Temporarily Sidetracked
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When his one-year training at the Daily Capital came to an end, Mr. Armstrong did accept another flattering offer—one that took him off his career track. Lured by the adventure of traveling hundreds of miles by train into the Deep South, he became the timekeeper and paymaster of a large lumber mill, The Finkbine Lumber Company, in Wiggins, Mississippi.
Before Mr. Armstrong set off on his journey, his new employer, millionaire W.O. Finkbine, gave him valuable advice: Travel the very best one can afford, riding only in luxurious Pullman cars and staying at the finest hotels, which were of higher quality, and safer than cheaper alternatives. This would put him in close contact with successful and highly important people. He encouraged Mr. Armstrong to study them and learn why they were so successful.
This advice influenced and shaped Mr. Armstrong’s mindset even later in life, for he taught Church members, Ambassador College students and headquarters staff to strive for quality and excellence, to appreciate the worth of a beautiful environment, and to purchase the best that one could afford. Doing so uplifts one’s thinking, inspiring him to go above and beyond in every task undertaken.
Six months of laboring in a position that did not match his natural talents and gifts led Mr. Armstrong to see that he was the proverbial “square peg” desperately trying to fit into a round hole—it simply did not work! He came to realize that the glamour of travel, being offered an important position, and earning a larger income had temporarily sidetracked him from his career.
In addition, six months of working from early in the morning to almost midnight took its toll on his body. Due to overexertion, Mr. Armstrong ended up in the hospital with typhoid fever. Following doctors’ instructions, he returned home to Des Moines until full recovery.
Back on Track
On the way back home, Mr. Armstrong managed to “hire himself” another job, this time at the Mahan Advertising Agency, headquartered in Chicago. During the two weeks before he was expected to start his new position, he returned to Des Moines and told his Uncle Frank the good news.
Frank Armstrong was pleased that his nephew was finally “back on track.” But when it came to the new job, he said, “No, Herbert, you’re not ready for agency experience yet. Mahan is one of the major agencies, and it would be years before you’d even work up to being noticed by any of the top men, who are the only ones over there that could teach you anything. They wouldn’t know you existed.”
Mr. Armstrong wisely heeded his advice and “hired himself” another job—this time at the Merchants Trade Journal, the largest trade journal in the country at that time. It was devoted to publishing proven ideas that merchants and other businessmen were successfully using to increase their sales, reduce costs, train personnel, improve public relations, and so forth.
This new position put Mr. Armstrong under the professional guidance of R.H. Miles and Arthur I. Boreman, experts in advertising, marketing psychology, merchandising and effective business methods.
Mr. Armstrong also gained from these two men valuable on-the-job training in writing and designing display ads. He learned how to write headlines that catch the readers’ eyes, pull them in and convince them to want to read more—how to effectively use white space to make headlines stand out and grab attention—how to use lead-in text and subheads to create and hold suspense, and make readers want to read the main body of text.
He also learned to avoid trying to impress readers with scholarly language. Mr. Boreman explained, “The purpose of words is to convey facts, thoughts, ideas—a message! When 98% of the people do not understand your words, they do not receive your message. They only become confused and turn to something interesting.
“Use only plain, simple words. Use words that even readers of no more than a third or fourth grade education can understand. Try to achieve good literary quality with a large vocabulary of common, simple words, and by the manner in which you weave those words into the sentence structure.”
Mr. Armstrong learned to write in a style that was distinct, fast-moving, crisp—yet simple, plain and easy to understand, with a proper balance between quick, short, staccato-like sentences mixed with long and medium-sized ones.
After about two years of training in writing dynamic ad copy, designing effective layouts, selling advertising space, and performing certain office duties, Mr. Armstrong was promoted. He became the Merchants Trade Journal’s “Idea Man.” Armed with a reasonably liberal expense account, he set off on business trips to the east coast and to the Gulf of Mexico in search of innovative ideas and potential magazine articles. One of his missions was to ask various businessmen throughout the country why some men failed while others were successful. Of the hundreds who answered, the vast majority said, “Lack of ability.”
He discovered that many farmers, tired of the harsh, grueling life of farming, sold their farms to take up the “easy” life of retail merchants. But most farmers lacked the proper education in math, and did not possess the much-needed training in interacting with customers, advertising, marketing, etc. Thus, they lacked the ability to succeed.
Meeting a Popular Author
It was during one of his “Idea Man” trips that Mr. Armstrong became acquainted with Elbert Hubbard, a famous writer, publisher and lecturer of the day. He was the author of “A Message to Garcia,” a classic essay about initiative. Following his Uncle Frank’s instruction, Mr. Armstrong had been reading Mr. Hubbard’s writings for years, studying his writing style, delivery, use of vocabulary, and his philosophical ideas. (However, his uncle warned him not to blindly accept the author’s musings.)
With his trademark longish hairstyle, wide-brim hat and artist’s bowtie, Elbert Hubbard, popularly referred to as the “Sage of East Aurora” and “The Fra,” had a knack for standing out from the crowd. As a believer in rugged individualism, Mr. Hubbard was his own best promoter.
Tragically, his life was cut short in the historic attack on the Lusitania, which was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915.
Last “Idea Man” Tour
In November 1914, Mr. Armstrong began what came to be his last idea tour. He was set to travel as far west as Nebraska, and then journey to Houston, Texas, over to Birmingham, Alabama, north to Detroit, and then back home.
During this tour, he accomplished some “firsts”—The Journal published his first magazine article, and Mr. Armstrong conducted his first “opinion poll” business survey.
In spite of these, Mr. Armstrong was shocked to receive a letter from Mr. Boreman, stating that he was not pleased with the young man’s progress. Though he constantly drove himself, Mr. Armstrong worked in “spurts.” When he was “on,” he was red hot!—but during his “off” days, he could not seem to accomplish much. (Years later, Mr. Armstrong would learn to overcome this obstacle, teaching others to do the same.)
Mr. Boreman’s letter frightened Mr. Armstrong into believing that he was about to be fired—and it made him work much harder.
Even so, the letter continued to gnaw at his mind. He was haunted by humiliating thoughts of being fired once he returned home. His fear grew so large that he made another hasty decision and “hired himself” a job. He became the Assistant Secretary of the South Bend, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and then mailed his resignation letter. By the time he arrived home, Mr. Armstrong discovered the truth—that Mr. Boreman had no intentions of firing him. His letter was only meant to motivate Mr. Armstrong to work harder. Once again, his career got “off track.”
Sidetracked…Again!
Unlike today, there were no national or state highways crisscrossing America in the early twentieth century. When people drove their cars outside the paved streets of the city, they had to travel along the same roads used by horse and carriage. Getting stuck in the mud or ditches was inevitable. Only the most adventurous would attempt to drive into the country.
In order for their towns and cities to be connected, county and township governments decided to combine their resources and build roads. The South Bend Chamber of Commerce had endorsed the Dixie Highway project, which was designed to build a highway that extended from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Armstrong was designated to sign up farmers and other property owners so that the project could be built through their lands. However, one county refused to cooperate, putting the entire plan in jeopardy. In solving the problem, Mr. Armstrong came in personal contact with several of South Bend’s millionaires, gaining invaluable insight from them. He helped to devise an ingenious plan for designating land for the highway project.
Though his endeavor was successful, Mr. Armstrong decided to improve his financial situation by moving on to Danville, Illinois, where he sold a unique, in-depth marketing survey to the local newspaper’s advertising department. The results of his report were so revealing that it caught the attention of several businessmen. This led to various doors of employment opportunities opening to him. Mr. Armstrong took the one he considered to be the most promising: selling pianos.
However, he quickly learned that there are two kinds of effective salesmen—those who sell products, and those who sell ideas. Mr. Armstrong was a dynamic idea salesman. He never sold a single piano.
Once again, his Uncle Frank offered sound advice, telling Mr. Armstrong that he had allowed himself to get sidetracked from a promising career. Frank Armstrong intervened, and lined up a temporary advertising job for his nephew back in Des Moines.
Northwestern Banker magazine was planning to publish a special advertising section showcasing many new bank buildings. Mr. Armstrong was hired to sell to these banks as much advertising space as possible. He discovered that it was far more effective to sell ad space by designing attractive, eye-popping layouts before calling on potential clients.
This temporary position was only to last one month, but quickly turned into a steady job—which developed into a profitable business. Before long, Mr. Armstrong’s advertising career was “back on track” and booming.
At only 23 years of age, he had become the publishing representative for nine of the leading national bankers’ magazines. He decided to open his own advertising office in Chicago, one of the two capitals of advertising (along with New York), in the heart of the Loop. He worked only about half a block from LaSalle Street, where the city’s most prominent banks and investment houses were headquartered. Mr. Armstrong’s work opened the door to gaining personal contact with the vice-presidents (and, in some cases, presidents) of the nation’s many leading financial institutions, as well as with the presidents and board members of several corporations, such as Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and John Deere & Company.
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