The Mermaid and the fish bowl

Hello High Heelers

I call my boss, Natalie Maroun’s, office the fish bowl. This is partly because it includes a glass square wall that is transparent (much like a fish tank) and partly because we’ve secretly named Natalie ‘The Mermaid’. On the mermaid side, this name comes from a few things. Firstly, the fact that Natalie’s image is inked on our company’s ‘past story’ cartoon and it really resembles this legendary being, secondly because she attended last year’s Top Women Awards in an amazing black sparkling mermaid dress and lastly because she is a rather mythical, mysterious woman with long dark hair and perfect proportions. Basically, if mermaids walked, they’d look like Natalie Maroun.

Anyway… I digress with all these fishy details (pardon the pun!) The tale that I’m trying to tell is about a meeting I recently witnessed in the fish bowl. Natalie had a visitor meet with her – in full view of moi (the biggest voyeur in the office). It was quite a sight to see Natalie in ‘action.’ If the visitor had been a cat we would have heard him purring from outside. He was completely engrossed in what she was selling. And quite frankly, I think she could have been selling air at $100 per breath!

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Yeah, right! How often do you pick a DVD with a bland cover, or a shelf product with an ugly box? You know, people really do buy the packaging. They don’t just buy the actual product. In my world (and probably in yours too) the clothes, the make-up, the hair and the pristine, elegant office all count towards the sale. Natalie’s presentation of herself and the company make others trust that if she can be so impressive in her world, she can be just as impressive (if not more) in theirs.

A recent article in The Star newspaper detailed a study funded by Procter & Gamble in association with top U.S. universities which showed that the test group rated women wearing more make-up as more competent and more beautiful than women wearing little or no make-up. So there you go! Do you need any further justification to grab your red lipstick and coat your lovely lashes? I don’t think so.

A question I get asked frequently is ‘isn’t it superficial to be focussed on the look of everything?’ It’s a good question really. Because the truth is that what’s inside the package really does count the most. After you’ve opened that great looking book, you want to read an entertaining narrative and after you hired that impressive looking consulting team you need them to positively impact your team.

What I’m suggesting here is not that you place more impact on the package, but that you ensure that the package is a true reflection of the contents. Show yourself to the world in a way that you would like them to see you on the inside. But never over promise and under deliver. Always look competent and be competent. Remember that, as cliché as it sounds, first impressions really do last.

So dress to impress and dress for success. Pull on those heels and stand tall this week. Have a great one!

Cheers,
Jo