like Esty Stowell, Jock Elliott and Andrew Kershaw. Even a mature agency with a pool of potential leaders does well to refresh its blood by occasionally hiring partners from outside. Who not to hire Never hire your friends. I have made this mistake three times, and had to fire all three. They are no longer my friends. Never hire your client’s children. If you have to fire them, you may lose the client. This is another mistake I have made. Never hire your own children, or the children of your partners. However able they may be, ambitious people won’t stay in outfits which practice nepotism. This is one mistake I did not make; my son is in the real estate business, secure in the knowledge that he owes nothing of his success to his father. Think twice before hiring people who have been successful in other fields. I have hired a magazine editor, a lawyer and an economist. None of them developed an interest in advertising. And never hire your clients. The qualities which make someone a good client are not the qualities required for success in the agency business. I have made this mistake twice. Office politicians The hothouse atmosphere in agencies can cause outbreaks of 2 psychological warfare to rival university faculties. The politics became so vicious at Milton Biow’s agency that he was forced to close down. I know of seven ways to squelch them: 1 Fire the worst of the politicians. You can identify them by how often they send you blind copies of their poison-pen memos to their rivals. 2 When somebody comes to your office and denounces his rival as an incompetent rascal, summon the rival and make the denouncer repeat what he has just told you. 3 Crusade against paper warfare. Make your people settle their fights face to face.