Jon Stojan
Photo credit: Reto Sterchi
“A lot of times people will meet me and… I confuse them. They will come up to me at a party or in public and they’ll say, ‘Hey I know you’re a famous artist, but I can’t place you.’ And then they’ll pause and wait for me to respond. And I say, ‘Actually I’m not a famous artist. I fix businesses.’ And they don’t get it. They’re like, ‘If you fix businesses, shouldn’t you be in a tie?’ Well, ends up fixing businesses requires a lot of creativity. Right? If I did things just like everybody else, I would get results just like everybody else.”
Meet Chris “Bulldog” Collins, the guy shaking up the scene with his leadership philosophy and latest book, I Am Leader.
Like Collins and his approach, I Am Leader isn’t just another tired take on leadership. Rather, it’s a bold, visually striking breath of fresh air crafted to challenge convention, cut through the fluff of stale corporate-speak, and deliver the essentials for anyone ready to lead with clarity, impact, and authenticity.
For Collins, leadership starts from within. While many books focus on external skills and behaviors, his philosophy centers on the internal foundation—who we are at our core—as the true starting point of powerful, effective leadership.
Courtesy Chris “Bulldog” Collins
Genuine leadership emerges when we align our authentic selves with how we guide others. This inner work—understanding our values, examining our beliefs, and cultivating self-awareness—forms the bedrock for meaningful, scalable leadership.
At its core, the message of I Am Leader is rooted in psychotechnology—a system of psychological methods, often enhanced by tech, utilized to solve real-world problems and drive personal growth, behavioral change, and peak performance. In short, it’s a roadmap for anyone committed to leading not just in title, but in practice and actual fact.
“I wanted to do some special art editions of the book as well,” said Collins. “It’s a reminder. Like when I see ‘Avoid Finality,’ it’s a reminder. When I see Churchill in a wedding dress, it’s a reminder. It’s meant to make you uncomfortable. It’s meant to remind you that you need to challenge your biases and your prejudices. Imagine being Winston Churchill and the war he was facing,” continues Collins. “Any leader can tell you that their journey requires difficult sacrifices for the bigger objective. Leadership isn’t about immediate gratification or fitting in—it’s about seeing the bigger picture and aiming for the desired outcome no matter how uncomfortable or challenging the path may be. That’s really what leadership is about.”
Throughout his career of salvaging and making business boom, Collins has developed a fascination with the human condition and why the world has such a gaping void of truly effective leaders. It was this pursuit that prompted him to found the Syndicate X Library of Leadership in Los Angeles: a creative hub where bold ideas can flourish and flow freely—a clubhouse, in a sense, for innovators, strategists, or anyone ready to markedly elevate their leadership game.
With real-world insights and a commitment to disrupting the outdated business norms, Collins, I Am Leader, and Syndicate X deliver unorthodox ideas and actionable strategies that cultivate bona fide leaders—people whose actions result in tangible success not only in business but in every meaningful area of their lives.