Anna Wintour

This is the eternal war in creative businesses.

The money people want compliance.

The creative people want control.

Galeoti escalated to sigh Newhouse.

They prepared a list of editors who could replace Anna.

Then they invited her to lunch.

The ultimatum was blunt.

Start featuring advertisers' products or find another job.

Newhouse's exact words, I suggest you follow the money.

Most editors would choose one of two paths, cave completely, turn Vogue into a catalog, or fight and lose, maintain your principles, and get fired.

Anna chose door number three.

She'd photograph advertisers' clothes, but only pieces that met her standards.

Yes to commerce, but she kept the veto.

The genius here was she made herself indispensable to both sides.

Advertisers got more coverage than ever, but only Anna could guarantee it would elevate their brand and not embarrass it.

She started taking advertiser meetings, building relationships that transcended the transactions.

The result?

Vogue kept its credibility, advertisers got prestige, Anna got more powerful.

The lesson?

When forced to choose between X and Y, don't.