Tight Security at BusinessWeek

No office we've ever visited, including in China, has security as stringent as McGraw-Hill headquarters in New York City. When you check in at the lobby reception desk, you present your photo ID. A Logitech webcam takes your picture, and you're issued a pass with your pic on it. You then walk through a metal detector, placing your bags on an X-ray conveyor belt just like at an airport. (They did let us keep our shoes on.)

After you collect your stuff, you walk to the appropriate elevator bay and stand in front of the turnstile, where another security guard examines your ID. You walk through, and the guard hands you your pass, which you must display prominently. I have no idea what the blue and pink dots signify, but the guard seemed to know.

I'm not sure if he's still around, but back in the '90s -- before 9/11 -- McGraw-Hill hired former NYC police sergeant Bill Fernhead to architect security for the company's three Manhattan properties. You can read about him here and here.