“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your family to read.”
– David Ogilvy
A few hours ago, I glanced at my computer screen and saw the above quote tweeted from a friend of mine named Dave who lives just down the road about twenty-five minutes.
Now, that was interesting for several reasons.
First, I do read every @stevebuelow that is sent on Twitter. However, with tens of thousands of followers and hundreds of messages per minute hitting the home page, the chance of seeing any particular post that refreshes on the timeline (especially from a friend) is remote at best.
So I thought that was pretty cool… but it was more than that.
You see, over time, I’ve read a fair amount of Ogilvy, but my friend, Dave, is not in the advertising business. On the contrary, he happens to be an engineer with a firm that makes… well, I think I’ll let him tell you himself some time. Let’s just say that his current position definitely DOES NOT appear to be his life’s calling, and probably doesn’t lend itself to reading much from the historical advertising icons.
But I do love the quote… and I love the fact that it was important to my friend, Dave.
For well over twenty years, I have used a similar thought process as a foundational principle in deciding what to do, where to go, what to watch, what to read, and how to speak.
When my life revolved around the corporate boardroom, I maintained an open door policy. Being home-schoolers at the time, my wife and daughter were around more than not. When I had my radio show, my audience ALWAYS included members of my family, friends and closest business and church associates.
And as I write this blog and engage in social media, we sometimes necessarily hit on some tough subjects, but my hope and prayer is that it is always done with respect for you and your family and friends… and for mine.
Thank you for your friendship… I look forward to speaking with you.
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