The Secret Dress Code

There are many unwritten rules inside an organization, but there is one at CGI that we constantly remind our members of.

Thou shall dress like the manager at the client site.

It means that if the manager wears a suit and tie, you must be dress in a suit and tie. Even if lower-ranking employees wear dirty jeans and sneakers, you must dress in a suit if the manager wears one.

I’ve been heavily criticized for this rule. Some members with little education on personal finance and money management claim something along of line of How can I dress like a manager doing $200 000 base salary plus $75 000 in bonus when I only make $35 000 with a $780 bonus?

Here’s a few ideas for clueless members. For one thing, a manager raking a quarter million dollar a year doesn’t mean he wears expensive clothing. You’d be surprised how many individuals favor cheap polyester shirts and bought most of their ties at a thrift store in 1982 (now closed). Sure, the manager is loaded and you feel frustrated that his level of competence is not in line with his salary package, but you have to focus on yourself.

So if the manager wears a cheap suit, you should wear a cheap suit yourself. Never overdress though. Ask for advice so that your clothes color do not clash with your client’s favorites ones. He enjoys beige and brown? Never wear a red or gold-colored tie, the client will feel inferior and castrated. He favors highly flammable fabrics that are now verboten for public safety? Check eBay for vintage clothes that were popular when Eric Estrada was at the top of his game. You should blend in like a chameleon.

If the manager looks like a hobo and sips from a bottle in a paper bag, wait a few days as he should be replaced by someone else. If the next one also looks like a hobo, it sends the signal that depravity is part of the organizational culture. So take a visual cue from the guys playing trombone at Place Ville-Marie and enjoy the world of ripped clothing for the duration of the project. What can I say, business is business.

If you client enjoys the good life and wears expensive stuff, like off-the-scale, do yourself a favor and go talk to Mario at Harry Rosen. He’ll get you a nice suit that will speak for you without having to milk your RESP account, you will be so well dressed that your deliverables will get a speedy approval. Sure, it’s more expensive than the stuff at Sears, but brown bag a sandwich for a few years and the suit will pay itself just like magic.

What if the manager is a woman? Do guys need to wear pantyhose?

Absolutely. And if the manager has a kinky fetish and she wants all her contractors to wear lingerie, you must take all necessary steps to make her happy so that our business relation is not impacted. Profitable growth will ensue.