Todd McFarlane, President and CEO of McFarlane Companies, is an entrepreneur who understands the importance of product development. Comics, sports, toys, and rock and roll have all benefited from his creativity. When McFarlane's dream of playing major league baseball didn't come true, he turned to another interest he developed as a teenager: drawing superheroes. He faced the same question every other entrepreneur faces: Could he make money pursuing his dreams? He sent sketches of him to potential employers and, after 300 rejection letters, McFarlane landed a freelance job for Marvel Comics. Working long hours for low pay, he made a name for himself and by 1990 he was the highest-paid comic book artist in the industry.

Frustrated by creative differences and his desire to own the rights to his characters, McFarlane quit, took six other artists with him, and started his own company. He went from artist to businessman overnight. While industry experts predicted he would last less than a year, McFarlane didn't even think ahead. Spawn  , his first comic, sold 1.7 million copies.

Entrepreneurship rewards people willing to take risks. In the case of Todd McFarlane, the need to control his destiny drove his aspirations. His path is similar to the one many others took: receiving training at a large company and then leaving when he decided he could provide a better product on his own.

Today's dynamic business environment has a tremendous effect on the success or failure of entrepreneurs like Todd McFarlane. Economics plays a key role at McFarlane Companies. The company must protect the many intellectual properties it creates and licenses. The company uses technology to support and awaken creativity in the development of new products. The competitive environment drives quality at McFarlane, which produces high-quality products even if they cost more, and thus McFarlane gains an advantage over competitors. The CEO uses the Web to interact with his key demographic, or as he puts it, the monsters with long hair and cool tattoos. Spawn.com provides a place where fans can interact with each other and the company. Finally, global influence in business has an impact on all other environments. Knowing that he cannot control the global environment, McFarlane focuses on managing what he can control.

Todd McFarlane's purchase of Mark McGwire's 70th home run for $3 million illustrates his willingness to take risks and focus on what he controls. While many thought he was crazy, McFarlane saw an opportunity. He combined the ball with several others hit by McGwire and Sammy Sosa to create the McFarlane Collection, which was displayed in every major league ballpark and garnered enormous publicity. A portion of the proceeds were donated to the Lou Gehrig Foundation. Most significantly, McFarlane began a relationship with professional sports that led to him obtaining exclusive rights to nearly all professional sports team toy licenses.

Questions for discussion

1.

What personality traits do leaders like Todd McFarlane possess that set them apart from other people?

2.

How have global competition and technological advances changed business conditions and leadership challenges?