👨🏻🏫 A lesson from David Ogilvy
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Enjoy the 69th Podup with the best bits from Founders Podcast.
Creative mavericks. That’s how David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising, described the most talented people in any organization. To him, a founder’s chief responsibility is to create an environment conducive to non-conformists. So how do you do this?
David Senra delves into Ogilvy’s unique approach to leadership, where setting expectations is a two-way street.
Two-way expectations
David Ovilvy wrote ‘A founder has one principle responsibility: to provide an atmosphere where creative mavericks can do useful work.’
When Ogilvy‘s team was small, he talked to them everyday. When his company grew to 500 employees, he gathered everybody together to teach, teach, teach.
Today, this is what we’d call company culture. He talked about what kind of behavior he admired and what he expected from every single person in the organization.
He then told his team what he expected of himself.
David Senra
Ogilvy’s list
I try to be fair, to be firm, and to make unpopular decisions without cowardice. I try to create an atmosphere of stability and to listen more than I talk.
I try to sustain the momentum of the agency, it’s vitality, it’s forward thrust.
I try to build the agency by landing new accounts.
I try to win the confidence of our clients.
I try to make sufficient profits to keep you all from penury in old age.
I plan our policies far into the future.
I try to recruit people of the highest quality at all levels.
I try to get the best out of every man and women in the agency.
David Senra
Why it matters
Transparency creates a culture of trust, respect, and reciprocity within your company. Ogilvy’s two-way expectation exercise is just as relevant today as it was 60 years ago. It reminds you to be accountable and to model the behaviors you seek in your teams.
Next steps
Inspired by Ogilvy’s leadership ethos? Here’s how you can apply it in your own company:
Draft your expectations. Start by writing down what you expect from your team members. Be clear, concise, and make sure it aligns with your company’s values.
Share your commitments. In the spirit of reciprocity, also define what your team can expect from you as a leader. Be honest and consider areas like fairness, communication, future planning, and team development.
Communicate openly. Share your expectations and commitments with your team. Encourage open discussions and feedback.
Review and revise. Take into account any feedback from your team. Agree on your commitments to each other and be proactive if you or others aren’t meeting expectations.
Your thoughts?
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Quotes were pulled at different points of the episode. Sentences were left out to make the narrative more concise. Podup is not associated or affiliated with any podcast.