Institute for the Study of Pointless Metrics

leadership·Published 2024-08

Executive Patagonia Vest Ownership and Board of Directors Meeting Sentiment Scores: A Positive Association

Principal investigator: Dean Beaumont Kessler, Dean of the Practitioner Program.

02.34.56.894858.869.580.391Board meetings attended wearing Patagonia vest (per year) (count)Board sentiment score (post-meeting survey, 0–100) (score)r = 0.78p < 0.001n = 156
Figure 1. Board meetings attended wearing Patagonia vest (per year) versus Board sentiment score (post-meeting survey, 0–100). n = 156.
Executives who own and wear Patagonia vests to board meetings receive higher sentiment scores from board members in post-meeting evaluations.

Methodology

One hundred and fifty-six executives across 48 organizations that agreed to participate in the Institute's Board Dynamics Study provided self-reported records of their board meeting attire over a twelve-month period. Patagonia vest attendance was defined as any board meeting at which the executive wore a Patagonia-brand vest or pullover; garments of uncertain brand provenance were categorized as 'probable Patagonia' using a photographic reference guide. Board sentiment scores were collected from board member post-meeting surveys administered by the Institute without informing board members that apparel was under study.

Funding disclosure: Funded by the Institute's Executive Presence Research Fund. Patagonia, Inc. was not consulted, informed, or compensated and would likely prefer not to be associated with this study.

Instruments cited in this study

Full citation

Kessler, B. (2024). Executive Patagonia Vest Ownership and Board of Directors Meeting Sentiment Scores: A Positive Association. Institute for the Study of Pointless Metrics. r = 0.78, p < 0.001, n = 156.

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