The Four Freedoms, from DDB

[jmowreader]

Yes, it's a copycat post! I think you'll like this one.

DDB Worldwide is an advertising agency. It was founded in the 1960s by three gentlemen named Doyle, Dane and Bernbach. They made the VW Bug cool. They told you that You Deserve a Break Today. They did the "Whazzup?" campaign for Budweiser.

The Four Freedoms is the controlling document at DDB. They are:

The Freedom from Fear
Talent freezes in the grip of fear. The creative mind shuts down, constricting the natural flow of words and ideas. Fear results from decisions arrived at in secret deliberation, the basis of which is not disclosed. People do not fear truth, they fear arbitrary use of power for reasons they don't understand. Fear is paralyzing beyond reason.

Management by intimidation has no place in an organization dedicated to nurturing creativity.

The Freedom from Chaos
Talent flounders in an atmosphere of management indecision, vacillation, arrogance and uncertainty. The talented mind may seem erratic, but it welcomes an understanding of responsibilities that is clear, yet roomy enough to permit the floating dream.

Such responsibilities must be freely agreed to and well understood by all hands before talent takes its place in our organization. Once committed, continuing instructions from management must be consistent with that understanding.

The Freedom to Fail
It is in the nature of creative talent to venture beyond the known, to poke into the unheard of, to pick its way through scary places, untrod by conventional minds. Because there are no assurances these idea-searching patrols will succeed, the seekers must be granted the latitude to fail in order to sustain their willingness to pursue again.

It is the job of management to first point talented people in the right direction and then to judge their work. But if the approach to that work is responsible and intelligent, people must never be criticized for daring to fail.

The Freedom to Be
Each individual has a right to be treated with dignity, to be supported in his or her ambitions for higher achievement, and to be provided with a place where a career can grow in the direction of one's own choosing. But beyind providing for professional growth, talent must be permitted to enjoy a life in which there is also time for laughter, and music, and love, and celebration, and the space to enjoy them.