Business Lessons from My Idols: William M. “Bill” Gaines of MAD Magazine

My two biggest business influences have been the same since day one: my Dad and Bill Gaines, the founder of MAD Magazine. This post is the first in what may be an ongoing series, “Business Lessons from My Idols,” and this one is very personal one for me. If you grew up reading MAD you probably remember the goofy Alfred E. Neuman and the magazine’s parodies, but you might not know the man behind the magazine. Bill Gaines was MAD’s longtime publisher (over 40 years) and the architect of a work culture so unique and fun, it arguably set the template for the modern “creative office.”