Stillman Brown

In the 1930’s and 40’s, Alex Osborn was a hot shot ad executive. His firm, BBDO, was the real life inspiration for Sterling Cooper, the fictional agency featured in Mad Men. Osborn developed the concept of “Brainstorming” as a way to get more creativity out of his underlings. He thought of it as “storming” a problem using the brain, the way troops would storm a battlement. That’s very different from what most of us think brainstorming is, right?

This post may contain affiliate links, read about our editorial promise You’ve seen them: those little dials on a watch. What are they? What purpose do they serve? Before I knew, I would see the sub-dials on a chronograph-style watch and think: Exploration. Technical proficiency. Professionalism. Chronographs are downright evocative … they carry an indefinable sense of early aircraft and open-wheel V12 race cars. The question is, why are they so evocative?

You’ve seen them: those little dials on a watch. What are they? What purpose do they serve? Before I knew, I would see the sub-dials on a chronograph-style watch and think: Exploration. Technical proficiency. Professionalism. Chronographs are downright evocative … they carry an indefinable sense of early aircraft and open-wheel V12 race cars. The question is, why are they so evocative?