Leo Burnett - “When to Take My Name off the Door”

Leo Burnett - "When to take my name off the door" - Text Speech

“Somewhere along the line, after I’m finally off the premises, you -- or your successors -- may want to take my name off the premises, too.

You may want to call yourselves "Twain, Rogers, Sawyer and Finn Inc." ... Or "Ajax Advertising" or something.

That will certainly be okay with me -- if it's good for you....

But let me tell you when I might demand that you take my name off the door.

That will be the day when you spend more time trying to make money and less time making advertising -- our kind of advertising.

When you forget that the sheer fun of ad-making and the lift you get out of it -- the creative climate of the place -- should be as important as money to the very special breed of writers and artists and business professionals who compose this company of ours and make it tick.

When you lose that restless feeling that nothing you do is ever quite good enough.

When you lose your itch to do the job well for its own sake -- regardless of the client, or the money or the effort it takes.

When you lose your passion for thoroughness ... your hatred of loose ends.

When you stop reaching for the manner, the overtone, the marriage of words and pictures that produces the fresh, the memorable and the believable effect.

When you stop rededicating yourselves every day to the idea that better advertising is what the Leo Burnett Company is all about.

When you are no longer what Thoreau called a "corporation with a conscience" -- which means to me, a corporation of conscientious men and women.

When you begin to compromise your integrity -- which has always been the heart's blood -- the very guts of this agency.

When you stoop to convenient expedience and rationalize yourselves into acts of opportunism -- for the sake of a fast buck.

When you show the slightest sign of crudeness, inappropriateness or smart-aleckness -- and you lose that subtle sense of the fitness of things.

When your main interest becomes a matter of size just to be big -- rather than good, hard, wonderful work.

When your outlook narrows down to the number of windows -- from zero to five -- in the walls of your office.

When you lose your humility and become big-shot weisenheimers... a little too big for your boots.

When the apples come down to being just apples for eating (or for polishing) -- no longer a part of our tone -- our personality.

When you disapprove of something, and start tearing the hell out of the man who did it rather than the work itself.

When you stop building on strong and vital ideas, and start a routine production line.

When you start believing that, in the interest of efficiency, a creative spirit and the urge to create can be delegated and administered, and forget that they can only be nurtured, stimulated and inspired.

When you start giving lip service to this being a "creative agency" and stop really being one.

Finally, when you lose your respect for the lonely man -- the man at his typewriter or his drawing board or behind his camera or just scribbling notes with one of our big black pencils -- or working all night on a media plan. When you forget that the lonely man -- and thank God for him -- has made the agency we now have possible. When you forget he's the man who, because he is reaching harder, sometimes actually gets hold of -- for a moment -- one of those hot, unreachable stars.

THAT, boys and girls, is when I shall insist you take my name off the door.

And by golly, it will be taken off the door.

Even if I have to materialize long enough some night to rub it out myself -- on every one of your floors.

And before I dematerialize again, I will paint out that star-reaching symbol, too.

And burn all the stationery.

And tear up a few ads in passing.

And throw every god-damned apple down the elevator shafts.

You just won't know the place the next morning.

You will have to find another name.”

- Leo Burnett, October 21, 1891 - June 7, 1971

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(MadisonBoom)

李奥•贝纳刚从董事长大位退下不久，这是他以第一次创办人的身份对员工演讲。演讲很短，只有682字，演讲时间为8分钟。《何时该将我的名字从门上摘下》（When to Take My Name off the Door）是李奥•贝纳最脍炙人口的演说。它后来也成为李奥贝纳公司对未来的行动准则。

有一天我终将退位，而你们或你们的继任人可能也想把我的名字一并丢弃.
你们可能要公司名称改为“Twain,Rogers,Sawyer and Finn,Inc.”或“Ajax Advertising”或其他名称，只要对你们有好处，我都无所谓。
但是请容我告诉各位，我会在什么时候主动要求你们把我的名字从门上拿掉。
那一天就是党你们整天只想赚钱而不再多花心思于作广告——我们的这种广告时。
当你们已忘记广告制作的真正乐趣以及你们所以能出人头地的创作环境的时候。当你们忘记其实公司的中坚份子，如文案、艺术指导等专业人员，应该和钱同等重要的时候。
当你们失去那种永远都觉得不够完美的感觉的时候。
当你们失去那股只想把工作做好的傻劲，根本不在乎客户或钱，或投入的心力及劳力的时候。
当你们丧失有始有终，绝不虎头蛇尾的那股热诚时。
当你们不再追求新鲜，使人永生难忘，而且信服力效果的文字及图片运用方式、意境及结合之妙时。
当你们不再夜以继日创造点子，成就李奥贝纳公司一贯秉持的 好广告时。
当你们已经不再是梭罗（Thoreau）所谓的“有良知的公司”（对我来说，指的就是一群有良知的男女组成的公司）时。
当你们开始把你的诚实正直打折时，而诚实正直才是我们这一行的生命，是一点都不能妥协。
当你们表现粗俗、不相称或自负而令人讨厌，失去那种精致的中庸之道时。
当你们只知道追求大规模，而对好的、困难的、新奇的工作反而不感兴趣时。
当你们只在意自己在公司的职位是否节节高升时。
当你们不再是谦谦君子，只知道吹牛、自作聪明时。
当苹果只是让人吃的或只是打亮的苹果，不再是我们的风格之一时。
当你们只对人不对事时。
当你们不在意强烈又鲜活的创意，只埋头于例行作业时。
当你们开始相信基于效率，可以将创作精神及创作动力委托代工并且加以支配，而忘记创作精神及创作动力只能培养、激发和鼓励时。
当你们开始把“有创意的广告代理商”当做空口应酬话来说，而不再是货真价实的时候。
最后，是党你们不再尊重那些守在打字机、画板旁、或守在摄影机后面、或用大黑笔做笔记、或整晚熬夜做企划书、孤军奋战的人时（因为幸亏有他，广告界才有今天的局面）。当你们忘了他辛勤努力而真的即使是短暂地摘下那颗耀眼难及的星星的人的时候。
年轻人，到那时候，我会坚持你们把我的名字从门上拿掉。即使我得找一天晚上显灵来亲自动手擦掉我的名字。
在我消失之前，我还要涂掉那个摘星符号，然后把所有信纸通通烧掉。
顺便撕掉一些广告稿。
把每一颗该死的苹果扔进电梯升降机里。
第2天早上，你们不知身处何处。
你们必须重新找个新名字。

演说结束，全场来宾起立，为李奥•贝纳鼓掌欢呼。许多深受演说感动的来宾热泪盈眶，因为他们了解到，这不仅是李奥•贝纳对公司的演说，也是对整个广告界的告别演说。

D5k