The Business of Life

The Choice is Ours... Dust or Magic?

Here is another excerpt from my book, Business and Relationships. It's good to have the perspective that we are powerful enough to change ideas and people... for better or for worse, it's our choice.

“An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.” William Bernbach

Bill Bernbach is an icon to anyone who has spent time inside an ad agency. Nearly thirty years after his death in 1982 of leukemia, he still casts a long shadow over legions of copywriters, designers and graphic artists of every stripe. After his passing, Harper’s told its readers he “probably had a greater impact on American culture than any of the distinguished writers and artists who have appeared in the pages of Harper’s in the last 133 years.” Bernbach occupied the Number 1 spot on the Advertising Age list of the most influential advertising people of the 20th century. Quite a resume for a hardscrabble kid from the Bronx who grew up during the Great Depression.

Bernbach began his career as a copywriter and moved through a succession of New York ad agencies before founding the famed Doyle Dane Bernbach shop in 1949. He was a conservative in a world of flash and cutting-edge, yet his style nurtured some of the industry’s best creative talents and most memorable campaigns. He emphasized a low-key and focused management culture, but was fearless about editing and demanded craftsmanship. Under his leadership, DDB achieved $1.2 billion in billings yet was always grounded in the belief that the buying public had to be respected and that good advertising could communicate how products related to their users. From the Volkswagen “Think Small” campaign and the Avis “We Try Harder” series to a character as memorable as Life Cereal’s “Mikey”, Bernbach is remembered for his tendency toward offbeat themes combined with flawless execution.

Could there be anything more counterintuitive than an advertising guy showing us something about perspective? Having perspective is about nurturing… thoughts, ideas, and people. Perspective is about having a sense of timing and an eye for value. Perspective is about conveying truth without malice or hidden agendas. Perspective is about asking why and seeking to find some common ground. Perspective is about having a sense for possible outcomes of your actions. All of those sure sound like what a good agency leader would do with his clients and employees.

When an idea for a new business venture rubs up against you and it comes from your passionate but naïve twenty-something daughter, what do you do? When your wife has an idea to enter a sewing contest or take up a course of study for an obscure professional certification, what do you say? When your aging mother expresses a desire to take a walking tour of Rome, how do you respond? I think a sense of perspective allows for honest thoughts and emotions to come through in a way that earns respect and inspires trust. Perspective takes the long view and puts your subject’s best interests at the heart of your consideration. Perspective isn’t about who wins necessarily, it’s about everyone getting a chance to participate.

At the end of the day, decisions have to be made. But they can be made with a sensitivity and calmness that fosters confidence and a willingness to share more ideas and opinions in the future. I’m far from perfect in that regard and I’ve shut down more than my share of conversations with the “holier-than-thou”, stern-jawed approach to dialogue. I still think my kids tread on eggshells about sensitive subjects but I keep working to have a better sense of what’s really important. I try to remind myself that great relationships always show perspective, and that I should use my talents to create more magic not more dust.

Frankly, I can’t remember anyone I ever cared about saying they “wish our relationship had more residue in it.” Great relationships are about some sense of continuing magic, discovery, wonder, and interest in your partner. Perspective nurtures it and allows it to keep growing. Without perspective, relationships will have no talent to rub against and will just turn to dust.

Labels: Advertising Age, Bill Bernbach, DDB Advertising, personal relationships, perspective, priorities

posted by Tom Hagerty @ 5:09 PM