Change: How Will You Get Noticed in 2010?

My wife considers me “Metrosexual”; I won’t define it but you can look it up at Wikipedia. I am no longer as concerned about my appearance as I used to be(okay maybe a little), primarily because I live in Central Oregon (being athletically fit is more of a concern here), have four children and have now been married to my beautiful wife for 13 years! However, in the last few months, I have decided to engage in a little experiment. I have been making a few changes to my fashion and appearance without going “over-the-top”, all the while keeping tabs on how my family, friends and acquaintances react or do not react. Keep in mind that in the last four years I have maintained a fairly simple approach to my wardrobe; however, with a little bit of flair that is not always within what is considered normal in Central Oregon, thus... metrosexual.

The changes I made were to wear a scarf more regularly, a hat that is not of the baseball variety (duckbill), ankle boots that would not be considered formal in metropolitan cities, and a hairdo that is not my typical style. I, of course, wore these at varying times in different combinations, and never all at one time, so as to minimize the “make-over” impression. Needless to say the reactions were plentiful.

The most interesting observation I made were the repeated comments to the changes. Even after two to three weeks into the change, my circle of family, friends, and acquaintances continued to comment. The hat of course was probably the most popular, garnering the most comments, while my wearing the scarf and changing my hairdo were not far behind. The shoes certainly made an impression but were not nearly as successful in soliciting praises as the previous three. I could go into detail into each one, but the take-away from the story is that change gets attention. No matter how minor the change, your audience takes notice.

Integrate an element of change into your business in 2010 and get noticed.