The website Brain Pickings is the brain child of Maria Popova, an “interestingness hunter-gatherer and curious mind at large,” who also writes for Wired UK and The Atlantic, among others, and is an MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow. She has gotten occasional help from a handful of guest contributors.
Here is a brief excerpt from another of her brilliant posts in which she discusses a recently published book, The Unpublished David Ogilvy. It features many more of Ogilvy’s lists, as well as a wealth of his insights on everything from creativity to management to the nitty-gritty of the communication arts.
To check out this lively and informative post as well as Maria’s others, please click here.
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Long before the listicle epidemic of the social web, 11th-century Japanese courtesan Sei Shanagon, the world’s first “blogger,” enumerated 7 rare things in life, beloved novelist Umberto Eco asserted the list was the origin of culture, and the inimitable Susan Sontag reflected on why lists appeal to us.
One of modern history’s most fierce list-lovers is advertising legend and original “Mad Man” David Ogilvy, as evidenced by his enduring10 no-bullshit tips on writing. From The Unpublished David Ogilvy (Profile Books Ltd) – which also gave us Ogilvy’s endearing note to a veteran copywriter – comes his list of the ten qualities he looks for in creative leaders, as originally delivered in one of Ogilvy’s eloquent talks to the staff. Among expected necessities like work ethic and the ability to transcend fear in the creative process are also a few oft-overlooked but equally important requirements like a healthy dose of nuttiness and comedic sensitivity. We already know that humor and creativity are driven by the same mechanics.
o High standards of personal ethics
o Big people, without pettiness
o Guts under pressure, resilience in defeat
o Brilliant brains – not safe plodders
o A capacity for hard work and midnight oil
o Charisma – charm and persuasiveness
o A streak of unorthodoxy – creative innovators
o The courage to make tough decisions
o Inspiring enthusiasts – with trust and gusto
o A sense of humor
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Those who wish to learn more about David Ogilvy are urged to read his two “classics”: Confessions of an Advertising Man and Ogilvy on Advertising. Also Kenneth Roman’s definitive biography, The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising.