Burning Man for bigwigs: Shhh! Don't tell the board

While attendance at the counter-culture Burning Man festival might add credibility to any edgy artist's bio, it's definitely not the sort of thing you'd put on your investment banker's resume under "Interests." Yet according to Portfolio, financiers and executives are turning Burning Man into the latest substitute for golf retreats and spa getaways. When one executive returns from a week or two on the playa, he says, "I'm a far better executive, in terms of innovation and creativity."

Ahhh... now I understand the ad campaign for Rozerem. But let's put the sarcasm to the side for a moment and examine this, just like Portfolio does. After all, corporate retreats have long been held in locales where their participants are encouraged to turn off the mobile phones and Blackberries and the like and to connect with each other and their inner leader. What better place than Burning Man, where not only is wireless reception virtually nonexistent, but you can't even buy a candy bar (or a Wall Street Journal, or a stick of deodorant, or, well, anything). Commerce is banned altogether; you aren't allowed to even barter. Why not hold your retreat at such a disconnected locale?

Oh! Oh! I know this one. It's because Burning Man is seen as a haven for drugs and consequence-free sex (naturally, its proponents and organizers insist it's just about the art).