Page 175 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

166 DELIVERY

and south you go, until the transformation is complete in places like
Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, where the suits seem to blend
right into the desert landscape.
Another area in which the rules, such as they are, may change is
academia—which is notorious for rumpled geniuses and beret-
capped professors in ancient tweeds, long scarves, and baggy cordu-
roy pants. Still, when I speak to business school audiences, I stick to
my standard bankers-issue dress code, and that seems to be all right.
The students or executive program people expect someone who
looks like a business consultant, and that’s pretty much what they

get—but you won’t find a lot of professors who dress for the job the
way I do.
We should also mention that in recent years Hollywood has
brought us pony tails and baggy Italian drape suits, sneakers, shades,
jeans, T-shirts and tuxedo jackets for formal evening wear, and a lot
of artsy black ensembles for day or night. Comfortable stuff, no
doubt, and some of it not bad looking, either. But you’ve got to be an
acknowledged eccentric, the best in the world at what you do, a
pioneer or visionary like Steve Jobs (who favors turtlenecks, jeans,
and sneaks in public appearances), or independently wealthy to be
able to imitate Jack Nicholson or Don Johnson in front of a business
audience. Leave the black silk shirt and high tops in the closet.
However, hundreds of companies have taken to designating Fri-
days as a day of casual dress code, so the times they are a-changing.
But if you are scheduled for a business meeting with a client on a
“casual” day, you should still wear a suit and tie unless specifi cally
requested not to.
There are whole sections of California, most notably Silicon Val-
ley, where any pretense at conventional business dress went out the
window years ago. If you go to Silicon Valley on business, it’s best to
call ahead and ask what your client thinks is appropriate—particu-
larly if you plan to make a speech or give a presentation. However,
San Franciscans—especially those in fi nancial services—tend to
dress like New Yorkers.