Last Words of Priceless Wisdom from David Ogilvy

As this week's Fortune magazine points out, yesterday (July 21) was the 10th anniversary of the death of arguably one of the greatest communicators of the 20th century: David Ogilvy. If that's an unfamiliar name to you, then if you have any interest in top flight, high quality communication practices, you owe it to yourself to check out Confessions of an Advertising Man or Oglivy on Advertising from your nearest library or bookstore.
And if you're a business owner, you will find the following short summary to potentially be some of the greatest advice you could solicit during this time of economic turmoil - all free of charge. Hats off to Fortune's Patricia Sellers for sharing this priceless document (which Ogilvy hand wrote out for her in November of 1991):

1) Remember that Abraham Lincoln spoke of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He left out the pursuit of profit.
2) Remember the old Scottish motto: "Be happy while you're living, for you are a long time dead."
3) If you have to reduce your company's payroll, don't fire your people until you have cut your compensation and the compensation of your big-shots.
4) Define your corporate culture and your principles of management in writing. Don't delegate this to a committee. Search all the parks in all your cities. You'll find no statues of committees.
5) Stop cutting the quality of your products in search of bigger margins. The consumer always notices -- and punishes you.
6) Never spend money on advertising which does not sell.
7) Bear in mind that the consumer is not a moron. She is your wife. Do not insult her intelligence.

David Ogilvy
Charleston
November 15, 1991