The other day I spoke with a colleague who recommended placing the expensive porcelain "In Search of the Lost Ark" at an event among deputies, because it would help us make a delivery to the largest restaurants.

I went to St. Petersburg, among other things, to accompany negotiations on the supply of this magnificent porcelain to a restaurant that every one of you knows, where every tourist has been.

Believe me, the last thing the restaurant cared about was whether the deputies knew about the porcelain. Price. Money, numbers. MOOOONEY and NUUUMBERS, not "Excuse me, have you shown these plates to the deputies?".

How did our dialogue end, guess? With the classic PR response: "Well, that means you work with restaurants of a level where reputation doesn't matter."

I smirked.