Table of Contents

1. How do you become an ideaer? 2. Follow the golden rule 3. Remember that people work with you, not for you 4. Care about them 5. Make their jobs seem easy 6. Don't ask for one solution ~Ask for many 7. Don't reject ideas ~Ask for more 8. Give them more than one problem at a time 9. Ask for more ideas, sooner 10. Make sure they like you 11. Cut down on approvals 12. Tell them everything about their company 13. Give them what they need 14. Take the blame / Give the praise away 15. Help them achieve their goals 16. Hire only people you like 17. If it isn't working, change it 18. Get rid of sad dogs who spread gloom 19. Let them solo 20. Let them do it their way 21. Make sure the problem is the problem 22. Shun rules 23. Trust them 24. Let them shine 25. Praise their efforts 26. Allow them the freedom to fail 27. Never lie about anything important 28. Be wary of fear 29. Show some enthusiasm 30. Ask them to help you 31. Get rid of the word "I" 32. Make it Us vs Them, not Us vs Us 33. Share what everybody does 34. Share experiences 35. Insist on vacations 36. Let them vacation when they want to vacation 37. Forget about efficiency 38. Play the fool 39. Cancel school 40. Have fun 41. A final word

About the Author

Jack Foster was 18 years old and working in an insurance company with about 150
other people when he got the idea to raffle off his weekly paycheck. Fifty cents a chance
to win $27.50. The first week he made a profit of six dollars. The next week he had collected $53 for the raffle when
his boss found out what he was doing. He ordered Jack to return the money.
Then he fired him.
Ever since, Jack's been trying to come up with ideas that wouldn't get him fired.
Mostly he's succeeded.
He lucked into the advertising business 45 years ago as a writer and has been coming up with ideas ever since- Ideas for scores of companies including Carnation, Mazda, Sunkist, Mattel, ARCO, First Interstate Bank, Albertson's, Ore-Ida, Suzuki, Denny's, Universal Studios, Northrup, Rand McNally, and Smokey Bear.
During the 15 years Jack spent as the executive creative director of Foote, Cone & Belding in Los Angeles, it grew to be the largest advertising agency on the West Coast.
I was born in London, England. It was raining.
After 15 years of studying Latin I decided to go into advertising.
My first job was as an apprentice at an advertising agency called Graham and Gilles. I changed the water pots for the artists (they painted layouts with water colours in those days) and made them tea. This was before magic markers. This was even before rubber cement - I'm that old.
It was raining. It was always raining, and I was watching my favourite programme at the time - 77 Sunset Strip. I said, "Ah, sun, palm trees, women." My Dad gave me a one-way ticket.
I met Jack Foster 35 years ago at the Erwin Wasey advertising agency in Los Angeles and then again at Foote, Cone & Belding.
We worked together for about 17 years. We had a hell of a good time.
And we had a hell of a good time doing this book.

Reviews

"Jack Foster's concept of 'ideaship' will help you get more out of the people you work with and increase your own productivity in the bargain." -Edward Stephens, former Dean, The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University "Ideaship is thirty-five years of creative coaching experience, condensed and delivered in the short, pithy style of one of America's finest copywriters." -Joe Phelps, CEO, The Phelps Group