The London Lounge

We have written that the mysterious quality we call Style imbues its possessor with presence. And that this presence has magnetic potential that can positively effect one's interaction with others in many aspects of life.

It seems that business execs are after presence, but are they going about it in the right way? Is it something we can don like make up, wigs and dress? Can theatrical coaches give it to us?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 56032.html

Here is a presence consultant with his wares: http://dartonequation.com/2011/08/13/9- ... -presence/

A friend of mine just went through this kind of corporate presence training and the course was taught by a former London actor and director. He basically taught them Stanislavsky-lite, an introduction to theatre. Each member of the class was assigned a subject and a character they had to assume, and they had to learn how to become the character. They had a lot of laughs, but I am not sure they improved their presence much!

Cheers

Michael

Let's put in for $100s' worth each and get them to send by e-mail attachment! There is some old saying that there isn't any verb 'to teach' and that all a teacher can do is to inspire pupils or students to learn and I think that these inspirational teachers are the greatest teachers. But even they cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
NJS

well one cant deny that the woman in the article looks much better after her "makeover"
but really, she looks like shes laying around the living room on a saturday in the first picture


also the consultant sounds like 90% BS and 10% common sense
of course many dont have that 10%

alden wrote:It seems that business execs are after presence, but are they going about it in the right way? Is it something we can don like make up, wigs and dress? Can theatrical coaches give it to us?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 56032.html

Here is a presence consultant with his wares: http://dartonequation.com/2011/08/13/9- ... -presence/

Hm, sounds like "you may not have the personality & presence you need for success, but you can buy it from us".
Hilarious. Better teach a cow to climb.

cheers, david

Strange that you mention climbing; because our cats climb 10' walls. No stopping them. Ornamental banana and and an acerola tree have got sumpt''n to do with it!
NJS

NJS wrote:Strange that you mention climbing; because our cats climb 10' walls. No stopping them. Ornamental banana and and an acerola tree have got sumpt''n to do with it!
NJS

Dear NJS,

I was saying cows, not cats. We have a saying in Switzerland, when trying the impossible: "get a cow to climb".

cheers, david

I heartily agree with all that has been said above. Two years ago the CEO of Ford testified before congress in a blazer. And I shudder to mention the hideous standard of dress of the CEO of Apple here in the London Lounge. Perhaps these men do little harm to their corporations, but they do not help them. The larger question is whether or not they harm society at large or are merely a reflection of it. Either way, the captains of industry should do their part.
We have lost our sense of occasion and are worse for it. This past summer I attended a baptism, wedding and funeral and was disappointed with the sad state of manners and dress. For many centuries these three events have been set aside in ritual as the most sacred in one's life. We thoughtlessly trivialize them when we treat them as common. The society of men has been reduced when one who dresses and acts as he should, stands out.
As an aside, the theory of learning that you refer to NJS, was posited by Plato in his dialogue,''The Meno". It is most interesting and,I believe,correct.

Rodes, "Hatching, matching and dispatching" are indeed major events in life that require a certain formality in dress and behaviour.

I know many successful businessmen who are, by nature, shy people. As young men, they dabbled in the theatre as a way of improving their confidence, and now they are very effective communicators and negotiators. Their acting background doesn't provide them with a repertoire of phoney identities to "play" in the business sector, but merely allows them to bring useful aspects of their character to the fore, that would otherwise remain hidden. Perhaps style is similar in a way.

I think this "presence coaching" is a little vacuous. One gains authority by achievement and assuming responsibilities, not in classes. Taking on responsibility as a citizen-soldier, a sports coach or a youth group leader will develop far more natural confidence and authority than a few seminars.

Of course anyone with a modicum of sense would present themselves in their best light if they want to climb the corporate ladder. Good dress might suggest that one is astute and clued in from the moment one gets out of bed, and holds his or herself to high standards. I have always thought it a sign of intelligence when women apply just the minimum of makeup, without plastering themselves (as so many do), so that I am attracted to her mental intelligence as well as physical beauty, and therefore, self presentation can be a potent force.

On the other hand, it is a matter of horses for courses and everything is relative. Some businessmen are so focused on their job, to the point of obsession, that they have no regard for anything else, including their clothes. Warren Buffett, e.g., has never been associated with fine clothes or style but who would not want to have been an original shareholder in
Berkshire Hathaway? If you needed brain surgery or a divorce lawyer would you choose from research into who has consistently achieved in his field...or from some Best Dressed List in some coffee table magazine? In certain contexts being well dressed would be a disadvantage. If you were investing in a new high rise building and the Engineer inspecting the concrete foundations arrived in his precious John Lobbs and was fearful of getting them dirty, would you not wonder at his level of commitment to the job in hand?
I feel that there is enough Management Speak and there are enough ridiculous courses wasting valuable resources in both the public and private sector. There is a recession in the world. Someone who is alert, competent and on the ball is not difficult to spot. Does the cream need a training course to rise to the top of the milk?

Rowly wrote:Does the cream need a training course to rise to the top of the milk?

- Dear Rowly,

this is precisely what I meant. I have seen too many business career folks and politicians with poor education, going to such courses in order to "lift" something which was not there anyway. What you get out of it is insecure people in positions they cannot move away from - because their entire identity is defined by that position.

"Executive presence" is nonsense. The true humanum is achieved by coherent personalities who work hard on themselves their entire life, people who are spiritually grounded (I hope this makes sense to the reader) and who have an understanding of life beyond accumulating power or money...

Worth reading: Teilhard de Chardin: "Le Groupe Zoologique Humain"

cheers, david

Too many people are promoted to the level of their own incompetence.
NJS

I wondered when the Peter Principle would surface in this thread!

couch wrote:I wondered when the Peter Principle would surface in this thread!

It is most noticeably true in organizations and institutions which more or less operate a dead man's shoes career structure: you just do your time. Just as they do in gaol.
NJS

I don’t think you can simply don it or have it given to you. If you go to courses like those mentioned in Michael's post and expect that, it’s like going to a restaurant and eating the menu. (As for principles at play, it sounds more like Alice’s Red Queen race than the Peter Principle.) ☺

NJS,

If you allow me to make a slight amendment to your quotation:

"Too many people are promoted beyond the level of their own incompetence."

Cheers,
Luis