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Hi. Do you dress for success? I’m Brian Pombo. The reason why I’m bringing this up today is I am not dressed for success. Welcome back to the Orange Office in Grants Pass, Oregon. Today’s topic is a very simple one, but it’s one that I think gets completely thrown aside nowadays when anything goes and that’s the whole concept of your appearance.
How are you appearing and should you always be dressed a certain way?
Should you have a uniform, everything else. So we’ve got a real this conversation back and it goes back to one of the first places that I heard about this concept. There was a book that came out in the 80’s called dress for success that is still popular to this day in many circles. And what it talks about is if you dress basically the general idea is if you dress the way that in most people’s minds, how they see a successful person in their mind, a successful business person, successful business man, business woman, if you dress that way, you will automatically have an up in any situation when it comes to business.
And I think this is true, a true in principle for the most part, but you have to always keep in mind your audience.
The main thing I always take things back to is the who is, who are you trying to reach? Who are you trying to talk to? What are you trying to convince them of? What are you trying to bring to them? Are you trying to convince them that you’re a successful business person? Are you trying to relate with them today? Why am I dressed this way?
I’ll come straight down and I’ll tell you how it relates back to what we’re talking about. I got pulled away on every Wednesday. I’m always hanging out with my family, but today I especially got pulled this way and that way and it just ended up in the clothes that I ended up in it.
There was no real thought behind it. I oftentimes, when I meet you here, I’ll at least put on a nicer shirt called my hair a little bit time. Didn’t permit today, but it’s okay because I’m talking about it. I’m telling you why I’m dressed this way. I’m telling you why I haven’t shaved yet today. And because of that, it can ease the tension.
It can show me to be human and so it serves a purpose too, it’s okay and in any situation that you find yourself in, if you can’t be dressed the exact way you want to be dressed, that’s all right.
But don’t ignore it.
Address it with your audience, address it with your customers, address it with the people that you’re in front of. If you’re in a business, in any form of business situation, address why you’re in the attire you’re in, why you have shaved or haven’t shaved, what you know, address it.
Put it out there just so you could be clear about what’s going on. Now the concept comes up of the uniform. This is a very common thing nowadays and it really got popular when Steve Jobs started talking about the fact that he always just wears blue jeans and a black shirt and the reasons why behind this and other people started successful. People started talking about why they have simplified what they were. Initially someone would think, well, okay, well that puts them in a specific uniform for their audience.
They know what to expect.
They see that person wearing that and it’s comforting to think about it in that, in those senses. And it’s recognizable. It’s brand, you know all that talk. And that’s true. But the reason why Steve Jobs did it is because it’s one less decision he has to think about during the day. Especially when you are the CEO or the head of a company, you’re running your business.
The fewer decisions you can make during the day that are insignificant than the more willpower for lack of a better word, that you have to be put toward making the decisions that matter. Because that can really wear you down. Making small little decisions over and over and over again. I’m wondering, “do I wear this color or that color?”
So really being clear about your uniform is more for you than even for your clientele, your audience, your coworkers. That’s something to keep in mind.
Don’t ignore the concept of attire.
Don’t think that it doesn’t matter at all in less that’s part of your brand. So a fellow that we had on the podcast Off the Grid Biz Podcast, Gary Collins, who’s brand is called The Simple Life, he has a number of books that are under that title and he has a, has a blog and everything else.
Go and look up. Gary Collins with The Simple Life is very interesting guy.
His whole thing is, I will never wear a suit. I will never wear a tie if there’s somewhere I have to go into a business meeting where they require it, I won’t go. It’s part of his brand. He’s Off the Grid.
He lives off the grid literally where he, he doesn’t, he doesn’t have any electricity that comes off of the grid, off the electrical grid. He produces everything. He’s as self sufficient as he possibly can be. So if that’s part of your brand that he says that nearly every speech he says it on the interviews he does. That’s who he is. So it becomes, in a sense, a uniform. The fact that he wears just what he wants to wear, that he walks around with a baseball cap and a beard.
That’s his brand. That’s who he is, and it’s great that it who he is, is who he is. It’s not just a fake facade, but he addresses it. He doesn’t just let it hang there and go, okay, well who is this guy? You know? Make. Just think about it. Consider what you’re wearing. Consider how it affects your coworkers, how it affects your work environment, how it affects the people you’re doing business with because it does matter. Dressing for success does matter, but don’t overthink it.
Just find something that works for you and make it clear to everybody else what it’s all about. Hope that’s helpful to you tomorrow. Another, another great tip. We’ll talk about some of these concepts that float around, but a lot of times people don’t really dig in and talk about them.
So we’ll talk about more of that tomorrow. In the meantime, get out there and let the magic happen.