Putting A Price On Vibe

The market price of having 'it'.

Great overview here in the FT from a few weeks ago on the importance of charisma, (whether we like it or not!)

The zeitgeist will have referred to it as vibe not so long ago and lately we see much more use of the word “aura” to describe those people that just have that something extra, that make us feel a certain way. Usually positive (but sometimes not)

The market has a great way of telling us how much something is worth and depending on one’s context it can scale quite greatly.

See below but take for example the charisma coach priced at a minimum of $250,000 per engagement or a Head of CEO Content at one company potentially earning somewhere between $130,000 and $235,000 a year. Or if you are deemed expert and have the qualifications (and vibe) to back it up you can charge $15,000 for an hour lecture. And to be honest, even more. It’s one of those things that if you investigate you’ll learn that there are so many levels to it.

I’ve friends in fashion and the right photographer, make-up, hair, stylist etc really adds up.

I think people would be shocked at production costs.

But if you are a publicly traded company these are light investments when it comes to ensuring the right “charisma” is there.

If you fail to project confidence to the markets or use the wrong word or two in an earnings call, $250k is the least of your worries. If you can’t articulate change and inspire action within an organizational culture you will pay a lot more than that.

In the piece in the FT, charisma is defined in a few different ways but the commonality for me is communication - and that can be verbal, body language, appearance, presence and more.

We are always on and signalling something to someone.

But does it move the needle in a positive, or negative way.

In another context, how much is a good middle worth at your dinner party?