The idea of dressing for success used to be wearing formal clothes. The top of the pyramid would dress in a suit, and dressing for the job meant emulating this style. The rise of the tech sector changed this stereotype. It became more casual - jeans, hoodies, and black turtlenecks. During the pandemic, workers saw colleagues from the shoulders up on video calls, dressed in a collared shirts, sweatpants and slippers. As workers move back to offices, they need to consider what it means to dress for success.

Dressing for success

Dressing for success has always required a degree of subtlety. For example, we might dress similar to our peers to help us feel like we belong, or if you want to advance in your career, you might dress as you perceive the leaders dress. Studies show managers often hire and promote people similar to them, including how they present themselves. Workers also feel more self-assured and improve work performance when they wear more formal attire. However, today it is more nuanced to understand dress codes. Overdressing can send a negative message that you haven't read the culture.

The right clothes send the right message

It might seem that remote work would remove the challenge of navigating work dress codes, but it is not entirely true. If you're not paying attention to what people can see, you miss the opportunity to be remembered. So you have to find a way to stand out. One way to do this is to wear eye-catching clothes and jewellery, but be aware of over or underdressing. Showing you understand the unspoken dress code rules could give you an edge.

Codes still matter online 

Workplaces once had both official and unofficial uniforms. Now that work looks completely different, is the idea of 'dress for success' even still relevant?

Stashed ideas

Does 'dressing for success' still matter?

For a long time, the global business world was only vested in economic success while having little regard for how it may affect the environment or the health and well-being of the community. However, there has been a shift in recent years where customers and citizens are no longer willing to accept the status quo. This is what makes social entrepreneurs so important. They recognise and pursue innovative opportunities that create social value. They consider the nonprofit and business sectors to maximise their impact.

Social entrepreneurship

<ul><li>Choose what change you want to make in the world. Find one relevant to your customers and connect your products and services to your brand's history.</li><li>Tell the world what you want to accomplish. Make a public statement of your social purpose that is easy to understand. This will help you stay true to your vision.</li><li>Show the world how you're doing it. Design action plans with specific steps on how you are going to achieve the goals.</li><li>Use your goals to build the brand message the world will see. Connect your initiatives and activism into the brand story you've created to demonstrate your efforts.</li></ul>

Create social purpose for your brand

There are four key steps to using social entrepreneurship in your business effectively.

How Social Entrepreneurship Can Level Up Your Success

Many people who work at medium or large companies realise that promotions aren't always tied to internal role changes. Sometimes it's worthwhile to stay in one role and get a promotion, and other times it's better to gain experience in a new part of the company, even if there are no immediate advancements.
Knowing when to stay in your current role or when to make an internal job change is a personal decision, but using PROMO (Proximity, Readiness, Offer, Memory, and Overcommunicate) can help to guide your decision.

Feeling stuck between a promotion and an exciting challenge

<ul><li>Proximity. Consider the likelihood that you will get a promotion. If it is clear and imminent, it could be worth sticking around.</li><li>Readiness. How satisfied are you in your current role? If you're happy, it may be better to stay, but if you're miserable, it may be better to move.</li><li>Offer. What does a new role offer? A new network? An opportunity to learn? If the new role is appealing, it could be worth the move.</li><li>Memories. A decade from now, are you likely to remember the exciting work you've been doing?</li><li>Overcommunicate. Let your current and future manager know if you feel ready for a promotion.</li></ul>

The PROMO framework

Should You Wait To Get A Promotion, Or Make A Lateral Move Inside Your Company?

As time progresses and technology advances, if humanity survives the climate crisis then people will use more and more energy, as a whole. So, in addition to harnessing energy from wind and water, this will mainly be done by converting sunlight into electricity. Therefore, when humanity becomes a type one civilization in the 22nd century, the energy consumption of people worldwide will be at about 4×10¹² watts. A lot more will change.

Life in the Year 3000

In the year 3000 11 billion people will all have access to basic utilities like electricity and the internet, because everyone will live in super-consolidated megacities. Plus, everything that can be automated will be automated in the smart cities of the future. As part of this, with enough vertical farms, humanity will be able to feed everyone on Earth and the other planets with a super-charged scientifically engineered vegan diet. So, in the 30th century, meat substitutes will taste even better than the real thing and be far more nutritious, as a whole.

Peek Into The Future

he smart hospitals of the 30th century, every nurse and doctor will be assisted by powerful diagnostic algorithms and finely-tuned surgical robots. So, AI will become very prominent in the healthcare industry. Even the smart clothes of the future will have microsensors to monitor vital signs and be able to alert the paramedics in the event of an emergency, one of which will be human and the other an android. There will be an increase in both the average height and longevity of most people in general.

The Medical World Of The Future

From now until the year 3000, the several thousand languages that are currently spoken will be reduced down to less than a hundred, as ethnicities are drastically diminished around the world. As such, English, Mandarin, Spanish, and a few other languages will be vying for the top spot as the universal language of our species. In the end, cultural memes will all eventually just blend together in the great melting pot that is the world of consolidated cosmopolitan megacities.

Fewer Languages

The countries of the world gradually come together more and more, the metric system will become the universal standard of measurement across the solar system. This will all be done in conjunction with mass disarmament and substantial divestment from military budgets to enable more socialized investments to occur. Ultimately, this will all help to pave the way for peace through unrestricted intercontinental and interplanetary trade and travel, across and between the worlds of tomorrow.

The World We Await

As time progresses and technology advances, if humanity survives the climate crisis then people will use more and more energy, as a whole. So, in addition to harnessing energy from wind and water…

Despite the havoc and destruction that COVID-19 has caused, it has also cleared the way for a new normal. Humanity has a chance at a fresh start — yourself included. Let that sink in for a moment. Now is your chance to redefine how you view the world and live your life.<blockquote>This is your chance to redefine how you view the world and live your life.</blockquote>

Life Is Not What They Tell You

<h1>The coronavirus pandemic has made three truths painfully clear:</h1><ul><li>Life is short.</li><li>Nothing is guaranteed.</li><li>We are one interconnected human race on a shared planet.</li></ul>

The Three Noble Truths

<ul><li>You have to go to college to get a good job.</li><li>You should pick one major or one career path.</li><li>Freelancing or working for yourself is “risky” while working in a traditional job is “safe.”</li><li>One income stream is sufficient for financial stability.</li><li>Working in a job you hate is worth it if it pays well enough.</li><li>If you work hard now, you’ll earn a [bigger, better] payoff later.</li><li>Status-signaling is important.</li></ul>

The Lies Of Society

<ul><li>You need to have meetings.</li><li>Everyone should work Monday through Friday from 9am–5pm in their respective time zones.</li><li>If you can’t supervise your employees at work, they’re probably slacking off.</li><li>People are more productive in the office than at home. (Better yet? In an open-plan office for more collaboration.)</li><li>“Remote work doesn’t work for our company.”</li></ul>

The Lies Of Business

<ul><li>The public school system adequately prepares you for adulthood.</li><li>Your national government is a reliable safety net for times of crisis and disaster. (That depends which country you’re from, I suppose.)</li><li>The purpose of law enforcement is to serve and protect.</li><li>Politicians work for the people, have everything under control, and know what they’re doing.</li><li>“Country-first,” isolationist policies are the best way to go.</li><li>America is the best country in the world.</li></ul>

The Lies Of The Government

<ul><li>The modern-day healthcare system is invincible.</li><li>You can rely on medicines and vaccines rather than taking care of your immune system.</li><li>Managing a stressed-out, overweight population dependent on prescription drugs is normal, acceptable, and the best we can do as a society.</li><li>The U.S. has the best healthcare in the world.</li></ul>

The Lies Of The Medical World

<ul><li>Racism doesn’t exist anymore.</li><li>Everyone is on an equal playing field.</li><li>Change takes a long time.</li><li>People from different countries are “different” than you.</li><li>Walls and borders will protect you.</li><li>The U.S. is the leader of the free world.</li></ul>

The Lies Of The World

<ul><li>It pays to plan for the future more than you live today.</li><li>A better, brighter future is (implicitly) guaranteed if you put your head down, work hard, and follow the rules.</li><li>You should strive for financial security over health, happiness, and adventure.</li><li>External factors are both the source of and solution to your problems.</li><li>You need a lot of money to have a high quality of life.</li><li>Color in the lines and stay in your lane: blending in is better (and safer) than standing out.</li></ul>

Lies Of Life

Society marvels at people who achieve meteoric success by ignoring conventional wisdom. But what if Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk weren’t supposed to be outliers? What if dropping out of college to build things in your garage was encouraged? What if zigging when everyone zags were the best way to live? Society was wrong. Live Your Life.

Think Different

Upon graduating from business school in 2005, I had two job offers to choose from. The first one was a market research position at a startup for around $75,000/year. The other was working for minimum…

The Pandemic Proves That Society Was Wrong About How to Live Life

In the 1800s, an Italian, Vilfredo Pareto, started analysing the distribution of wealth in Italy and found around 80 per cent of the land was owned by just 20 per cent of the people. Pareto also found that roughly 30 per cent of the population in Great Britain earned about 70 per cent of the total income.&nbsp;Pareto noticed that the majority of rewards always seemed to accrue to a small percentage of people. This idea became known as the Pareto principle or 80/20 rule.

The Pareto Principle

Within the next few decades, Pareto's work became gospel to many economists. The 80/20 rule was noticed everywhere.&nbsp;<ul><li>In the 1950s, three per cent of Guatemalans owned 70 per cent of the land in Guatemala.</li><li>In 2013, 8.4 per cent of the world population controlled 83.3 per cent of the world’s wealth. </li></ul>

Inequality, Everywhere

<ul><li>There are approximately 227 "hyperdominant" tree species that make up almost half of the rainforest.&nbsp;</li><li>Just 1.4 per cent of tree species account for 50 per cent of the trees in the Amazon.&nbsp;</li></ul> If one plant can grow a little bit faster than the other, it can stretch taller, catch more sunlight, and soak up more rain. The plant gains an advantageous position and has a better ability to spread seeds, giving the species an even bigger footprint. This effect is known as "accumulative advantage" and it starts with one plant with a slight edge.

The Power of Accumulative Advantage

People often compete for the same resources. Athletes compete for the same gold medal. Companies compete for the same client. Politicians compete for the same votes. Winners enjoy the largest awards, even if it was a small difference in performance. From this advantageous position, the winner can accumulate more advantages that make it easier to win next time. Over time, those that are slightly better end up with the majority of the rewards. If one author gets a best-seller, then publishers will be more interested in their next book.

Winner-Take-All Leads to Winner-Take-Most

Small differences in performance can lead to very unequal distributions. People and organizations that can do the right things more consistently are more likely to maintain a slight edge.&nbsp;You don’t need to be twice as good to get twice the results. You just need to be slightly better. It is the accumulative advantage that drives the 80/20 rule.

The 1 Percent Rule

Sometime in the late 1800s — nobody is quite sure exactly when — a man named Vilfredo Pareto was fussing about in his garden when he made a small but interesting discovery. Now, Pareto was a very…

The 1 Percent Rule: Why a Few People Get Most of the Rewards

<ul><li>Answering a call for advice requires wisdom. It requires the best arguments we can muster because now we’re playing a high-stakes game.</li><li>Perhaps the best part of asking for advice is the way that’ll make the other person feel. When you put your future in somebody else’s hands, it means you both trust them and value their opinion.</li><li>Asking for advice is also a good way to show respect to someone.</li></ul>

“Can I get your advice?”

At my wrestling tournaments as a kid it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he’d work the entire room. He was constantly talking to the parents of the kids I wrestled telling them how impressive their son…

5 Powerful Words That Will Transform Any Conversation You Have

Talent and effort matter for professional success. But what matters more is that the gears of the machine are greased with favouritism. It is about who you know. This situation is not necessarily pessimistic. Building connections is just as important in building a career as the work you do.

Ingredients for career success

Since relationships impact performance, it would not be unfair that some opportunity would come through connections. Technical proficiency is only a small part of success. The other more important aspects are being trustworthy, timely and easy to communicate with. Employing a recommended contractor means that you know better what type of person you'll be hiring.

Relationships impact performance

Networking is not just for the extroverted personality or the natural charm. Many of the best networkers are somewhat introverted. Three core traits can improve your networking skills:<ul><li>Be high value</li><li>Be generous</li><li>Be gregarious</li></ul>

Networking is a skill that can be learned

We have a deep-seated longing to meet and befriend high-value people, such as celebrities. We desire to associate with people perceived to be higher value than ourselves. The biggest step to improve your networking ability, is to be higher value. Some strategies include:<ul><li>Doing interesting things.</li><li>Improving your skills in a demonstrable way. Demonstrate that you are good at something valuable.</li><li>Having other good connections. Simply knowing other high value people can make you a higher value person.</li></ul>

Be high value

Everyone wants to network with people who can help them. However, it's much better to focus on who you can help. Being generous is about anticipating what others might need and reaching out.

Be generous

Be eager and willing to meet new people. Building connections will not happen when you sit at home and hope for someone to reach out to you. Meeting people face-to-face is very valuable, but internet contacts can also be helpful. Being sociable is most useful when you don't need a favour.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Mary Rodriguez
@marro

Does 'dressing for success' still matter?

How Social Entrepreneurship Can Level Up Your Success

Should You Wait To Get A Promotion, Or Make A Lateral Move Inside Your Company?

Life in the Year 3000

The Pandemic Proves That Society Was Wrong About How to Live Life

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Mary Rodriguez@marro

Does 'dressing for success' still matter?

How Social Entrepreneurship Can Level Up Your Success

Should You Wait To Get A Promotion, Or Make A Lateral Move Inside Your Company?

Life in the Year 3000

The Pandemic Proves That Society Was Wrong About How to Live Life

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Mary Rodriguez
@marro