Monday, 28 June 2010
I thought this is worth a share. An article from StraitsTimes.'THE apparel oft proclaims the man,' Shakespeare once wrote, paraphrasing the old Latin proverb vestis virum facit - clothes maketh the man. And to this, Mark Twain cheekily appended: 'Naked people have little or no influence on society.'
But despite this well-known adage, once employees have been on the job long enough, many start getting lazy, tending to throw on whatever is available in the morning and turn up for work. But consultants say that is definitely not acceptable.
Ms Denise Ng, president of the Association of Image Consultants International, South Asia-Singapore Chapter, said: 'A well-dressed person gives the right message about his or her attitude, aptitude and personal qualities.'
However, dress codes vary between industries.
'Power dressing plays a more important role in industries where a high level of trust is required, such as in banking, because it gives cues about your level of success and authority, background, ability, status and position,' she said.
For Mrs Stefanie Yuen Thio, joint managing director of TSMP Law Corporation, dressing for work is 'not about expressing your particular style or personality', but about being 'properly attired to do the best job you can for your client'.
'If you look at the top legal professionals in Singapore, they are almost unfailingly attired in well-cut and pressed suits. They will be well-coiffed,' she said.
But even if you spend your entire workday in a cubicle glued to the computer screen and seldom have external meetings, keeping up appearances is important.
Singapore Management University Associate Professor of Psychology Norman Li said: 'When you meet clients, you represent your company. When you don't meet clients, you represent yourself. Thus when your higher-ups see you, it may be good to keep up appearances.'
Added Mrs Yuen Thio: 'It is impossible to predict who will walk through the door on any given day. The dress code isn't negotiable.'
However, said Prof Li: 'If everyone else observes a casual dress code, you may elicit negative feelings from co-workers if you insist on overdressing.'
For those who find the morning routine of deciding what to wear a daily nightmare, Prof Li has some advice.
'First, find out what the local norms are and observe those norms. Assess how dressed up or down most of the other people are, and pay special attention to what the most successful people are wearing.
'Second, you don't have to have the most expensive and dressy outfits, but make sure your clothes are neat and clean,' he said.
For women, there is also the thorny issue of choosing appropriate footwear.
Said Ms Jill Lowe, founder of image consultancy Jill Lowe International: 'The heavier and thicker the heels, the more stable the authority. Thick heels are associated with hard work, while thin heels are associated with leisure.
'Open-toed shoes are often mismatched. When in a formal situation, or when diplomatic or business deals are being discussed, the toes should be sealed.'
Added Mrs Yuen Thio: 'I generally advise women to draw the line at mules, dominatrix shoes and anything that would make style waves in a Sex And The City movie.'
For men, dark-coloured trousers and bright shirts in the workplace should be the norm.
'The darker the colour of trousers, the more authority you have,' said Ms Lowe. 'If you look at James Bond, he likes to wear a dark shirt with white pants - that is more socially playful. People who go clubbing seldom wear white shirts.'
It all comes down to a man's tie, she added: 'Lighter ties are for more social situations. For example, dark ties should be worn at board meetings, but if you are meeting business friends, you can choose medium shades like red or yellow.'
However, cautioned Mrs Yuen Thio: 'Pairing a dark jacket over a random pair of dark-coloured trousers doesn't make it a suit.'
Even spectacles can play a part in projecting the right corporate image, Ms Lowe said. 'The darker and bigger the frame, the more business-oriented you will look. It is important that the top of your spectacles be parallel with the shape of your eyebrows.
'Talent always involves substance and style. Substance sells, but style up-sells.'
Composed at 11:17 am | link |
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Sitting at Starbucks here alone with a cuppa coffee, iphone and lappie... Peaceful.Although the people here are chatting loudly and laughing uncontrollably.
It's like, peace in my own world. Engrossed in doing my own stuffs, regardless of Kpo-er's stares or comments. I kinda like it. When i have nothing to do, esp when i am alone, i daydream. After daydreaming, i reflect and often enough, i learn quite a handful of stuffs from those reflections.
Now, the ladies from the next table kept smoking and I kept inhaling their second-hand smoke. Almost went to the 7-11 nearby to grab a pack of ciggies on impulse, but i refrained from doing so. I told myself, no smoking unless socializing or drinking. My ultimate motive to quit smoking is one, to save money and two, for health's sake. Although there are Pros in smoking too, but after weighing the Pros and Cons, the Cons weighed so much heavier. Glad that I can turn myself into a social smoker now.
Smoking with those big bosses occasionally esp during networking lunch/dinner and not smoking habitually daily. Seriously, after experiencing the life of a habitual smoker, I didnt regret picking up smoking. I would say that my life wouldn't be the same as now if i wasn't a smoker in the first place. My circle of friends, my points of contact and network had grown a lot bigger and I've came to a conclusion where, Smokers are usually More friendly and more approachable than non-smokers. haha!
Anyway, i have managed to quit lah. I smoke only when i drink or to socialize. It really is a good ice-breaker. Thats how i managed to know a lot of people in the company too. lolx.
Composed at 10:08 pm | link |
Thursday, 17 June 2010
I had a puny fight with ahBlack yesterday.80% of the fights are usually initiated by tone of words/speech and the remaining 20% are usually by what the reader interpreted or misinterpreted. I don’t deny that I was a tad grouchy yesterday and his insensitive remarks just didn’t come at the right time.
I told him directly that he was being irritating and he continued being so. Almost wanted to go up one level (we are working in the same building) and knock his head. I feel that one should look at the objective of the sentence and not 断章取义 + 扭曲 what one has said. 先入为主 sucks too. Instead of getting the full picture first, people these days just love to judge by the cover huh? Just like a handful of Stompers I saw on Stomp recently.
Example:
Picture = A pregnant lady standing by the door and stomper claimed that inconsiderate teenagers didn’t give up seat.
Facts: Teenagers did offer the seat but pregnant lady declined because her destination was only 2 stations away. Stomper saw and ASSUMED the teenagers were inconsiderate hence the post on Stomp. Other Stompers saw the picture and began a series of beating + cursing session on the teens.
Seriously aren’t these people one-dimensional? We are mostly EDUCATED, but morally wise, we suck big time.
Anyway, I was glad that being adults and close friends, we ironed it out and apologized to each other. He apologized for his insensitive remarks and I was sorry for being too harsh in my reply to him. Thereafter, he posted this on his FB: “Accept, Forgive and Forget”. I like SAM’s reply; you forgive but never forget.
Forget means to forget the incident.
Never forget means not to forget the lesson learned. This is the example he gave:
You put your hand into a dog’s mouth and the dog bites. After the incident, you accept that it had happened and forgive the dog; you forget the negative incident but never forget the lesson learned. That is, never put your hand into the dog’s mouth again.
Every ugly incident makes us wiser through the reflection on past encountered experience. It is always the Reflection that is the teacher; not the Experience itself.
One can experience it, but can never learn from it by one’s impaired reflection.
Composed at 11:07 am | link |
Sunday, 13 June 2010
4 years ago, we had a gathering at Great World on the day of opening of World Cup 2006. We had so much fun together (we always had anyway) and this time, how can we miss it???!Looking at this picture, i am hungry for spicy drumlets and KFC again. Shit.
Composed at 11:56 pm | link |