Authenticity v Respect
During my event last night with Malcolm Levene, the subject of authenticity came up – the delegate who raised the issue was talking about one’s dress code when meeting clients or speaking at an event.
Malcolm recounted the time he wore some very smart casual but business-like attire at a corporate where he asked to present his pitch. He was unsuccessful in getting the business. He cited that one of the reasons was what he wore on the day. Perhaps he should have worn a pin-stripe suit – but Malcolm said that that wouldn’t have been him and on reflection he regretted his choice of clothes.
On one hand, one could say that Malcolm was being true to himself, or authentic but on the other hand, one could accuse him of being disrespectful – hard to call isn’t it?
In my view, if you are going to do business with a corporate client, I think one should “go along” with what is expected unless you are in IT, advertising or the music industry!
In my sphere I have one golden rule – always dress better than your audience – that means that I invariably wear a suit and tie, or when hosting an award ceremony, it tends to be a dinner jacket and black tie.
Tags: Etiquette
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