CHAPTER 8
STATUS
THE POWER OF SYMBOLS

The world more often rewards the appearances of merit than merit itself.

—FRANÇOIS DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD

Image Consultancy for Consultants

You can become a management consultant right after elementary school—even if you didn’t graduate. In contrast to auditors, doctors, or lawyers, consultants don’t need any formal training. Specialized knowledge plays practically no role in their services—not the ideal condition to be taken seriously and justify high fees. To avoid this impression, the “world’s newest profession,” as Oxford researcher Chris McKenna refers to management consulting, has deliberately copied the language and symbols of other professions that already have a high status.¹ From the outset, these consultants appeared as “Doctors of Management,” describing their activities through medical analogies. By doing so, they added a coating of scientific character to their “expert knowledge” and assured their clients that they would act conscientiously and discreetly, just like an actual doctor.

However, Marvin Bower, a lawyer and the long-standing head of McKinsey & Company, felt that this analogy, and the accompanying portrayal of his clients as “sick enterprises,” had a negative ring. So when he became the company’s managing director in 1950, he drew parallels between his profession and other fields: the scientific excellence of engineers, the numerical accuracy of economists, and—most importantly—the high status of lawyers. He thought this elevated status would create a perception of professional qualification, which would in turn justify astronomical fees and also grant access to the highest levels of companies’ hierarchies. McKinsey praised itself at the time: “We serve business concerns on management problems in much the same way that the larger law firms serve them on legal problems.” Bower’s strategy worked, and McKinsey’s success radiated out to the whole profession—consultants today enjoy a stature similar to lawyers.

Status is not an invention of business and not even of civilization, but it is deeply rooted in nature. Just think of chickens and their “pecking order.” Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson draws attention to lobsters, which have occupied the bottom of the ocean for over 300 million years.² Once a lobster is defeated in combat by another lobster, its chances to win the next fight diminish significantly—even against previously defeated lobsters. In fact, the lobster’s brain dissolves, developing a new, subordinate brain. Peterson adds: “Anyone who has experienced a painful transformation after a serious defeat in romance or career may feel some sense of kinship with the once successful crustacean.”

When you are low in the status hierarchy—male or female—you have, as Peterson aptly describes, “nowhere to live (or nowhere good). Your food is terrible, when you’re not going hungry. You’re in poor physical and mental condition. You’re of minimal romantic interest to anyone, unless they are as desperate as you. You are more likely to fall ill, age rapidly, and die young, with few, if any, to mourn you.” Peterson points out, “When the aristocracy catches a cold, as it is said, the working class dies of pneumonia.” The same is true in the animal kingdom: when there is an avian disease, it is the birds lowest in the pecking order that die first.

However, if you are of high status, your life will be a success: “If you’re male, you have preferential access to the best places to live and the highest-quality food. People compete to do you favors. You have limitless opportunity for romantic and sexual contact. You are a successful lobster, and the most desirable females line up and vie for your attention. . . . If you’re female, you have access to many high-quality suitors: tall, strong and symmetrical; creative, reliable, honest and generous.” Indeed, female animals typically choose the male with the highest status, as this is the most efficient way to identify the best man around. And, in today’s world, women seek status of their own.

Displaying status is of crucial, archaic relevance to our lives. One of the ways to do so is to have the right posture, which has already been discussed in the chapter on high expectations. When we are defeated, we do, according to Peterson, resemble lobsters who have just lost a fight: “Our posture droops. We face the ground. We feel threatened, hurt, anxious, and weak. If things do not improve, we become chronically depressed. Under such conditions, we can’t easily put up the kind of fight that life demands, and we become easy targets for harder-shelled bullies.” The confident posture, however, reflects status.

This chapter will look at more effective ways to fundamentally increase your status.

Status and Competence

The American psychologists Anthony Doob and Alan Gross conducted a remarkable experiment in 1968. They had a man wait in a car at a red traffic light, and when it turned green, instead of moving forward, he simply remained there.³ Doob and Gross tried the experiment both with a luxury limousine and then with a worn-down compact to observe whether the type of car affected the other drivers’ reactions—you bet it did!

When waiting for the small car to move, the drivers behind it became aggravated. Almost all of them honked, some several times, and a couple even drove into the car’s rear bumper. With the expensive car, only half of the drivers honked and more or less all of them waited patiently until the car eventually rolled away, just before the light turned red again.

When another group of subjects were asked how they would behave in such a situation, however, the vast majority said they would honk at the expensive car before honking at the small one. They weren’t lying; status just works subconsciously. Doob’s and Gross’s study impressively demonstrated how strongly status symbols work and how they unconsciously affect our thoughts and actions.

The extent to which we are influenced by people who are considered to have a high status has also been shown by the notorious Milgram experiment. During the experiment, subjects gave supposedly excruciating electric shocks to other people—who were in fact actors—when they gave a wrong answer to a test question.⁴ Why would people like you or me cause so much pain to others? Because, as they later reported, an academic with a prestigious title wearing a white lab coat told them to do so.

Perceived status has an effect in all areas of life—a mechanism known as “status-generalization.”⁵ Our status places us in a particular hierarchical level not only at work but also in society as a whole.⁶ Therefore, the opinions of individuals with a high professional status carry weight in discussions about totally unrelated areas: when your family practitioner talks about politics, chances are she is taken rather seriously, even if she isn’t particularly knowledgeable in this field. People with higher status exert a greater influence and are more likely to be followed.⁷ This status level leads to higher authority, greater respect, and increased trust. Across all cultures, higher status also directly leads to an increase in perceived competence.⁸

It’s not just a person’s job that contributes to this perception, either—mere status symbols directly affect perceived competence as well.⁹ In one study, the following ranking of status symbols, sorted by their significance, was determined:¹⁰

1. Company car

2. Assistant

3. Title on business card

4. Expenses budget

5. Frequent flyer card

6. Corporate credit card

7. Office art

Other relevant symbols included a company apartment, employee discounts for purchases within the company, spots at the company kindergarten, gym membership, and a parking space directly by the building.

By knowing which status symbols really count, you can aim for what really matters and really increase our perceived competence. Apart from such tangible factors, there are more subtle ways to strengthen our status.

Habitus

When I’m in the lobby of a grand hotel, I like to watch people enter. Some are immediately eyed with suspicion by the staff, while others are greeted with the widest of smiles. It’s not that they are celebrities; they are probably not even staying at the hotel. The crucial factor lies in their habitus. Habitus, described by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, is a person’s behavior and appearance, including his or her clothing, language, and apparent lifestyle.¹¹ Whether fair or not, by observing a person’s habitus, we can assess his or her status within moments.

If, as already discussed, you use an accent that suggests a lower social standing or if you act in a way that suggests a lower level of education, your status will be almost irretrievably diminished. Certain behaviors can be fatal to your appearance. And a high-status habitus can open doors to just about anywhere. Why are the offspring of high-status families usually doing so well, even if not much of the family’s tangible legacy is left? Because—apart from probably a good education—they act in a way that is instantly recognizable as a high-status habitus.

I am convinced that no other factor has such a massive impact on our perceived competence, and thus on our persuasive power, as habitus. An English proverb says, “It takes three generations to bring forth a gentleman.” But don’t worry, it can be accomplished much faster than that. Recognizing your own habitus, and developing the ability to interpret others’, is the first step to understanding and utilizing status to increase your perceived competence. One of the most important aspects in this process is realizing the power of something you likely take for granted every day: your clothes.

Clothing and Accessories: The Classic Status Symbols

In an experiment, a man crossed a street despite a Do Not Walk signal. He first did so wearing typical work clothes, and then again while dressed in an elegant suit and a shirt and tie.¹² Behold! As many as three and a half times more people followed the man when he was elegantly dressed. In another experiment, it was found that people using a telephone booth (yes, the experiment took place many years ago . . .) were much more willing to hand over change to a well-dressed actor who had “forgotten” his quarters to make a call than to someone who was poorly dressed.¹³

Clothing as a status symbol has a remarkably strong effect. All clothes signal a certain status, though some more than others, such as a military uniform covered in medals or pins. It is true that today, in an era of democratic attire, it is no longer possible to detect people’s “rank” by quickly glancing at their clothing, but it provides clues nonetheless. Doctors’ white coats cement their status, just like Ferragamo ties do on Manhattan’s Wall Street and Hermes ties do in Frankfurt’s banking world.¹⁴ Clothing directly influences a person’s perceived credibility, reliability, and competence.¹⁵

No doubt most people are aware that if you are “well dressed,” you will be perceived more positively.¹⁶ And yes, depending on the occasion, we certainly use clothing more consciously than any other status symbol: if we want to portray a sense of professionalism, we dress formally, and if we want to appear likable, we go for casual attire. People appear competent when dressed formally and likable when dressed casually.¹⁷

And yet people place remarkably little emphasis on their clothes in everyday life. What are you wearing right now? Have you chosen your clothing wisely? When an interviewer questioned passersby on why they were wearing the particular clothes they had on that day, it became evident that there was hardly any connection between their preferred style and the clothes they actually wore.¹⁸ Their attire was chosen for supposedly practical reasons, such as comfort or weather, totally neglecting the effects it had on perception.

Even though attractiveness can influence perceived competence, as discussed in the previous chapter, status is more important when it comes to clothing.¹⁹ For women, “sexy” clothing leads to a lower perceived competence.²⁰ Higher status is therefore more important than attractiveness when selecting clothing. High quality with a classic fit is therefore better than modern, super-slim-fit outfits. When choosing what to wear, it is important that your clothes reflect the status you desire, according to the saying “Don’t dress for the job you have but for the one you want.” That being said, you must have some tact in making sure your clothes don’t cause you to appear pretentious.

Note that style is not a question of money. A well-fitting suit does not cost more than a poor-fitting one, just as a crisp white shirt is no more expensive than a rumpled purple one. In this era of industrial mass production, you can purchase a sizable wardrobe for less than ever and even have it customized or altered by a tailor without having to spend much. However, it is always better to have two excellent suits or dresses than a wardrobe full of discount garments.

It’s important to choose not only your clothes wisely but also any other object that surrounds you. A smart sales representative knows that she should sign a contract with an elegant Montblanc pen instead of a cheap plastic one. Private bankers know to place brochures offering their services in elegant leather cases instead of plain manila folders.²¹ Look around your workstation at the stationary, lamp, pictures, and any other objects. Were these items deliberately placed together, or are you sitting in the midst of a collection of haphazardly combined clutter?

Imagine that you call a handyman to come fix your heater and he shows up with a tattered wicker basket, a few shabby tools, and some old lightbulbs clanking against each other—are you going to trust this guy?²² Likewise, whatever “tools” you use or display provide people with clues about your competence.

As early as 1959, Bower explained to his consultants at McKinsey, “The attitudes of top executives toward us as people often carry more weight in the shaping of firm reputation than even the major recommendations we develop for them. And those attitudes—whether favourable or unfavourable—are fashioned from an accumulation of little things. Example: one top-management Englishman, asked by another how our consultants get along with his people, said: ‘Fine. They even wear conservative neckties.’”

What constitutes a status symbol certainly depends on the environment, but you will find them everywhere, whether in a conservative bank or in a tech start-up. No matter the setting, there will be a certain inventory of unwritten social norms with which you must abide in order to be accepted by the group and to improve your status within it.²³ Some creatives, for example, forgo ties but stand in line for five hours for the latest Adidas sneakers. In Maoist China, the most zealous communists ran around in inconspicuous smocks, but they were tailored out of fine Italian fabric.

All that said, there is an exception to the rule: there are some among us who break away from norms and standards and by doing so further elevate their status.

The Effects of Nonconformity

What about luminaries like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg? Did Zuckerberg not climb on stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, sporting shorts and flip-flops in a room packed with people all clad in suits? What happened when Jobs addressed the whole world wearing jeans and a black turtleneck? Weren’t they admired even more precisely because they were wearing these apparently low-status outfits?²⁴

The answer is yes. People who already enjoy a high status can increase it by abandoning traditional status symbols.²⁵ This concept is known as the “red-sneaker effect,” a term that refers to the idea that some people wear regular red sneakers when elegant shoes would be more appropriate.²⁶ Particularly in Western culture, individualism and independence are appreciated, so ostentatious nonconformity can result in increased status and a higher perceived competency.

However, the decisive prerequisite for this approach is that people already have a high degree of respect for you, such as if you’re an undisputed expert in your field or a cofounder of a successful company. It must also be clear that you deliberately violate the norms. Only then is nonconformity interpreted as a self-confident gesture, rather than a merely awkward or even embarrassing act.

If such unconventionality is merely a glitch, or if it is overdone, then it will fail, in accordance with the old Latin motto Quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi, “What is allowed to Jupiter is not allowed to an ox.” So if an intern wears a tie as a scarf for a formal occasion, he will be considered a jerk, but if a multibillionaire founder of a start-up decides to do so, he demonstrates his independence from petty conventions.

Nonconformity is therefore only effective on rare occasions, when your status is already high. Under most circumstances, it is better to play it safe: the way you dress—whether conforming to the norms or not—is a matter of respect. I wouldn’t recommend approaching a client in a T-shirt, nor should you go to a wedding wearing a hoodie. With your clothes, you demonstrate the respect you pay to the occasion and the individual in front of you. It is therefore not surprising that there is an actual correlation between clothing and work ethic: a more relaxed dress code leads to an increase in lateness and absences.²⁷ Incidentally, reactions to tattoos—once a major sign of nonconformity—were also investigated in this context: they appear to have lost their shock value, and therefore only have relatively weak influence on the perceived competence. This influence, however, is still rather negative, especially when dealing with older people.²⁸

To sum up, nonconformity can be very effective when you already are very respected in your field. However, your status is not just related to how you dress. The way you interact with the people around you has an outsize effect on your status and, as a consequence, also on your perceived competence.

High-Status Interaction

Our status also expresses itself through how we communicate with one another. As mentioned in the chapter on nonverbal communication, body language and even body size have a direct impact on your perceived status. And a particularly simple tactic is to select the head seat in order to present yourself as leader of the group.²⁹

As also discussed in the chapter on verbal communication, power talking has a positive effect on your social rank, while hesitant, uncertain language undermines your status. If you start a sentence with, “One might perhaps think that . . . ,” it is unlikely you will be able to convince anyone of your point, and your status will be diminished. You shouldn’t downgrade a self-assured statement to a meek opinion.

But should you therefore only speak in statements, not letting anyone reply or provide their own input? Not at all—by asking questions, you can direct the conversation to wherever you want it to go. Especially by using open-ended questions—those that require more than a yes or no response—you can quickly lead the person you’re speaking with into a terrain you’re familiar with and subsequently cement your own status by discussing a topic you know intimately.

After asking a question, it is good to be silent for a moment—silence is an excellent means of demonstrating power. By letting in the silence, you demonstrate control and self-confidence—unlike an incessantly babbling jester. Another beneficial effect of remaining silent is that you may provoke the person you’re talking with into sharing information that she or he would have otherwise never disclosed, simply because many people just cannot stand silence during a conversation.

Just as a king does not interfere in the bickering of the politics of the day, you should also keep away from any petty trench warfare. Build bridges instead. If your colleagues start arguing during a meeting, propose a compromise. Next, have them shake hands, just like Bill Clinton did when Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat closed ranks between their factions—the subsequent photograph is possibly the most famous of his tenure and a cornerstone of Clinton’s status as a world leader.

Another wise tactic during any interaction is to give a positive appraisal of someone’s work or personality. Praise is usually delivered from top to bottom and therefore bolsters your status in a pleasant way. About medals, the physical version of praise, Napoleon once said, “Toys and Tinsel! . . . But with such tinsel, people are led.”³⁰ Try telling your customers what you like about their office design; praise your colleagues for their commitment during the most recent meeting.

But only praise what is worth praising; let the others work for your approval. A remarkable experiment from the 1950s illustrated the startling effect that sacrifices have on us. In the experiment, women who wanted to participate in a discussion about sex had to pass a so-called embarrassment test beforehand. They were asked to read obscene passages from a book aloud without hesitating or blushing—and in the 1950s, this was no trifling matter.³¹ The test was given under the pretext of ensuring that the potential test subjects had no problem with talking openly about sex. Next, the subjects sat in on a discussion group that was designed to be as trivial and boring as possible. Surprisingly, they assessed the group and the discussion favorably. An interesting correlation became clear: the more obscene, and therefore embarrassing, the “embarrassment test” was, the more positively the women evaluated the discussion.

A similar experiment was carried out almost 10 years later. By then the Woodstock era was in full swing and the “sex test” had lost its horror, so instead the subjects had to endure electric shocks before becoming a member of the discussion group.³² It was found that the strength of the electric shocks directly correlated with the perceived value of the membership; the stronger the shock, the more interesting and desirable it became to belong to the group. The same idea can be seen with initiation rites in fraternities or army units, which are more than mere savagery. The members of a group with tough admission criteria will appreciate the membership much more and therefore serve the group more actively and loyally.³³

So people value what they gain through a certain amount of effort. Therefore, you should indeed praise others, but only for something remarkable. Make them work for your esteem. But what about your customers? You can hardly treat them with electric shocks. However, the title of a Harvard Business Review article suggests a somewhat evil idea: “Torment Your Customers (They’ll Love It).” In the article, the author recommends not to chum up to them too much.³⁴ With prospective clients, don’t immediately squeeze your business card into their hands, especially not an overly busy one that includes your email address, landline office number, landline private number, and three cell numbers, along with an additional one scribbled on with a pen. If you have made a good impression on them, rest assured, they will find you. Also, don’t immediately return calls or answer every email two minutes after you’ve received it—you are not a servant. And even in the case that you are one, stick to the credo of the Ritz Carlton hotel group that its employees carry with them on a laminated card: “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.”

When you’re meeting people face to face, have them come to you, as is the case with any good negotiation. Simply put, whoever is sought out gains a higher status. Think about a bartender as compared to a waiter: you have to wave the bartender down and compete for her attention, whereas the waiter acts more like a lackey, coming to your table at your beck and call to take orders.

Of course, there is an invisible barrier between the hurdles we can expect others to accept and just terrible service. You don’t want to seem too distant, unfriendly, or arrogant. As with many of the lessons throughout this book, understanding where that line is, and making sure not to cross it, takes tact that can only be gained through real-life experiences.

Playing the Educational Game

In many countries, such as Germany and Austria, doctoral titles are rather common among management and professional services providers. Similarly, in the United States, the master of business administration (MBA) plays a major role.

Research agrees. It doesn’t even matter in which discipline a graduate degree was acquired: such a title conveys universal competence. Even if person who earned an MA is employed as a used-car salesman, due to that MA distinction alone his status is automatically increased and he is perceived as more competent.³⁵ And, as every university advertises, there are indeed significant differences in starting salaries between those people with a postgraduate degree and those without.³⁶

Diplomas and certificates are also considered to be objective evidence of expertise.³⁷ Americans are not squeamish here and often receive beautiful diplomas for little more than just showing up—I’ve seen an elementary school graduation certificate in a mahogany frame with golden trim. Pride in such accolades may be going overboard, but in contrast to Americans, Europeans can be unnecessarily reticent. A friend of mine even punched two holes into her Cambridge University diploma right after the graduation ceremony and then stuffed the piece of paper into a ringed binder.

In addition to academic titles, the position held within the company also counts in regard to one’s status. In countries where titles of rank play a vital role, such as in China, bilingual business cards have become common. On one side of the card, a person’s English title may be “PR department manager”; on the other side, in Chinese, the title may be much more flowery, something like “Director of Public Communications.”³⁸ Personally, I am surprised that so few companies give credence to such titles: giving employees important-sounding titles costs nothing, but they influence outside perceptions considerably. Those companies that do understand this concept actively support their employees by awarding titles, such as a global PR agency, which calls their junior employees “executives” rather than “assistants.” This title lets them shine in front of any audience and also makes them more loyal to the company, in accordance with Napoleon’s thoughts on medals.

When it comes to establishing your status, do you want your business partners to have to blindly guess what educational or professional qualifications you have acquired? Of course not. You therefore need “objective” clues so others can easily assess your skills, as mentioned in the chapter on high expectations. So don’t be afraid to decorate your office with diplomas, certificates, or other awards. When your visitors enter the room, they will be looking for signals about your competence and status, just as your opinion on a restaurant would likely be affected when you discover a Zagat seal indicating a top rating at its front door.

If you really want to acquire the reputation and status of an expert, publications are the best possible way, as the written word still has an immensely strong effect.³⁹ As they say in academia: publish or perish. A book, newspaper column, or even your own blog turns you into a connoisseur in the eyes of the audience. In this information age, we can express ourselves easier than ever on any topic. As an architect, you can give advice on building your dream house or, as a gardener, you can provide tips on growing small, edible plants on a balcony.

In whatever way you display your education and expertise, it is not only a matter of having a specific proficiency in one topic; it is more about playfully showing your knowledge in what the German literary scholar Dietrich Schwanitz calls the “educational game.”⁴⁰ Interestingly, the natural sciences play no part when it comes to your perceived education; you can in fact freely admit that you know nothing about chemistry or physics and your authority will not be undermined whatsoever (unless, of course, you are a chemist or a physicist). When it comes to liberal arts, the situation is different, especially with literature, philosophy, and politics—the pillars of the educational game.

Demonstrating an uncultured habitus and an ignorance of these pillars will hardly convince others of your high educational aptitude or achievements. Even if you buy the collected works of Shakespeare and put them next to your TV, you’re not fooling anyone (though they may look impressive). If you actually read Shakespeare, however, you gain insight into the language and thoughts of the educational milieu—and you will be one of the few people who have read the great poet and thinker outside the classroom.

According to Schwanitz, by even reading a single great novel, one crosses “the boundary between literary education and ignorance.” The scholar recommends, though not without a slight wink, that the budding literary expert begin by reading a work that is considered one of the great novels, but also one which hardly anyone has read. James Joyce’s Ulysses would be an ideal choice. This one book can then be used as a castle from which one can, as Schwanitz writes, “attack, and arbitrarily make a comment on any unknown writer, but to which you can retreat to immediately, if it was getting dangerous.” If the conversation then turns to Henry David Thoreau, for example, you could continue to take part, with a remark such as, “Joyce makes it difficult for the reader, whereas Thoreau is very, very effective in his wording.” Such a statement, according to Schwanitz, “just can’t be wrong.”

BIRGing: Using Indirect Status

Some years back, while still a student, I ran into the movie director Quentin Tarantino—the man behind masterpieces such as Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained—and asked to take a picture with him. Not a digital selfie but an actual photo that I later had developed. This photo, which was quickly worn out, brought me more respect from my friends than any other thing I had done in my life so far—which probably says more about me than about the picture.

However, in a similar manner, the US psychologist Robert Cialdini reports how much his reputation rose among architects because of the mere fact that he was born in the same city as the famed 19th-century architect Frank Lloyd Wright.⁴¹ The German psychologist Hans-Dieter Mummendey recalls that at a psychological symposium in New York years ago, he was appreciated not so much for his contribution on stage but because of the fact that he ran into the actor and filmmaker Woody Allen on his way to the conference hotel, a story he told to his colleagues’ delight.⁴²

Did these brief encounters or thin connections really impart some of the luminaries’ genius on Cialdini and Mummendey? Certainly not—no rational person would argue that their competence had even increased by a whit. And yet you can profit from other peoples’ status by mere association with them, as status and the halo effect work together here. Cialdini calls this “Basking in Reflected Glory,” or BIRGing.⁴³ Simply put, any connection with a person of high status, even if vague, directly affects your status as well.

If you mention your acquaintances to other people in an effort to boost your status by association, make sure to do so in an appropriate manner and at the right time—you don’t want people to think you’re just namedropping to impress them. There are subtle ways to use BIRGing, for example, by highlighting the smallest, slightest similarities you share with a particularly high-status individual.

From his Woody Allen experience, Mummendey learned that these similarities can be quite broad: “common origin, common place of residence or work place, common political or religious beliefs, same sport or other leisure activities, sameness or similarities in any appearance, in relation to clothing or similar things. To mention this or that politician or athlete came from the same hometown as ones-self, this or that actor with whom you attended the same school or met him/her in the elevator.”⁴⁴

Indeed, you can even associate yourself with the positive qualities of another person if you share the same birthday or with the positive qualities of a holiday that might fall on your birthday.⁴⁵ The American psychologist Al Harrison went through thousands of biographies in the Who’s Who encyclopedia and found that many celebrities were presumably born on holidays such as New Year, Christmas, or Independence Day.⁴⁶ Louis Armstrong, for example, claimed to be born on July 4, although he was actually born on August 4. Especially prominent theologians claim to celebrate their birthday on Christmas Eve—just like Jesus Christ himself.

So don’t be afraid to draw attention to true parallels with icons, even those who are not in your own area of expertise. Such similarities may appear incidental; nonetheless, these tiny parallels actually have great effects—even on exceptionally intelligent people.⁴⁷

Of course, don’t start ridiculously bragging about whom you know or how you’re connected in some tiny way to a famous or well-respected person. There is certainly a threshold that must not be exceeded. In most situations, it is therefore sensible to highlight the desired association in an incidental way. For example, it is quite inconspicuous to have your friend with the highest status in the room introduce you to the other people present. Think about it this way: if a CEO presents you to someone, you will always be associated with the high status of that chief executive. The same applies when you’re giving a presentation or other talk—always ask the person with the highest status to make your announcement.

Moreover, your alleged relationship to certain luminaries does not necessarily have to be verbalized—images suffice. I experienced how effective this tactic is firsthand when I sat in the office of the film producer Arnon Milchan at the 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles. Milchan has produced several great movies, including Once upon a Time in America, Pretty Woman, and 12 Years a Slave. As I sat alone in Milchan’s office waiting for our meeting, I gazed at the photographs adorning his wall: Milchan with various movie stars, presidents, and even at the side of the UN secretary-general. With each picture, my respect for him increased immensely and tangibly.

In order to utilize the benefits of BIRGing, it is not even necessary to have actually met the person you’re associating yourself with.⁴⁸ Priests and other holy people have a high status because of their close relationship with a god, while American politicians regularly speak about the nation’s almost mythical Founding Fathers, subtly drawing a connection between themselves and these revered men. In Mongolia, the warlord Genghis Khan is stylized as a half god; in Tajikistan, the poet Rudaki is hailed as a saint. Why? Because the glorification of historical figures directly shines on their heirs. What about you? Do you have luminaries in your field to which you can create a connection? The more you think about this idea, the more people will come to mind, and it will be quite reasonable to refer to them at the right time. Drawing a connection to institutions can also work accordingly in raising your status: a university or a well-known employer, for example.

People tend not to think about how this association works both ways: I have seen it all too often when people complain about their former employer or school. What is the consequence? Their status suffers, because they create a negative association. Instead, you should praise everything that is linked to you.⁴⁹ Instead of praising your own accomplishments or performance, praise others—doing so is far less suspicious and has the same desired effect. For example, if you talk about how grandiose you found your first job many years ago because the company was well organized and immensely innovative in strategic planning, this directly radiates to you and your expertise. By saying only good things about these companies or institutions—which you are associated with whether you like it or not—your status increases, and with it your perceived competence.

Conclusion

The late Oxford professor Sir Alfred Ayer was once a guest at an illustrious party in New York City in the late 1980s, when suddenly a quarrel broke out: a dangerous-looking man began pestering a young model named Naomi Campbell, and the other guests did not dare to intervene.⁵⁰

Only the frail, 77-year-old Sir Alfred took a stand for the girl and spoke up—but the aggressor did not retreat.

“Don’t you know who I am?” he snapped at Sir Alfred. “I’m Mike Tyson, the heavyweight champion of the world!”

“Well,” replied Sir Alfred. “And I am the former Wykeham professor of logic at Oxford University. Now that we both know that we have reached the top of our respective professions, we can talk like gentlemen.” And so, the legend claims, he calmed things down and the party went on.

Whether you like it or not, across the board, hardly anything convinces other people of your competence as effectively as the perception of high status: if you get a steak served under a silver bell at the Le Bristol hotel in Paris, it will taste better than a similar piece of meat on a plastic plate in a bar next door.

Consider quotations: it is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations. How impressive did you find the sentence you just read? Did you think of it as particularly wise or interesting? I doubt it. And yet that line is a quote from the eminent British statesman Winston Churchill. Had I made the sentence immediately identifiable as his quote and placed it prominently at the beginning of the chapter, I am sure it would have had a totally different, more profound effect on you. Quotations are only appreciated when they are recognizable as such, elevated from a banal remark to the pinnacle of world wisdom. Such is the power of status.

Even margarine benefited from the effects of status: it was not until the butter substitute started being wrapped in golden foil bearing a crown that it began to gain popularity.⁵¹

Monarchs have forever known about the importance of status, and they literally set it in stone with monuments, statues, and buildings. Think of the giant skyscraper banks and glitzy company headquarters that create a sense of awe in those who pass by or walk through the grand entrance.

As early as 1899, US economist Thorstein Veblen described how people buy certain things only to increase their status, a theory he called “conspicuous consumption.” The Veblen Effect was later named after him, which describes the phenomenon of increasing—not diminishing—demand for a good despite raising its price.

Though the whole world knows about these mechanisms, status symbols work nonetheless, even in the Western Hemisphere, where status supposedly doesn’t play a major role anymore, and of course, even more so in status-oriented cultures.⁵² However, the habitus of a person with a high status cannot be reduced to simply wearing a Rolex—although this is part of it. In addition to mere objects, the corresponding communication and interaction are also required. Combining all these factors directly leads to a higher perceived level of competence.⁵³

With a higher status you make it easier for your client or customer to decide in your favor. The manager of one company breaks it down in this way: “You know, I could get this [legal expertise] somewhere else. I can use a medium-size firm in Kentucky, and they’re fine. But I’d like to be able to tell my directors I got Baker MacKenzie—a high-status firm. There’s less to justify before the deal and after the fact if something goes wrong.”⁵⁴

And there is yet another advantage. Have you ever seen a very prominent speaker, a president, or a movie star live on stage? In the past, when I saw the magnificent actor Kevin Spacey deliver a talk at the height of his fame and glory, I was amazed at the wave of euphoria that welcomed him on his way to the podium. The slightest trace of a joke made the audience roar with laughter, because we were flattered that such a luminary would even deign to make us laugh. Had a janitor gotten up on stage and made the same joke, the audience would have stared at us silently. Even the same exact speech delivered by the same speaker, Kevin Spacey, now, after his tragic fall from glory, would most likely have an entirely different effect. As a matter of fact, people with a high status are just more popular.⁵⁵ Mind you, status differences become less relevant when we know each other well,⁵⁶ but for a first impression, their relevance can hardly be overestimated.

Are there gender differences when it comes to status? Yes, there are. As compared to men, women prefer fewer status differences and structures, such as can be seen in flat hierarchies.⁵⁷ Women are also less eager than men to aim for status and tend to be more modest—a mistake, as status is a key aspect to win people over. Therefore, women should particularly embrace the aforementioned methods.

However, the world has changed tremendously in this area: In an experiment in 1971, award-winning paintings were rated of equally high artistic value, whether by women or men.⁵⁸ Non-award-winning paintings, however, were rated higher if they had been created by men. In other words, both men and women artists were only rated equally when they were both at a very high level—below that level, male artists were considered to be more competent. Fortunately, things have changed: more recent studies have shown that there are no more differences between the status of men and women, at least in the Western Hemisphere.⁵⁹

Back to McKinsey, where we started this chapter: the only men who walked around in dark suits in Los Angeles in the late 1960s were employees of either McKinsey or the FBI, which actually led to some confusion once in a while.⁶⁰ But the success of consultants today speaks for itself. A reporter for Business Week was startled by the fact that in 1965 there was one consultant for every 100 managers—by 1995, there was one for every 13 managers.⁶¹ Since then, the number of consultants has continued to mushroom. It doesn’t seem too far-fetched to postulate that one day soon all managers will have their own consultants at their side—this is possibly one of the explanations for the large increase in the number of “coaches” who regularly work one on one. Of course, to join these consultants’ ranks, you don’t have to be an expert, as Oxford researcher Chris McKenna sums it up: “Behaving like a professional would serve just as well as becoming one.”⁶²