I found this in a faded photocopy on the wall at a client's office in about 1995. These precepts are translated from Japanese, hence the inappropriate but original title "Dentsu's 10 Rules of the Demon". Clearly these precepts represent guidelines we could all do well to follow. Recently I found the more accurate title "Spartan", which makes sense coming from same society as the Samurai.

In sharing these rules with you, let's also take a moment to pay our respects to Japan in their time of earthly challenge.

Dentsu Ten Rules

1. Initiate projects on your own instead of waiting for work to be assigned.
2. Take an active role in all your endeavors, not a passive one.
3. Search for large and complex assignments.
4. Welcome difficult assignments. Progress lies in accomplishing difficult work.
5. Once you begin a task, complete it. Never give up.
6. Lead and set an example for your fellow workers.
7. Set goals for yourself to ensure a constant sense of purpose. This will give you perseverance, resourcefulness, and hope.
8. Move with confidence. It gives your work focus and substance.
9. At all times, challenge yourself to think creatively and find new solutions.
10. When confrontation is necessary, don’t shy away from it. Confrontation is the mother of progress and the fertilizer of an aggressive enterprise. If you fear conflict, it will make you timid and irresolute.

Dentsu is the largest ad agency in the world. Its guiding precepts printed above were articulated by its first Chairman, Hideo Yoshida. The fresh qualify of Dentsu’s “rules” stems from their focus on a successful person.