Founders

What I learned from reading The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising by Kenneth Roman.  ---- One characteristic of geniuses, said Einstein, is they are passionately curious. Ogilvy’s great secret was an inquiring mind.In conversation, he never pontificated; he interrogated. There were piles of books all over his house, most about successful leaders in business and government. He was interested in how they used their leadership. How they made their money. He was interested in people — people who had accomplished remarkable things. Reading Ogilvy’s short autobiography is like having dinner with a charming raconteur. His Scottish grandfather is portrayed as cold — hearted, formidable, and successful — and his hero.  When you write a book about advertising, you’re competing with midgets. When you write an autobiography, you’re competing with giants. He took the occasion to remind everyone that he was not a big shot at school. I wasn’t a scholar. I detested the philistines who