Neverisms

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This comes from Confessions of an Advertising Man, a 1963 bestseller from one of the most influential figures in advertising history. He added: “You wouldn’t tell lies to your own wife. Don’t tell them to mine.” He also offered these thoughts:

Never hire your client’s children.

Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.

Never pick a man because he slobbers all over you with kind words.GEORGE S. PATTON

This quotation appeared in Patton on Leadership (1999) by Alan Axelrod. Patton continued: “Too many commanders pick dummies to serve on their staff. Such dummies don’t know how to do anything except say, ‘Yes.’ ” This is the only Patton neverism in the book, but in attempting to capture Patton’s views on a whole host of topics, Axelrod used a number of neverisms to describe what the military leader believed:

Never confuse decisive decision-making with hasty guesswork.

Never close yourself to suggestion and insight from others,

including from the most junior members of the team.

Never exploit those on whom you depend,

and never give them even the inkling of a feeling that they are

being exploited, cheated, or in any other way treated shabbily.

Never do business with anybody you don’t like.HARRY QUADRACCI, founder of Quad/Graphics

Quadracci called this one of his “ironclad rules,” adding, “If you don’t like somebody, there’s a reason. Chances are it’s because you don’t trust him, and you’re probably right.” The rule served Quadracci well. His company specialized in high-quality and high-volume printing, with customers that included Time, Sports Illustrated? and Playboy. When Quadracci died in 2001, his company was one of the world’s largest printing companies, with annual sales of more than $2 billion and 14,000 employees.

Never say no when a client asks for something, even if it is the moon.CESAR RITZ

Ritz added, “You can always try, and anyhow there is plenty of time afterwards to explain that it was not possible.” After Ritz opened his first hotel in Paris in 1898—and shortly thereafter hotels in London, Madrid, and New York City—his Ritz Hotels became synonymous with luxurious accommodations and exceptional service. Shortly after Ritz’s death in 1918, the eponym ritzy emerged as a term for upscale elegance.

Never invest in a one-man gang.HOWARD RUFF, in Safely Prosperous or Real Rich?

Choosing Your Personal Financial Heaven (2004)

This was the third of Ruff’s “Seven Never-Do’s of Investing.” He explained:Although most start-ups are the result of the drive and leadership skills of one intrepid entrepreneur, successful new companies have a well-balanced, talented support team to provide all the necessary skills and experience the entrepreneur doesn’t have.

Other Ruff “never-do’s” included:

Never invest without an exit strategy.

Never invest in a “good idea” that is for everyone.

If it’s for everyone, it’s usually for no one.

Never inject a man into the top, if it can be avoided.ALFRED P. SLOAN, in Adventures of a White Collar Man (1941)

This advice is now routinely ignored, but a half-century ago it was considered bad form to bring in a CEO from another company, and especially another industry. Sloan began his advice by writing: “In an organization men should move from the bottom to the top. That develops loyalty, ambition, and talent, because there is a chance for promotion.”

If you are male, never forget that

ties are the number one accessory for a guy in business.BRAD TONINI, in The New Rules

of the Game for Entrepreneurs (2006)

Tonini, an Australian business consultant, also offered ten “Keys for thinking like an entrepreneur.” One of them was: “Never assume anything.”

Never accept the first offer, no matter how good it sounds.

Never reject an offer out of hand,

no matter how unacceptable it sounds when you first hear it.BRIAN TRACY, in his 2000 book The 100 Absolutely

Unbreakable Rules of Business Success

These contrasting principles were offered as corollaries to “The Law of Terms.” In his book, Tracy offered scores more laws and rules of business success, including:

Never make excuses or blame anyone else for anything.

Resolve never to be caught not having done your homework in advance.

Never allow yourself to wish, hope, or trust

that anyone else will do it for you.

Never trust to luck or hope that something unexpected

will turn up to solve a problem or save a situation.

Never let yourself be rushed into parting with money.

You have worked too hard to earn it and taken too long to accumulate it.

Never dump a good idea on a conference table.

It will belong to the conference.JANE TRAHEY, American advertising executive,

quoted in 1977 in the New York Times

Never allow anyone to get between

you and your customers or your suppliers.JACK WELCH, calling this “a cardinal rule of business”

in Jack: Straight from the Gut (2001)

Never instruct, correct, or reprimand employees in a sarcastic manner.WESLEY WIKSELL, in Do They Understand You? (1960)