I walked into the offices of SpotCo (one of the Big Three Broadway ad agencies) on Tuesday for a Gettin’ The Band Back Together artwork meeting, and I noticed something different . . .

Where there used to be nothing but a plain ol’ boring wall, there is now a brand spankin’ new art installation, with the name of the company at its center.  (See photo!)

But it wasn’t the light bulb bespeckled title treatment that got me, it was what surrounded it.

The Principals at the agency put their heads together, probably over some good snacks (that will make sense in a second), and came up with 10 Axioms . . . or 10 Things They Believe In.

The owners of every business, the leaders of every government, and any married couple actually (!), should take a moment to do the exercise that SpotCo did . . . and come up with a list of what they believe are the keys to success in their field.  It’s not just a mission statement . . . it’s a list of 10 Commandments.

And what I love about Spot, is that they went a little further with their exercise, and put their commandments on a damn wall.

By making their commandments public, and right in front of every current and potential client who walks in the door, they are saying, “Hey, this is who we are and what we believe in . . . and we’re proud of it.”  What they are also subtly saying is, “Hey, if this isn’t who you are and what you believe in . . . then we might not be the right fit for you.”

Imagine if everyone you met . . . from potential business partners to potential life partners, wore a list of their 10 Commandments on their shirt for you to read when you met them.  It would make it a lot easier to decide who to “work” with, don’t you think?

I’m going to list SpotCo’s 10 Things below, because in addition to loving the exercise, I also love what they have to say.

Read them . . . and then tell yourself, and then tell the world . . . what are your 10 Commandments?  What does your Business believe in?