On uniforms
Let me assert for a moment that marketing is about storytelling (hence the Liars book). If you’re telling a story, though, that means that in some sense you’re an actor. Not that you’re con artist or doing something fraudulent… far from it. But that you’re an actor in that you are using emotion and amplification of ideas to make your point in a limited amount of time.
Actors do better when they wear costumes.
And at work, a costume is called a uniform.
Would a cop be as effective at keeping the peace if she was wearing jeans and flip flops? What about a surgeon in a bathrobe? Sure, they need to wear something in the operating room, but don’t try to persuade me that scrubs are just for utlity. It makes you more confident to know that they’re dressing special in order to cut you open.
So, fast food places are pretty good at getting people to wear uniforms, but what about where you work? Why don’t accountants or web designers or direct marketers wear uniforms to meetings? Not the bland invisible suit/dockers/gap uniform, but a real uniform?
For my new secret project, we’re going to buy uniforms from Crooked Brook. Hey, even if you don’t want to spring for the embroidery, you might want to try to get over your social weirdness uncomfotable about wearing a uniform to work mojo and give it a try.