Good-Looking Is Good

While making the best of what you have is all you can do, let there be no doubt that certain physical characteristics provide advantages in the workplace. Senior male invincible executives tend to be tall, good-looking, well-proportioned, and not bald. (If it makes you feel any better, the author is one-for-four.) While few are grossly overweight, many are "big." In fact, Ron Gafford of Austin Industries told me a story about the CEO of a well-known construction company who, some years back, "only hired big people" because he thought he could intimidate the competition, and in some cases the clients, with a bunch of tall, tough-looking employees. Gafford, however, does not agree with this way of thinking.

Female invincible executives tend to be slightly more diverse in terms of height and traditional notions of "looks." After all, Janet Reno gained in popularity when she became the topic of personal appearance jokes. But in virtually all cases, top female executives are well-dressed, meticulously groomed, and not overweight. And most are very good-looking as well.

The comments that I heard on this subject were surprisingly candid. "Part of success is being in shape," according to Earl Graves. "I have never really met an overweight CEO," he added. "There may be some 'big' CEOs—you know 66, 270 pounds—but few if any have a poor height-to-weight ratio," according to Graves.