To my complete disbelief in 1977 when I started out, I was given an expense account to pay for entertaining others at restaurants. It has condemned me to an adulthood as an eternal fat bd.
The question as to whether the cost of all this corporate hospitality has any worth or payback has persisted since God was a lad. I have tried to think in a cognitive, separating-myself-from-the-issue manner, and consider whether I have ever changed my recommendations as a direct result of being entertained.
Lunches with those who sell to us, but bound in a co-dependency, have resulted in some lifetime friendships that transcend business. Tom Tomazis at Disney was unlucky enough to have me as his first lunch host and we have been close ever since.
As an industry which is dependent upon personal contacts, this "familiarisation" is important. It allows us, for example, to very occasionally correct howling mistakes without financial penalty or public humiliation. Useful stuff.
The big jollies such as safaris, World Cup tickets, the Superbowl, U2 concerts in New York or Monaco Grand Prix trips are perhaps questionable for their expense.
Personally, I have been known to stick both my trotters and snout in many troughs on the basis that I would never experience such things again in my lifetime.
The fact that I have never been approached with a bribe, or anybody arm-twisting me to do anything underhand, is deeply reassuring.
I say that getting to know those whom we often end up spending an entire career working with is reason enough to enjoy the privileged benefits, which our jobs sometimes offer us without further guilt or embarrassment.
I will never have to regret missing out on some wonderful events, which I will remember forever, thanks to the media business because people are generally honest and true.
Living up to our principles does not require sacrifice or pain if we keep our responsibilities to always do the right thing with other people's trust. Only then can we fully enjoy the lighter side of this incredible life.
Jonathan Durden is president and co-founder of PHD.