to me. Turns out the author is an artist. This is one of his more recent works.
  
• On Monday I attended the “Millionaire or Artist? Why not both?” panel at SXSW Interactive. Here’s an extract from the session…

  In this part of the panel discussion Hugh appears to be the only one who sees the art world going the same way as the Internet sent tv, newspapers and the music industry. And, in my books, he’s absolutely right.
  
  While he may be a little rough around the edges, the handful of ‘balls to the world’ appealed to my escaping rebel.

• Moments before the trade show part of SXSW ended I was able to meet him in real life at his small booth showcasing some of his artwork. The difference between a mental image and then meeting that person can be immense. Hugh MacLeod in the flesh is neither polished, refined or a well rehearsed public acrobat. Nor is he a smooth sales guy or business developer. He is himself and makes no attempt at imitating any other persona. Thank fuck for that. It was an enormous relief.
  
• Hugh is good friends with Seth Godin (I meant to ask Hugh about how this connection came about but completely forgot when I met him). I am Seth’s second biggest fan. Seth sent me two free copies of Linchpin – his strongest work to date.
  

  Hugh created the “linchpin” series of drawings to commemorate the book.

To extend my visible appreciation of Linchpin, to celebrate my first SXSW event, to mark meeting the author and artist Hugh MacLeod in real life and to celebrate that successful people don’t have look like Hollywood stars and convey Steve Jobs’ business acumen…
that’s why I bought this art.

Whatever you create only carries the relevance and value of the person who’s going to live with the work after you’ve given it to them. With this particular purchase I didn’t so much buy a print of a drawing from an artist as mark a milestone in my life.

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