(35th Entry) Tying a tie…

One of the things that worried me most about going to work in the corporate world was… How am I going to tie a tie every day? Anytime that I had worn a tie previously I had always had someone tie it for me as well as button the button on the front of the caller. So when I got my first corporate job offer and it just happened to be a company that wanted me to wear a coat and tie daily, I had to come up with a way to be able to do this on a daily basis. Side note: This was the only company out of three that expected me to dress up.

Everyone kept telling me… Wear clip on ties! Well there are several problems with this. First, have you ever really looked at the selection… Not good. Second, you still have to button the collar button and jam the clip between the collar and your throat. Can’t do it!

So one day a good friend of mine named Chris and I set aside a whole day to come up with a concept that would work for me. Chris kept thinking that we could tie, slip it over my head, cut the back apart and insert Velcro. This way I could slip the tie over my head. Chris was close… but I came up with an ingenious way…

We tied the tie while on me, and then we loosened it… slipped it over my head. We then glued the knot with Elmer’s glue, so that the knot stayed tight, but allowing for the tie to slide like a noose. I would then put the tie under my collar, buttoning the buttons on the collar, button down collars, and slip the shirt over my head. The second problem was the collar button… that top button that keeps the collar tight. I didn’t button it. I used the strength of the tie to hold the collar.

Results: I could buy any normal tie. Glue it. Wear it! But never dry clean it because of the glue… so what! I could get dressed daily without worry.

This was one of my proudest days in adulthood. Something that seems so innocent, yet so important in my mind… resolved simply. I’ll never forget Chris for his willingness and enthusiasm to help me.

For employers… this is the type of creativity that disabled individuals can bring to the job… an ability to solve problems “outside the box”. Unfortunately what I found in my brief career, while corporations talk of wanting new ideas, they rarely embraced them. Not only did they not embrace them, once they hired you they wanted you to be like everyone else. My first corporate job probably gave me the most latitude in allowing me to use my natural abilities. As I went to work for larger and larger companies the ability to be “me” became less and less. I might be a little cynical and a bit jaded, but I expect that Corporate America utilizes only a fraction of their employee’s abilities, energy and assets.