Face Value

I remember one of my former Director of Education was very particular about our shoes.He was a fanatic for leather shoes and we saw that his shoes were always shiny and clean>He used to tell us "The key to a man's personality lies in his shoes".To a certain extent face value is important.How do you present yourself and how do others see you are important criteria for your personality measurement. When I was young I had only two sets of clothes for school and one or two after school clothes but as I went on to work I made sure I was smartly dressed for no other reason than to look presentable and to give yourself the self confidence you need to face the world.As a teacher we stood in front of our students and I'm sure they would have looked at us from head to toe.I met an old boy of mine recently and he told me "Sir,you were always smartly dressed and we remember your perfume !!"Presenting the right image is important especially if your work involves customer service and meeting people.People are always critical and judgemental and like to form opinions about you when they meet you.Looking at the clothes you wear ,your shoes,your hair ,down to your nails and the way you match your clothes tend to make them form opinion about you. trying to be simple to the extent that you look like a hobo is overdoing it a bit to say the least>You may be successful but if you dont present an image expected of you then it may seem that you lose out. The Emperors of China take a lot of trouble to be presentable and they also insisted that all their top ranking officials be presentable too so that the people as well as visitors are awed by their mere presence.When you see someone wearing JL tee shirts ,or Dunhill shirts with Bally belts and Boss pants you cant help but feel that this guy got some class.Of course CLASS does not just come with the clothes you wear,it comes together with the way you carry yourself,your etiquette ,manners and general behaviour.But there is no doubt that looking good helps you to do a lot of things.That is why some companies insist that their top men or women follow a certain dress code when they go out or uniforms on certain days of the week. One has be sensitive about one's status and present oneself accordingly.If you are for example holding a senior post in an organisation you should present yourself becoming of the status of your position and also that of your company. Asians generally look at things on the surface .That is why our leaders and top officials make it a point to be presentable all the time though they may be rotten inside.