An Interview with Mrs. Phyllis Robinson(4)

from "Great American Copywriter Vol.2"
Tadahisa Nishio
published in March 10, 1971

chuukyuu　How did you educate these copywriters just employed?
Mrs. Robinson　I think the chief thing was education by practice. We would give the copywriter as much responsibility as we could and be very very tough on them.
The most interesting and productive idea we had, of course, was to have the copywriters and art directors work together. There would be an exchange of idea between the copywriters and art directors.
Quite early in the history of the agency, I set up a strong supervisory program so that although the copywriter were encouraged to grow and produce as much as they could, they were watched very very carefully.
And when I felt it was growing too big for me to watch evrything personally. I immidiately started delegating authority by hiring subsupervisors at a lower level who could do not just the watching but the encouraging too.
And I think an important part of my personal style of direction and teaching was to encourage everyone in his own ideom, in his own personal way of doing things. I would never say, "Don't do it like this."
Because in saying do it like this I would be imposing my own style. I might say, "If you do it like this, it's dull"，or "This is the point", or "It doesn't communicate the idea".
And then I might say, "Perhaps you should go back and study the facts again." or " Have you explored so and so." In other word, asking leading question, opening up paths to explore, but trying to start from otherperson, not by imposing my idea on him.
I think this helped to broaden us creatvely. Because there would be no point in having many many little Bill Bernbachs and many many litte Phyllis Robinsons, a sort of assembly line product. Instead, we have all those wonderful strains of all these people intermingling.
(to be continued.)