I wanted to get the D&AD Advertising Concepts Workshops off the ground.
So I invited everyone who’d said they wanted to take part, to a meeting at my agency, BMP.
I reserved a meeting room and laid on sandwiches, beer, etc.
Jeremy Sinclair turned up on time.
Then we waited.
And waited.
No one else turned up.
After an hour I said, “Well, that’s that then.”
Jeremy said, “What’s what?”
I said, “We might as well forget the whole thing. No one else wants to take part.”
Jeremy said, “Don’t be silly, nobody knows that no one else came. If we carry on, everyone will think they’re the only one who missed it.”
I said, “How can we do that, no one’s here except you and me.”
He said, “Precisely. So I nominate you as Chairman. Any objections? No, good, that’s carried then.”
I said, “What does a Chairman do?”
He said, “Nothing, don’t worry.”
Then we worked out a schedule of classes, with the names of who should take which dates.
Then we sent out a letter saying, “As you were absent from the meeting of The Executive Committee here is a summary. Dave Trott was unanimously elected Chairman. The dates for the classes were decided. Your is as follows.”
Jeremy was right.
Everyone thought they were the only person not to be there.
They thought that every other creative in London had been there and elected me Chairman.
They didn’t want to be the only one to miss out, so they accepted the date they’d been given.
They each turned up and took a class without a murmer.
Lesson 2: Never assume they know what’s going on. They probably don’t