Banality.

Over the weekend I got a somewhat frantic set of calls from an account person and a producer. We had scheduled a phone call with the client at 8:15 Monday morning but the client decided she wanted me--and only me--to come down personally.

I hate cutting things close, and because my client's office abuts the site of the former World Trade Center, security is tough. I arrived downtown at 7:30, settled into the free wireless in a "private park," (on Wall Street real estate developers get permission to build higher if they create a public space. But somehow, more often than not, those public spaces remain their property. I think the 1% of 1% are the people for whom the phrase "win-win" was created.)

Around 8AM I sailed through security and made it up to the client's space. The client, of course, was late. My 8:15 would not start until 8:30. That's ok. No one was inconvenienced but me.

Then we spent the next 45 minutes discussing two words--literally two words--my partner, producer and I added to the end of our spots. Should we keep them in--that's what I wanted, that's why I added them--or should we take them out. The CEO had already seen the spots with the two additional words and approved the spots that way.

We talked about the two words.

They asked my point of view.

Finally, after 45 minutes we agreed.

The two words were approved.

This is business in America today.