A rather illuminating rant on the state of tie-wearing ensues over at the UK’s guardian. Apparently, the number of professional men wearing ties has dropped 14% over the last 10 years to 56%. This still seems too high to me. If get a vote on the topic, I say die tie, die. All ties. No exceptions.
I once had a job where I had to wear a tie. I felt as if, at any moment, someone might walk over to me, grab said tie and lead me around the office by it. Like the reins for a horse. Not to mention the airflow restricting qualities. In fact, according to this wikipedia history of the tie, there are other health related reasons to abandon the tie including “entanglement, infection, and vascular constriction.”
Don’t get me wrong, I respect that there are certain situations in which the formality of a tie is appropriate. I’m thinking of weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, deal closings. crucial client meetings and other such instances. Where the show of respect conveyed by the formality is important. But as a regular, day in, day out kind of thing – the impracticality of an otherwise purposeless slip of colorful fabric seems quite silly. To my mind, it adds to the perception that how you look is more important that what you do. Rubbish.
What’s the consensus, do ties still have a place in the workplace? Can anyone make the argument FOR ties?
September 13th, 2006 at 7:28 pm
Hi Max,
Your entry cracks me up. I remember when I moved back to Boston from the Bay Area in 1999, how shocked I was to see women dressed in IBM Blues and men wearing ties in the Financial District and Beacon Hill.
Given my bicoastal life style, I often see people as the “ties” and the “not ties” or the “suits” from the ‘not suits.” (some women wear suits).
A few years later as some of the top law firms began to close followed by 9/11 total of 155,000 lost jobs that Massachusetts never recovered…
A group of young high energy from California eclectic came to visit a Boston based VC law firm. I remember an report in the Boston Globe that said this California gang of innovators out on meeting after 20 minutes and returned to the airport. They men in suits and ties did not relate.
I wonder what that says about productivity, the local economy and if the tie or suit is a statement of innovation and people who love their work?
Anyone care to comment?
September 14th, 2006 at 8:32 am
Ties are going the way of the double-breasted jacket. Just look at magazine covers with influential people–everyone from Bill Clinton to Bill Gates appears sans tie.
I’m not sure, but I think that this is part of a vast image consultant conspiracy–because basically people who have worn ties in the past were liars–particularly sales people and politicians. Going without a tie says, “Hey, I’m just like you–I expose the top two inches of my neckline too. You can trust me.”
September 14th, 2006 at 9:27 am
Max,
I agree with you on this. The sooner the tie goes, the better. It is an archaic, symbol-ridden form of attire.
Since I set up on my own as an independent consultant, I have eschewed the wearing of a tie to no ill effect on my business. In fact, I have only worn a tie once this year for business purposes – and that was for an introduction to a Chief Executive.
Shane
September 14th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
Given the associated health issues, they should just change the name to “decorative noose†already.
Siebel was an anomaly in high tech, and I never understood his obsession with formal dress. While I was unemployed I refused to even apply for a job there specifically because of the dress code. Heels and stockings have the same place in my heart as ties do for a lot of men.
September 14th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
First of all, for the record, it’s ridiculous that I’m the one coming to the defense of ties. Second of all, I knew Max back in the day when he wore suits to work. We’d meet for lunch, and he’d show up in a suit. I’ll have you know that this site’s blogmaster is a rather dapper fellow. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I saw Max going to work untucked in a button down. He might have had naked toes. Not very dapper. Perhaps it’s a coast thing, but there is a je nes se qua (whoa sp!) about a suited work environment. Not one where everyone goes by Mr. or Mrs., or where people never laugh, but one where people show up to work in a respectful manner. And perhaps respect gets to the heart of my defense of the tie. Associate other circumstances where you would wear a tie (you left coasters notwithstanding), now do the same with the untucked button down. To the extent that dress is correllated with respect (and perhaps that is subject to debate), with which group would you rather associate work?
September 15th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
These posting today have been the best! Humor and lively conversation makes me listen!!!
So now what?
Eric, you said, “dress is correlated with respect (and perhaps that is subject to debate)..
I think the real question is how do you build respect at work and therefore trust? (Isn’t this basic to measuring performance and rewarding it?)
As of late, I have been working with my clients on “what is trust?”
I find more and more people tired of the mechanical nature of the technically dominated (any industry) workplace. And more and more interested to learn what comprises a sound approach to social networking in the workplace that wins respect builds respect through work effectiveness with others and the wider reach of people in your daily sphere of work that cuts across organization boundaries where the exchange of knowledge between people builds reputation and results?
For more on Social Network Analysis go to
http://www.workecology.com/redesign2/resources.html
and scroll down to the section on THEORY and PRACTICE. Read anything associated with the competencies related to Social Network Analysis and Portfolio Work or just enjoy all the resources on that page.
It’s amazing what you find out when you use the word RESPECT. Rodney Dangerfield, the comic who could not get enough RESPECT invented a career of comical humor talking about what is respect.
In companies that chose to work with organizational learning—it is always remarkable what happens when you examine the hidden assumptions behind the word “respect.”
I hope others will speak up in this virtual hangout. I believe that the community of people reading here…. have a lot to offer each other given why they read and write here. It would be great to see more participation here through out all the various topics and entries. I think we have a lot to learn from each other on how to use of these tools impacts high performance and innovation.
I regret that I was unable to attend the SF conference last spring and meet some of you.
November 17th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
It’s interesting that nobody views this as a fashion issue.
For years, the tie was the main way for a man to express taste and individual choice in otherwise bland business dress.
I know, now you can do that in the selection of shirt or sweater, jacket, etc. But to me, there’s something special about the right combination of jacket, shirt, and tie that has a bit of personal art to it that is otherwise harder to achieve.
I rarely wear a tie any more, but have started collecting them again, kind of looking forward to occasions when I need to wear one (to go to court, most often).