If you remember the little blue monster that says, “Microsoft, change the world or go home.”, you know Hugh MacLeod.
Hugh is the creative director at Gaping Void. I got to meet Hugh, along with Jason Korman (CEO), and Jessica Higgins, last week to talk through some ideas.
Hugh uses cartoons as a snappy and insightful way to change the world. You can think of it as “Motivational Art for Smart People.”
The Illustrated Guide to Life Inside Microsoft
One of Hugh’s latest creations is the Illustrated Guide to Life Insight Microsoft. It’s a set of cards you can flip, with a cartoon on the front, and a quote on the back. It’s truly insight at your fingertips.
I like them all … from “Microsoft is a ‘Get Stuff Done’ company” to “Software is the thing between the things”, but my favorite is:
“It’s more fun being the underdog.”
It’s a reminder how you can take the dog out of the fight, but you can’t take the fight out of the dog, and as long as you’re still in the game, and you are truly a learning company, and a company that continues to grow and evolve, you can change the world … your unique way.
Tweaking People in the Right Direction
Hugh is an observer and participant who inspires and prods people in the right direction …
Via Hugh MacLeod Connects the Dots:
“’Attaching art to business outcomes can articulate deep emotions and bring things to light fast,’ said MacLeod. To get there requires MacLeod immersing himself within a company, so he can look for what he calls ‘freaks of light’—epiphanies about a company that express the collected motivations of its people. ‘My cartoons make connections,’ said MacLeod. ‘I create work in an ambient way to tweak people in the right direction.’”
Via Hugh MacLeod Connects the Dots:
“He’s an observer and a participant, mingling temporarily within a culture to better understand it. He’s also a listener, taking your thoughts and combining them with his own to piece together the puzzle he is trying to solve about the human condition and business environment.”
Check out the Illustrated Guide to Life Inside Microsoft and some of the ideas just might surprise you, or, at least inspire and motivate you today – you smart person, you.