Business Casual is the Easiest Way to Get Promoted
June 8, 2009 – 1:23 pm | No Comment

How does one go about getting promoted?  Well, do a good job first.  Second, get noticed.  What’s the easiest way to get noticed?  Stand out.
Anytime you start a new career or job, meet someone for …

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Business Casual is the Easiest Way to Get Promoted
June 8, 2009 – 1:23 pm | No Comment

Dana Richardson, Wear A Suit

How does one go about getting promoted?  Well, do a good job first.  Second, get noticed.  What’s the easiest way to get noticed?  Stand out.

Anytime you start a new career or job, meet someone for the first time etc., rock a very nice looking suit. It’s an easy win and easy to pull off.  (My latest job had a 6month probation window, I wore suits everyday, my coworkers wore polo’s and khakis.  Guess who stood out more and became more highly visible?  Well, they might not have known my name, but they all knew the ’suit guy.’ )

Also, all outside-of-work social events I attend I wear suits.  I’m usually over-dressed, but people note that, and as long as you let your personality shine through, they’re not going to be intimidated or dwell on pre-conceived thoughts of you.

Where Do Suits Come From?

Getting a suit is easy.  You can start off at the inexpensive side by getting the ’suit separates’ at JC Penny for about $140 total.  Then, upgrade to Men’s Wearhouse so on and so forth all the way to Brioni.  (If you’re lucky.)

Dana Richardson's suit example.  In my humble opinion, it’s never the price paid for the suit, it’s how the person wears it, and how they combine the shirt & tie.

Mafia or Snobby Country Club Guy?

Start with a black suit, it’s the easiest thing to work with.  Search google or watch some Hollywood award shows on how to match shirts with ties.  Watch mob movies.  You want to look slick and put together, not snobby and boring.

It’s actually quite easy.

Dana Richardson's Black Business Suit SuggestionsHere’s how I started

  1. Black Suit, Burgandy Shit, Silver Tie.
  2. Black Suit, Light blue shirt, Purple Tie.
  3. Black Suit, Charcoal Shirt, Platinum Tie.
  4. Black Suit, White Shirt, Pink Tie.  (See website photo haha.)
  5. Black Suit, Blue Shirt, Yellow Tie.

From then I acquired several pin stripe suits, in addition to several different dark, to grey, to tan suits.  I wear them frequently, and you can bet people noticed.

Damn You Macgyver! (The ’solutions’ guy curse.)
March 30, 2009 – 8:33 am | No Comment
Damn You Macgyver!  (The ’solutions’ guy curse.)

 A very important step to success in life is the ability to say ‘No.’  ‘No I will not help you with that,’ ‘No we shouldn’t do it that way,’ ‘No you can’t HAZ CHEEZBURGER.’
 Turning people …

The Skindle.
March 23, 2009 – 11:36 am | 3 Comments
The Skindle.

I’m plain sick of hearing about the Amazon Kindle.  I like the idea, but it annoys me to hear everyone babble about how innovative it is.  It’s a stinkin’ E-book reader, which is older technology …

Your Budget Sucks – What You Forgot.
March 13, 2009 – 11:21 am | One Comment
Your Budget Sucks – What You Forgot.

A humor mentor of mine, John Kinde spoke a few words at my Toastmasters meeting last night.  He touched upon various things one could do to improve themselves.  Many involved stepping outside your personal comfort …

Neil Strauss Emergency Book Review
March 13, 2009 – 11:10 am | 3 Comments
Neil Strauss Emergency Book Review

Executive Summary
Got the book Wednesday afternoon, had it finished by Thursday night.  I don’t normally put down 400+ pages in a day and a half however, this book was absolutely amazing.
Detailed Summary
First half of …

Celebrate Car Thefts
February 18, 2009 – 2:37 pm | One Comment
Celebrate Car Thefts

My buddy’s Escalade got broken into yesterday.  The assailant drilled a tiny hole into his driver door, which must have popped the lock.
Another buddy’s Acura has almost been stolen 3 times now… I say almost …

Book Outline Wiki and WikiSummaries
December 31, 2008 – 8:47 am | No Comment

Just came across these two sites - 
One is called WikiSummaries, the other Book Outline Wiki.  Think of them as the Wikipedia of Barnes n Noble, giant sites of ‘cliff notes.’  Tons of really great, interesting books summarized …