The best revenge.

Years ago I was taught something very simple by Steve Hayden who was then Vice Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather.

Steve never acted like I expected a Vice Chairman would. He was never high and mighty. He never toed the company line. He never gave you bullshit about how great things were.

In short, he pretty much told it like it was. And that's why scores of people in the industry, from coast to coast, admire and miss Steve, and would give their left arms to work for him again.

He was honest.

He cared about the work.

And he cared about the people who cared about the work.

No matter where you work, the best place or I suppose the worst, we all go through an excruciating number of rounds, revises, re-dos and rethinks before work ever gets produced.

Crappy agencies and clients allow work to get a little worse through each of these renditions.

Good agencies and clients allow the work to be improved.

Good agencies, and this is what Steve taught me, know that the best revenge is a better ad.

I'm on round 87 of a bunch of commercials now.

I'm trying hard to keep them from sucking.