Subject: Re: Idiosyncratic Business Practices



> What about the business world would be different if tomorrow, by some
> stroke of magic, every single person out there *stopped* wearing them?)
> [suits & ties]


parable time.. 

a guy traveling in Ireland stopped in a pub for the evening, where a
harper happened to be playing and singing.   the music was beautiful,
so he bought the harper a drink after the set was over.   somewhere in
the conversation, he asked, "Ireland has so many genius musicians, how
long would it take to replace them if they all dropped dead
overnight?".   the harper said, "about six months.   there are people
who can't or don't play now, but who wouldn't want to live without 
music."



if you take away something that serves a purpose, people will replace
it with something else.   the 'official' wardrobe of business is a
cultural idiosyncrasy of the white-collar community, inherited (along
with the name) from conspicuous consumption practices in Victorian
times.   white linen collars had a very short effective lifespan, so
only those wealthy enough could afford them.   they were also very
fragile in wear, and especially vulnerable to sweat, so they became a
sign of an individual who earned a whole lot of money without having
to resort to physical labor.

today's business dress code gives business people a way to spot
insiders, and gives them a rough idea of pecking order.   take away
the mechanism, and others will be used to keep the general practice
running.   there's already some migration to technological accessories
like cel phones and PDAs.

on this list, we expect someone to be willing to show a portfolio, or
at least be able to demonstrate their ability at what they do.   there
are also taboos against pushing flash over content without a damn good
excuse, and any failure to consider good user-interface practices.   a
certain minimum knowledge of intellectual property law is also fast
becoming part of the minimum stake.

the 'hacker' community is largely a meritocracy, but just watch the
holy wars erupt when someone writes code using the 'wrong' indent
structure:

    function (arg1, arg2) {
        while (condition) {
            do_stuff();
        }
    }

versus:

    function (arg1, arg2) 
    {
        while (condition) 
        {
            do_stuff();
        }
    }


for instance.


conformance to an arbitrary standard is a sign of common mindset,
which results in an effect called 'syntony'.   that's a precursor to
friendship, and is also crucial in gelling a team.   whatever other
differences there are among the players, there's a home base of
commonality.


if you want to buck the system, you have to be able to replace the
artifacts it supports by deafult with others which fit a larger
cultural pattern.   that's how i can get away with dressing like a
street person in an otherwise corporate environment.   my entire
wardrobe costs less than anyone else's tie, but i carry a Palm III
which i can synch to my laptop through the IR port.   anyone who wants
to challenge me on clothes has to be able to beat me on techno-toys
first.   next on the buy list is a Nokia PDA-phone, which can also be
synched to a Palm, if you know how.

i also get a certain amount of grace because i'm not a businessman,
i'm a programmer.   my life tends to be easier if i fall into the
archetype of the 'hired gun' rather than trying to pass as another
'wealthy land-owner'.   land-owners want their paid assasins to *look*
like paid assasins, so a certain difference of appearance is expected,
and accepted.

my own look happens to be based on the neo-tribal tech genre.. all
black clothing, ponytail, combat boots, habitually unshaved.. the only
thing keeping me from having one side of my face tattooed is the fact
that it would keep me from donating platelets for about a year.   it's
just as thoroughly considered as the cut and color of a corporate
lawyer's trial suit, though.   only the details have changed.

if i did go ahead and get the tattoo, it would give me a considerable
amount of additional flexibility in wardrobe.   i could even go back
to wearing suits.  ;-)


mike 
(did most of a degree in performance theory, and spent a *lot* of time
talking to costume designers)