It was so easy to dress for business 20 years ago. I just wore a suit and tie. Today… not so easy.
In the same week last May I made two separate trips to see two different clients for the first time. Both companies were security integrators that were similar in many ways. I wore a suit and tie for the first trip, and they were mostly wearing jeans and logo shirts. Their whole group had a lot of fun with me – I think everyone in the company found some way to poke fun of me. So, on my next trip later in the week I was a little more casual – slacks, blazer, and open collar. You guessed it – they wore suits and ties. These folks didn’t say anything and tried to make me feel comfortable.
Which one do you think embarrassed me more?
Yep, the second one. Even though I was poked fun of in the first meeting, I felt fine being overdressed. However, being underdressed made me feel a little ashamed.
Most advice from the 1950s is outdated, but not this one: if you make a mistake, be sure to overdress rather than underdress.
