Years ago, I read John Molloy’s Dress for Success (1975).
One of his claims stuck with me over the decades. It was his disdain for bow ties.
In his eyes, wearing a bow tie was evidence of sneakiness. He admonished the reader to avoid bow ties and those wearing bow ties. If you wanted to be taken seriously at work, don’t wear a bow tie!
Wearing one in the office was akin to putting a red ping pong ball on the end of your nose or, worse, being the first to promote Thong Thursday. “In general”, Molloy said, “I have found that people believe that a man in a bow tie will steal!” (Emphasis added)
My story is about one such “theft” if one can call it that. It was not money, but it was stolen recognition and esteem.
In my work, I had a few occasions to deal with architects, the only fraternity which, according to the AI robot, is forgiven for sporting bow-ties!
The bow tie, we are told, suggests a creative and imaginative mind (something desirable even among clients seeking a functional building.) A bow tied architect will eschew cookie cutter designs; he or she will not “stay in the box”, nor be fenced in, or slavishly follow tradition.
One bow tied architect reminded me of Molloy’s admonitions. This architect was successful and sought after largely due to a particular innovative design; allegedly an invention of his. But, if you dug, – as I did – you would discover the innovation/invention was actually someone else’s work.
The architect had found this innovation already in place at a campus where he was working.
Not long after, he became known, among my profession, for this very innovation and that he and his firm were the go-to, the “cat’s pajamas”, the “absolute tops” if you wanted the latest version on your campus.
When he came to my campus to make a pitch on a building renovation, he never acknowledged the actual source of his design concept. That may be OK, but is this not plagiarism, claiming someone else’s work as yours?
How do I know the plagiarism? I spent three days at the institution with the original innovation and I was at an organization, a few year’s later, listening to this architect making the pitch as to why his firm should be awarded our contract. You might say that’s all OK, but for me, his implied claim to the ownership of the innovation did matter ethically.
That said, he was able to deliver on the concept and no doubt improved on it along with providing an overall good design.
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My book, Fables for Leaders, about how ancient stories apply to today’s workplace, can be purchased here. The link will take you to BookBaby, the well established and reputable company that prints and fills orders for Fables for Leaders.
My other book, Leading from the Middle, with essays on team building, followers, leaders, innovation and several case studies of exceptional leaders and organizations, can be purchased here at Amazon.
N.B. For other essays on numerous topics on leadership and literature and fables go to my Nucleus archive from 2010-early 2025.
NOTICE: This and all other essays found at the Leading from the Middle blog (since 2010) were/are written by John Lubans, a person.
Like books, journals and other information resources, I use AI for background and factual information. If I incorporate that information into my writing, I quote and cite the source.
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© Copyright all text by John Lubans 2026