In business, being audacious can often lead to crumbling walls. How do you ensure that the wall breaking down is the one between you and your (potential) client, and not the one you’re standing on?

Yesterday, I stumbled over this interesting interview over at the Wake Up Later blog. It’s with Skellie, a respected blogger writing for such successful blogs as ProBlogger and FreelanceSwitch. She also runs her own, top-rated blog Skelliewag, and the recently launched Anywired.

In the interview, Skellie states that…

One of the things I try to practice every day is audacity, and audacity is how I got all my jobs.

Now, while I partly agree with this attitude, that alone didn’t make me write this post. What did make me raise an eyebrow was this comment by a certain CLJD on the statement:

Audacity isn’t something I’d strive for… no, TENACITY is something I’d strive for. Audacious people are thought of poorly because they are bold and are arrogant and disregard normal restraints.

I simply couldn’t resist to reply to that comment on Wake Up Later’s website. After I had put in my two cents, I ended up asking myself what exactly had made me comment.

Arrogance and authoritarian absolutisms

I can’t say that CLJD’s comment made me hit the roof, but I was a bit annoyed about the tone of voice in his comment. Everybody deserves their own opinion, and if you think that way about audacity applied to business, that’s fine. But it was reason enough for my humble self to defend the use of a good and stable dose of audacity in the business world.

My point isn’t hard to figure out: if you take the time to read my short comment on the Wake Up Later blog, you’ll see the baseline I’m heading for. I don’t think that audacity will kick you out of business. I don’t think that audacious people advertise a poor or overly arrogant image to their opposite.

The 2/10 rule

I do believe that using a fair and healthy amount of audacity can do the trick for you when you want to impress someone in business. Especially when you’ve got competitors in your field, and you want to stand out, you can fill up one or two cups with audacity in your row of ten available ‘asset cups’. You can stuff the remaining 8 with your other values, like quality, resourcefulness, skills, and a good pricing, each according to the quantity of their existence.

The magic factors

Now, if you go ahead and turn yourself upside down to be audacious, you will most likely freak people out. Don’t use the 2/10 rule too frivolously! You should always consider three very important factors: the field you’re in, and the people involved. Right, that makes two, but naturally, the people involved are a) your dear opposite and b) yourself.

• Your field: Are you in the creative business or, say, in the hotel business? Look at the business you’re in, and at the general tenor around you. As a rule, the more public and impersonal your surrounding is, the less audacious you can be to bring your point through.

• Your opposite: Analyze and evaluate them. Being a good judge of character comes in handy here. What is your opposite’s state of mind? Are they cool, youthful and easy-going, or are they rather inhibited, traditional and stiff? You won’t make a good impression on narrow-minded people by being overly audacious.

• Yourself: Look at yourself and try to realize how other people see you. How do you come across? Do you radiate authority? What do you look like? What is your style, your diction, your appearance like? Also, what is your social status? Is claiming that you are the best in your field part of your image? A rather introverted and strait character with a superimposed audacity blazer won’t scare a single bird out of its nest, but will most likely damage your image.

Action summary

Adjust your level of audacity to the business field you’re in, to your opposite’s tenor, and to your own character. If you manage to find the right way for yourself, with the portion of audacity that suits you best, you may find that sticking out of the mass in this particular way can act as the extra mile. Just take care that that mile doesn’t lead backwards, got it?