A slight re-cant.

Yesterday I wrote a post that was dark even by my Hasidic's closet standards.

I decried the Heller-esq, Kafka-esq small-mindedness of our business. For whatever reason I think of this quotation from Heller: “Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.”

Once, many years ago I had an argument of the CEO of the agency at which I was working.

I had enough stature and power in the place that I said to the CEO that I refused to report to the CCO. The CCO had tried to steal my account from me and my partner and did so in deeply underhanded ways.

I said, I won't report to Tony anymore.

The CEO replied, Tony just over-thinks things.

I said, you can call it over-thinking. I prefer to think of it as under-smarting.

That's what there's too much of in our business.

Over-thinking.

And under-smarting.

And their companions--fear, uncertainty and doubt.

It makes people in high places question when they should trust.

Look, I love this business.

Six days out of ten, I love what I do.

I like the people I work with.

I like my clients.

Sure, I howl at the moon some times and wish I had more control.

If that's not normal, what is.

And I enjoy the cathartic results of putting my anger and disdain out there.

It frustrates me the way our industry is no longer run by advertising people.

That the money has been squeezed out of the business by money people.

And that we compete on price not on ideas.

It frustrates me how so many MBAs seem to specialize in not trusting people who have come through for them for years.

Yeah, it's a mix.

There are things that are odious about our business.

And things that are glorious.

It's kind of like life.