So it “appears” that the word optics has attained ubiquitous status. I hear it all the time now, not only from the chattering class in the press and the cable news shows, but I actually heard it uttered at the gym the other day.

Optics in its current non-scientific pedestrian use simply means, “how something appears, or is perceived.” You hear it used most often today in political discussions, but interestingly enough it seems to have evolved over the years in the world of business. And as business people, optics have a powerful influence on our success.

It’s easy to dismiss the criticism that something in particular “doesn’t look good,” or that it has “bad optics.” After all, as business types we are preoccupied with the realities of our enterprise, not the perceptions. While other’s perceptions are subjective, we for the most part control our optics.

Good optics for your business start well before others may ever step foot into your establishment. If you are philanthropic and active in your community you are creating a good perception. It is something you can control. If you show up on a YouTube video cussing a blue streak at the referee at your kids soccer game than the public will not only draw a conclusion about you but they judge your business and even your employees. Once again, it is a situation you control.

Optics have their greatest impact on customer service. What are the impressions that a customer feels when they walk up to your place of business? When they enter the lobby will there be a doughnut in the mouth of the front desk person? Good systems and procedures will ensure that starting even in the lobby you can control the optics of your business.

While it seems silly to have to outlaw powdered doughnuts at the front desk, you are going to have to make it perfectly clear what is acceptable behavior because you can’t take good optics for granted. Even going so far as setting an office dress code can be essential in training your staff in the importance of optics. I’ve always felt that staff uniforms were as much a defensive measure for people that couldn’t figure out how to dress themselves, as a sharp way to create continuity in branding.

As long as we are stuck with optics as an overused buzzword, let’s take advantage of the heightened sense of how important perception is. After all, it is reality.

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