The latest research on how good looks makes a difference when pitching to investors reveals some interesting insights, and although it may come across as superficial, the research only confirms what image consultants have always known.
How handsome men win at work
12 March 2014 | news.com.au
Good looks might have helped Don Draper at work, but it isn’t the same for Megan.
Good looks help men get ahead in business — but not women, research shows.
A study found investors are more likely to back an idea if a handsome man is pitching it. However, pretty women were no more likely to be successful pitchers than their less attractive counterparts.
The findings, in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also showed backers preferred presentations that were given by men.
Researchers showed 60 experienced investors videos of 90 real business pitches made by entrepreneurs at contests.
The investors were asked to rate the pitchers’ looks, and this was compared to how well each did in the contest.
Among women, attractiveness did not make a significant difference — but good looks made men much more persuasive.
Dr Alison Brooks, of Harvard Business School, said: ‘We find investors prefer entrepreneurial pitches presented by males … even when the content of the pitch is the same.’
© 2014 news.com.au | This article first appeared in news.com.au on 12 March 2014.
Good looks good for business
March 2014 | Management Today
An attractive CEO may deliver better business outcomes, according to economists at the University of Wisconsin, whose research has found S&P 500 companies experience greater stock returns when they name new CEOs who are relatively attractive. The researchers used a computer program to measure the impact of a new CEO’s attractiveness on stock returns for the five days after the appointment was announced. They found that for each point of attractiveness (measured a 10-point scale), the company gained an average of a one percent boost to it stock price.
© 2014 Management Today | This article first appeared in Management Today in March 2014.
Have you across companies where men get ahead because of their good looks?
