Men’s Suits 101

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I know I have mentioned it before (and will likely mention it again until your ears are numb), but the clothes you wear are highly important.  Whether you realize it or not (or are reluctant to admit it), people will judge you based upon your appearance, and what you wear says a lot about your outward appearance (i.e. well-dressed people have greater command over a room of people before they even say a word).  It’s a fact of life in Corporate America.  No escaping it.  Whether or not you choose to care about it is obviously your prerogative – but I wanted to pass along a great article posted yesterday on Buzzfeed that references tips and rules for wearing men’s suits.  A lot of these are great things to keep in mind while shopping or dressing and won’t cost you any extra money.

P.S. Is Buzzfeed slowly making its case to be the preeminent work productivity killer?  I wonder how many collective hours a day of “work time” across America alone are lost to reading through the site.  Don’t tell me your Facebook feeds aren’t full of these lists on a daily basis.  You know, when you check Facebook after working hours of course 🙂

Til Next Time,

Michael

The “Art” of BS

After much reflection, I decided it would only be right to start my blogging career (on this site) with an early topic that is extremely near and dear to my heart: BS.  While on the surface, this can be a hotly-contested topic (some love it, some hate it), you can’t deny the fact that it is a huge part of the business landscape, in 2013 now more than ever.  And I’m not just talking about the “good ol boys clubs” or the brown-nosers at work.  I’m talking about everything from providing an executive level status readout to a water cooler conversation with the maintenance man.

So what exactly do I have to say about it?  In short, I love it.  I wouldn’t say this is because I’m particularly good at it, or that I think it helps organizations or people accomplish a lot of critical tasks (in reality, many times it may do just the opposite).    The reason I believe in it is because it calls us all to be on our toes at all times.  It forces you to be mindful of the tasks that you’re completing on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.  It helps you establish perspective and context for your placement in the “bigger picture”.  And it is these sorts of behaviors and reflections that will ultimately make you feel more valuable and help you determine your optimal career progression.

Still disagree?  Let me offer an illustrative situation where BS has played a huge role for me (or for others):

The Executive Elevator Pitch: Scenario – you get on an elevator to go down and grab lunch.  One floor later, your boss’ boss’ boss hops on the elevator.  Uh Oh.  Quick – what do you do?  “Hey Michael, what have you been up to lately?” she asks.  I can tell you that I’ve honestly never had much care for the people that say “Uhh, not much, just the usual – working for the weekend”.  Rather, you should always be prepared to list three to five things that you are actively engaged in and/or a few anecdotes about special things you’ve done (even if in your heart you know they’re not that special).  Why?  Because otherwise, your position and your role seem irrelevant or unnecessary to people.  Corporate America is driven by the perception of the value of someone’s work.  Hence, you should defend your corner of the business to the grave.  Or, if you really don’t feel invested or valued in your area – find somewhere else (within the company or externally) to work!  Also, working on something meaningful and being able to spout off a couple quick and (hopefully) at least partial truths, even if it feels like BS, helps you be more confident and ultimately happy with what you’re doing.

Hopefully this resonates with you or at least you can see where I’m coming from.  While many work environments may appear on the outside to be more casual, all bosses at the end of the day like to know that their employees:

  • feel valued as people
  • have enough work to do
  • are valuable to the organization
  • can articulate personal and professional activities

And I firmly believe BS helps reassure bosses that the aforementioned criteria hold true.  Listen, I’m not trying to paint myself as the ultimate con artist or admit some severe case of brown-nosing.  I understand that even publishing something like this may be taboo or reflect negatively on myself and my career, as if I wouldn’t have gotten where I am today without the proverbial BS.  But – I felt compelled to put this topic out there as it is something we cannot avoid.  So maybe it’s time we started the dialogue on it so we can all start to better understand the pros and cons of it all.

At the end of the day, the ability and desire to BS is totally up to you.  In lots of situations in my life, I consider it to be an important skill.  In others, I find it annoying.  Just some things to consider.

Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it.

Til Next Time,

Michael