When a policeman pulls you over for speeding, in that exchange at the window of your car will be a battle about status roles.

Are you going to play low and let the policeman play high?

Are you going to take offence and pull a “don’t you know who I am?” and try to get the policeman to play low?

The video encounter between Clive Naidoo from Bloubosrand and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officer is a classic example of the battle of status levels.

When you are at a networking event, the business card you receive, the most important thing on the card is: title, the location of your offices and are you using landline numbers, this is all about status levels.

It is about who is up and who is down?

Status levels are sometimes not about material things but about titles.

Marketers are very good at leveraging on titles and VIPs, Black Cards, Slow-Lounges, Business Class etc.

Your status should not be manipulated by whether you managed to secure suite tickets to an event, or sitting in the front seats closer to important people.

When I look at a person, I see a person, not a rank, not a class, not a title.

Treat people with respect irrespective of their title, rank or aesthetics.