Whether we like it or not, it only takes three seconds to come to a conclusion about a new person (Flora, 2004). First impressions strike like lightning and before hearing the thunder we formed a first opinion. “According to the New York University Graduate School of Business, people make eleven decisions about us in the first seven seconds of contact: (1) education level, (2) economic level, (3) perceived credibility and credibility, (4 ) trustworthiness, (5) level of sophistication, (6) sexual identification, (7) level of success, (8) political background, (9) religious background, (10) ethnic background, and (11) social and professional desirability” ( Boucher, 2009, page 1). Personally, I immediately evaluate character and attitude when I see or read a text about someone for the first time. When I first read Clark's "First Impressions" (2010), I assessed John's character as that of an extrovert, governing the situations he faced from walking on the sunny side of the sidewalk to waving at a woman who he had just met. In the second scenario, John appeared to be an introvert, avoiding any comparison, positive or negative. If the scenarios were intentionally reversed and I was reading it for the first time, I might subconsciously think that John was an introvert, even while reading the second scenario. My first impression of his character would stay with me through this reversal. Consciously or unconsciously, a first impression can easily influence us, thus achieving the desired effect. An example of consciously influencing a first impression is known as impression management. Companies use this technique, defined as “the activity aimed at controlling information about a person, an object, an entity… in the middle of paper… the effort of individuals to control the images they project on social media”. interactions” (Provis, 2010). Ultimately, however, we are responsible for our impressions, consciously or unconsciously. As leaders, it's our job to know when and how these first impressions can be delivered, both as a business tactic and to guide our team to achieve the desired effect. Works Cited Boucher, J. (2009). First impressions count. OfficePro, 69(5), 7.Clark, D. (2010). First impressions. Retrieved July 18, 2011, from http://nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/impress.htmlDrummond, H. (1993). The power of impression management. Management Decision, 31(3), 16.Flora, C. (2004, May/June). First impressions, can you trust first impressions? Psychology Today, 37(3), 60-66.Provis, C. (2010). The ethics of impression management. Business ethics: A European review, 19(2), 199-212.