Mark Zuckerberg’s Tough Choice
Mark Zuckerberg went back to work today. The Facebook CEO, and poster boy for the startup billionaire dreams of thousands of young entrepreneurs, took two months of paternity leave following the birth of his first daughter.
To mark his return to the office, he posted (on Facebook, of course) a photo of his closet, and the tough fashion choice he was making today:
While a look inside the billionaire’s closet is something new, Zuckerberg’s minimalist approach to fashion is not. He helped make the hoodie a Silicon Valley staple.
“I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community,” Zuckerberg once said about his fashion choices.
Of course the Facebook founder is not the first to take clothes out of the decision making process. Many famous people wear the same thing every day. The “Four Hour Work Week” guru Tim Ferris says this helps remove “cognitive load” from the day, letting them focus on more important things.
Steve Jobs was legendary for his commitment to the black mock turtleneck, jeans and New Balance sneaker combo. Albert Einstein had a work uniform. Even President Obama focuses on the minimalist uniform, with perhaps a bit more sartorial flair.
He told Vanity Fair:
“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” [Obama] said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” He mentioned research that shows the simple act of making decisions degrades one’s ability to make further decisions.
Something to think about tomorrow when you open your closet door.