Cynthia D’Amour on Leadership and Life

  Shouldn’t be this hard.

I’m hiring an artist to do some work for my upcoming Lazy Leader book.

I had no idea how hard it would be.

I thought I was pretty clear in my description of the work I wanted.

• Upbeat and happy cartoon character.
• Confident and strong woman.
• With short red hair. (Surprised?)

Sort of like The Archies style of characters.

So what kind of work did the porfolios of the potential cartoon artists responding to my request showcase? 

• Beautiful, detailed, fine art.
• Tons of grim and gritty art.
• And photos of a horse from many angles.

(Doesn’t make me think of The Archies. How about you?)

I also got an email from the wannabee artist.

• She thought drawing for living would be fun.
• She loves comics.
• And sent me a “totally done” stick figure drawing.

The artists, as a rule, paid little attention to my needs.

• How was I to decode the horse photo into a comic character?
• Maybe they just didn’t want the work.
• (Unlikely given the number who responded.)

The artists didn’t know how to sell their talent.

• I’m sure a few of them could be a good match.
• I’m not willing to do the work to figure out which ones.

Makes me think of chapter leaders…who teaches your members how to sell the benefits of being involved in your chapter?

Filed under: Recruiting New Members, Savvy Leadership