In my career prior to starting Personal Images, I can honestly say I have worked with more bad bosses than good ones. These are managers who yell, make unreasonable demands and expectations and/or run around like policemen watching your every move.

My experience has been and continues to be, to find a way to navigate around them. This means maintaining a low profile and minding your p’s and q’s. If a boss is completely unreasonable, move to another part of the organization, if possible.

If it is important to your career to stay with this boss, then you must learn to develop a thick skin and learn from this person, meaning all the good things about him/her while trying not to focus on the negative. It is about management and not about winning with this type of manager.

Recently in workshop for a Fortune 100 client, the questions came up on how people stay engaged when working from a home office, especially for months on end.

1.Dress as if you are going to the office in business casual attire. Not in pajamas or clothes you would clean the garage in. Dressing up will make you feel professional especially in an isolated setting. Ugly is working in your pajamas. It starts out feeling good but ends up making you feel unaccountable.

2.Do not eat lunch in your home office. Dining out keeps your socialization skills active.

3.Talk to folks in the office. Use FaceTime or Skype so you are on decision makers minds for any projects that may be good for your career mobility.

4.Take on special projects that will keep you visible with leadership.

Recently, my sister celebrated 15 plus years in remission. We had more 100 people for the open house. However, we neglected to make a toast to her before we cut the cake. It is always better to make a toast in the beginning and in our case, when most of the group had arrived. We could have also made another toast later, celebrating her health and thanking the guests for sharing this very special time with us.

When toasting while in other countries, it is very special if you can make a toast in that country’s language:

China: Wàn shòu wú jiang (longevity and health)

Spain: Saluda (health)

Russia: Za vas (here’s to you)

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Cox, the wardrobe assistant to Andy Williams. Barbara handled all of Andy’s wardrobe needs when he performed in Branson, Missouri at The Andy Williams Theater and for his Christmas and other special television performances.

Her stories were amazing. Here are some of her fixes for unexpected wardrobe problems:

Before Febreze…there was vodka. Vodka removes odors from clothing. When clothing smelled, especially when smells originated from sweat (being under hot lights) or Andy wearing layers of clothing and there was no time for the cleaners, they used vodka. So, if you don’t have Febreze, spraying vodka will work in a pinch

To eliminate the yellow ring around the collar, take cheese cloth with Fels Naptha Soap on it, wet it and rub it on the yellow ring on the collar. Then dry the collar with a hair dryer until completely dry.

Rescue tape will fix anything. Use it for a gap on a blouse, to temporarily hem a pair of pants or to fix a last minute tear on a garment.

These were only a few of her secrets. Another came from Phyllis Diller. Phyllis asked her to bring two bottles of wine to her room after the show. She placed her wigs on them because it helped them dry out from the sweat that accumulated when they were worn. (Putting them on the wig’s heads after use keeps them damp, which is not good for the wig.)

See the picture of Barbara and I. She is holding a gown given to her by an actress who hated wearing the dress because it was too heavy.

There is always room for improving processes that go into making a great project. Not long ago, I worked on a project that a few years later would be upgraded. When being reworked, the new team began to tell me all the processes that did not work in in the first iteration. I never said anything even though I worked on the first effort which came out well. I thought, things change and nothing really needed to be said about the prior project. Change happens, handle it with grace.

Boots are here to stay, short, long and mid, throughout the year for women. We see them with high, mid and low heels. They are being worn not only in the winter but in the spring and summer. It is important for them to keep their shape and be fresh to preserve the leather or suede.

The cost of good boots, even on sale, range from $75.00 up to $1600.00 for Valentino boots. First of all, before you even wear them, leather needs to be polished and a preservative spray needs to be applied on suede and cloth boots. When not wearing them, have a cedar shoe tree inserted in each one along with boot shapers for the knee length ones. If you follow these tips, your boots will be walking for a long time.

The new trend is wearing bold on bold in patterns and colors. It is the fashion industry trying to mix it up. I myself love the new trends. However in my profession, the center of attention is on the client and the audience so I stay more conservative in my dress.

But in my personal world, I like living large! All my sport clothing is in bright yellows, greens and pinks. I have yet to embrace the patterned leggings, though, maybe next year. I have encouraged my C-suite clients and friends, men and women, to add bits of boldness to their accessories. For the women, larger necklaces and very smart print underpinnings look good with their black and gray suits.

Men can wear the tie and shirt selections with a bold print in the tie and pick a shirt color to match the suit. They can do the bold stripe socks as long the sock is in the same color family. Recently, a client wore a grey striped sock with his gray suit. It was fun but not distracting. Having fun with clothing selections will definitely make you feel more uplifted.

Working with a client to help him strengthen how he communicated with senior management, we decided to have another member of his firm sit in to give some feedback. Every time we started, his colleague interrupted to share his point of view how my client could do it better.

This went on for about 40 minutes when I finally asked all feedback be given after the taping was over. The rules were that he could only use this phrase “This is how you can strengthen” not, “This is not the way to do it”.

The reality is that when you are inclusive, it empowers the person being coached. It does not take them down. Empowering boosts confidence and confidence encourages folks to try new methods of action and thought.

Often, clients will tell me that they cannot mix gold with silver…that earrings, necklace and bracelets need to be in the same metal. I ask them to think about mixing metals in a smart way. For example, gold earrings can be worn with a silver necklace. To help make the transition, wear a necklace that has gold in it or wear the same metal color for the accessories (necklace and earrings). Mix it up with bracelets and rings. I wear my dad’s yellow gold jade ring with a gold bracelet. My watch is gold and silver. My earrings and necklace are white gold. And it all looks great together!

The woman wearing a neutral color says, my hands are well taken care of. They are a critical part of my image but not the only element.

For men, the message is the same, well-groomed nails indicate elegance and conservative look. Dark polish shouts- a performer and an artist. What is your message?