Obvious Adams: lessons in simplicity
A short story originally published in 1916 by the Saturday Evening Post written by Robert Updegraff, which went through repeated expanded editions, makes us reflect on today's management systems.
Like a handbook of behavior and common sense, the author tells the story of Adams, an advertising man from a poor family who worked from a very young age as a store clerk and studied at night.
He decided to pursue a career in advertising, taking his first steps filing documents at a prestigious firm in New York. He climbed the ranks until he became vice president of the company, thanks to his irritating obviousness and objectivity.
Before completing a month on the job, he suggested changes to the work method for filing newspapers that would reduce time, make handling easier and eliminate errors. With that, the company could hire someone at a lower salary and he could do something else.
And he remarked that he had noticed that the people in the Creative department were working late and that he could help. Unsuccessful at first, he began writing copy in his spare time, on his own initiative, focused on the big campaign for the California Canned Peach Association. To do so, he studied the subject in depth, understanding the process of producing and canning peaches. He created a slogan, “six minutes from orchard to can”, which came with additional phrases such as “peaches ripened in the California sun”, “picked ripe from the tree”, “sorted by young women in spotless white uniforms”, “peeled and canned automatically”, “steam-cooked”, “vacuum-packed”, “from the supplier to you for 30 cents a can”.
These ideas were so greatly appreciated that they ended up being taken by the Creative department to the clients. Although the campaign derived from his ideas did not move forward, another opportunity arose with a new account coming in, for ready-made cakes sold in supermarkets. Adams began studying the subject, comparing cakes, trying them, even though he was not responsible for the account.
After being thrilled by the initial campaign ideas proposed by the head copywriter, Adams asked for permission to work with him so he could learn more. Once the campaign was launched, the results the company expected were not achieved, despite the brilliance of the ads. With the account about to be closed, Adams set about analyzing the campaign's problems and failures, reviewed his own initial ideas, changed some of them and drew up a new proposal.
When it was presented to the client, the company was given another chance. The new campaign included ideas such as offering customers a tasting scheme, providing individually wrapped slices for customers to sample, posters began to show the cake in natural colors, the packaging was changed, etc. The results came quickly and the campaign was a huge success. And everyone wondered how this had happened with ideas that were, to some extent, simplistic compared with the sophistication of the previous campaign. The memory of old, cozy kitchens was Adams's main inspiration.
Next, the company's challenge was to develop a campaign project for a hat company that had two stores. Disappointed with countless efforts to increase sales at one of them, they began reviewing all the actions taken and the detailed sales figures. After hours of conversations and discussions, they finally decided that it was necessary to better understand the situation to detect the problem. And they assigned this mission to Adams.
His first action was to visit the stores, observe them directly from outside, analyze the external environment and the flow of people around them, and count the number of people passing by. He noticed that the store that was losing money had a terrible location, making it hard for customers to see and reach it. So no additional advertising campaign would help. The company then waited for the lease to expire and looked for a new location. From then on, sales grew at both stores. Obviousness, the search for the real facts through direct observation, and simplicity once again solved the problem.
These situations kept repeating themselves, always raising Adams's standing in the company. To a paper-producing client interested in an advertising campaign, Adams said he could not say anything before learning more about the product and the mill. After days immersed in the subject, he suggested ideas showing how the paper was made from carefully selected fibers, with filtered water, dried on belts, and visually inspected sheet by sheet. Initially received coldly by the client, who criticized the lack of brilliance of the ideas presented, in the end he convinced them that, although obvious to a manufacturer, they could attract the broader public. The campaign's success showed once again the power of the obvious.
Adams helped several companies reinvigorate themselves, always applying his philosophy of obviousness, objectivity and simplicity based on a detailed, thoughtful analysis grounded in facts and data, going deeper in reflection and in the search for solutions.
Based on the original story, the author Robert Updegraff defined some principles to help people who like brilliant ideas and ingenious plans, and noted that the obvious is not always easily evident. So he suggested:
- once found, all answers are obvious
- the obvious is in harmony with human nature
- the obvious does not waste paper
- the obvious shines in people's eyes
- the obvious has its right time
And he suggests that the process of convincing other people must be careful, because people need time to mature and understand, even simple and obvious ideas. That is why we should always explain clearly and simply and let others freely ask whatever questions they need to clarify things.
And he suggests five questions for arriving at the obvious:
- Can it be simplified?
- What about reversing the process?
- Will the person giving an opinion buy it?
- Is there still a rabbit in this hole?
- Can what is good get better?
The lessons of simplicity given almost a century ago are still present today. The business world changes every hour. And it becomes increasingly complex. But many of these lessons can and should be applied today.
*Based on “Obvio Adams: a historia de um empresário de sucesso” by Robert Updegraff. Editora da Cultura, São Paulo, 2004.
