McG is the director of Terminator Salvation, Charlie's Angels and a variety of television and internet hits. In a recent Fast Company article he admitted to being a control freak. I love the interviewer's response to McG's confession.
"As afflictions go, it would be hard to find one better suited for a media mogul - or any mogul for that matter - than a seemingly endless capacity for control. To call McG a control freak might be uncharitable. Let's just say he's extremely attentive to detail."
He goes on to describe the frenzy of activity and decision overload that characterize a movie set. This situation might overwhelm other people but, since McG is a control freak, this world is his "paradise."
In other words, McG is a phenomenally successful and wealthy media mogul because of his weakness, not in spite of it. And he has done this by finding the perfect fit for his particular problem, a situation in which his apparent weakness is a powerful strength.
What's McG's next move? He's trying to find a way to gain even more control over the movie-making process by eliminating the studios from the process. He's flaunting his weakness by becoming even more of a control freak.
Are you a control freak? Learn from McG's lesson and find ways to take even more control. Don't fix it, flaunt it.
Great example. Why should McG try to "work it out" with the studios when it just kills him inside?
Posted by: Joseph Joel Sherman | June 09, 2009 at 04:13 PM