Advertising legend David Ogilvy left us with more than what it takes to make great advertising. He also shared a clear direction on how his employees — his people — should be treated. Please take a moment today and think about the agency, consultancy — corporate culture you are creating or influencing. Then read David Ogilvy's thoughts below on creating the ideal culture. Are his values alive where you work?

1) We treat our people like human beings. We help them when they are in trouble—with their jobs, with illnesses, with alcoholism, and so on.

2) We help our people make the best of their talents. We invest an awful lot of time and money in training—perhaps more than any of our competitors.

3) Our system of management is singularly democratic. We don’t like hierarchical bureaucracy or rigid pecking orders.

4) We abhor ruthlessness.

5) We like people with gentle manners. Our New York office goes so far as to give an annual award for what they call “professionalism combined with civility.”

6) We like people who are honest. Honest in argument, honest with clients, honest with suppliers, and honest with the company.

7) We admire people who work hard. Objectivity and thoroughness are admired.

8) Superficiality is not admired.

9) We despise and detest office politicians, toadies, bullies, and pompous asses.

10) The way up the ladder is open to everybody. We are free from prejudice of any kind—religious prejudice, racial prejudice or sexual prejudice.

11) We detest nepotism and every other form of favouritism.

12) In promoting people to top jobs, we are influenced as much by their characters as by anything else.

I hope you see these same values in your corporate culture. As for the photo above, that's David Ogilvy in the back enjoying dinner with agency colleagues, circa 1956.

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