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Business Makeovers:
Start with Your Looks

By Tracy Olmstead Williams
Olmstead Williams Communications

Broads Circle (“Driving Revenue and Growing Capital for Women”) brought more than 100 senior-level executives together July 22 for an event titled “When Your Looks Can Make You a Million.”  The focus was appearance and its effect on success in business.  According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, “thin slicing” – that all-important first impression of a person based on clothing, attitude and confidence – can take seven more meetings to undo if the initial presentation is unfavorable.

To examine the elements of a successful “look” in the business environment, Broads Circle convened experts in dermatology, hair, makeup and fashion at the UCLA Faculty Center.  Among the findings was that so-called power dressing is more than a great suit and tie – skin care is essential, hair makes an important difference and the ability to efficiently transition between breakfast, luncheon and evening events requires a focused investment in wardrobe.

The event was timed to the July 19 release of the Newsweek poll “How Much Is Beauty Worth at Work?” which surveyed hiring managers about the role of appearance in the workplace.  According to Newsweek, 57 percent of managers said a qualified job candidate will face an obstacle to employment if considered “unattractive”; 68 percent reported that, once hired, looks continue to affect the way they rate job performance.  Of nine character attributes in the survey, the value of looks placed third in importance - after experience and confidence, but more significant than a candidate’s education or sense of humor.

According to the Broads Circle expert panel, whatever women think they are spending on their physical appearance in business, it’s probably not enough. We think our designer suits and trips to the hair salon add up, but given the importance of the impression we make, we should be spending more.  Men are perceived as confident and competent by the initial assessment of many fewer variables than women, who traditionally are expected to dress with invention and self-knowledge.  Women also typically fulfill more roles than men, and must transition confidently between personas.  The panelists analyzed strategies and budgets toward Newsweek’s implication that women in the marketplace are well advised to rate appearance equally with a perfected resume.

The savvy professionals of Broads Circle no doubt all have their own opinions on that, but they sat in rapt attention in search of tips and insights, agreeing and disagreeing with the changes wrought on three members chosen for demonstration makeovers.

Ok, I admit I was one of the “makeovers.”  In the course of two weeks I learned a great deal about new techniques of dermatology, how to cleverly change your look from the Boardroom to today’s 2010 black tie affair (hint: ball gowns are not required for business leaders), why the curve of the neck is critical to the art of hair cutting and just what a makeup expert can do with a palette and a brush.

It was educational and fun.  But if Newsweek calls, I’m still me.

Tracy Olmstead Williams is president and CEO of Olmstead Williams Communications, a full service business-to-business public relations agency located in Los Angeles, California.

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When Your Looks Can Make You a Million
By Dana Hollinger, JD, The Hollinger Group

The following post includes comments from Dana, an event producer and moderator for the July 22 event,
“When Your Looks Can Make You a Million.”

We got here because of drive, determination, education and intelligence. As kids, many of us grew up in an era of the “Natural Woman” - bra burning, no makeup, female heroes like Carol King, Joan Baez and Janis Joplin… all women who made it on their raw talent and typically shunned convention and making an effort to enhance their physical appearance.

Enter 2010 - now the female music artists are not only talented, but they are made up to look gorgeous: Beyonce, Christina Aguilerra, Carrie Underwood and Rihanna, to name a few. Why? Because their Personal Brand is big business and translates into a greater return on their investment. That investment is in themselves and how they look. 

Recognize that if you are going to shun convention and choose not to maximize your physical appearance potential, you may risk some profitability. So, are you maximizing the return on your investment? 

People judge us in the first 90 seconds, 95% by how we look - less than 5% of that time is devoted to the content of what we say. Our image is sending a strong message. Have you thought about your message?

Malcolm Gladwell in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking talks about “Thin Slicing” our ability to gauge what’s really important from a very narrow piece of experience; an idea that spontaneous decisions are often as good - or even better than - carefully planned and considered ones. We use limited information to come to conclusions. We are in an age of information overload: enter speed dating…

So if we are going to be judged in a blink, and most of that blink is devoted to our appearance, how we look is the “snap shot”. To close that million dollar deal, think about looking like someone who has the wherewithal to be the best in the million dollar arena.  Remember… perception is reality.

Dana Hollinger, JD
Life Insurance Advisor
The Dana Hollinger Group
dana@danahollinger.com

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Women on Corporate Boards
By Darya Allen-Attar

When you think about someone who serves on a corporate board, you don’t generally think of a woman. The research shows that there are indeed very few women who serve on corporate boards.

Organizations like Catalyst and Harvard have published studies with a focus on statistics and details by type of company and a comparison of geographic differences. To put it mildly, the news is not uplifting. The percent of women corporate board members to total board members is in the single digits. In fact, the news is so depressing that these esteemed organizations have decided to find a way out, or a positive approach to tackling this problem.

Harvard, for example, has done research that shows that corporations with women board members can excel because women think differently than men and can add to enterprise value. Catalyst explores appealing to men to focus on bringing women onto boards. Yet another esteemed organization, The Global Economic Forum, studies how companies with women board members perform better in various ways compared to companies with no women board members.

Read more...

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Expect to Win
By Darya Allen-Attar

The cover of the January 4, 2010 issue of The Economist states that women are now more than half of the global work force. At Broads Circle, our measure of success for women is not how many, but how much. Our passion is Driving Capital and Growing Revenue for women. So, we are looking for a world where there is parity on the revenue and capital fronts. Our point of view is that the structural impediments to women’s advancement on the money and power front are largely behind us, and the way to equity involves behavioral and social advancement. Our goal is to inspire and create a path for driving revenue and growing capital for women in Los Angeles by bringing together successful women to network, and providing exposure to speakers who have achieved to inspire.

We want to see women expect to win. I recently read successful Wall Street executive Carla Harris’ little book, Expect to Win: Proven Strategies for Success from a Wall Street Vet. “Most people don't realize that they are responsible for actively and aggressively managing their careers", says Carla. In her book, she suggests that thinking like a winner means following five principles:

1. Identify the winning goal and devise a strategy to achieve
2. Be fearless in taking on a challenge
3. Don’t fear the outcome
4. Realize that you will not win alone; a winner does not win alone,
     but rather as part of an interdependent group
5. A winner is the best at their skills, and expects to be the positive outlier

A winner is never in a position where they feel that they are a rider on the bus, while the driver determines the destination. The most important message that Carla Harris talks about in her smart little book is the one of being a master of your own destiny, and conveying that in all that you do. She says to have an agenda, and be captain of your own ship, the architect of your own agenda for success. Instead of letting someone else be in charge of your life, the book provides you with the necessary tools to become your own career coach.

Her pearls of wisdom empowered and inspired me, and gave me the kick that I needed to start off the New Year. Here is some great advice from Carla:

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