OUT OF COURT
Feng Shui attracts big business
Let the energy flow, explains Mary Nondé
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice. Literally translated, it means wind and water’, a superb metaphor for the power and wisdom of Nature. Feng Shui advocates that if you’re having difficulty attracting new clients, re-arranging the furniture can be the solution. If absenteeism is a problem, consider a change in the colour scheme.
Experiencing good Feng Shui is like the uplifting effect of a good vacation. Law firms, with strategically placed aquariums or fountains in their reception areas have latched on to a Feng Shui "secret". Being outdoors under blue skies near water—whether lake, sea, river or swimming pool—can make us feel healthy, happy, vital, more active, inspired. So let’s do what we can with water features inside and recreate some of this energy.
Help from the world’s best designer
Nature understands harmony and balance better than anybody. She’s a magnificent, self-taught artist with design sets that appeal to everybody. Whether it takes the expansiveness of desert Arizona to lift the lid off our "boxed-in" thinking, or the blue-jade sea of the C6te
DAzur to cleanse our flailing spirits, either will do—plus any others that inspire us. What’s important to observe is that these environments move us; they make us feel—and when we feel, we have energy. Energy to work. Energy for life.
By observing Nature and drawing inspiration from her as to how to arrange our interiors, we can learn a lot about improving the quality of our lives and firms. That’s what Chinese farmers discovered more than 3,000 years ago and incorporated into the building and siting of their communities. When you understand the principles of natural harmony and balance, you’ve grasped the essence of Feng Shui. Translate it into action and we can fantasise about going to work each day and enjoying the experience, rather than just show-up.
Rooms and healthy spaces
Some of us are lucky and are already on the right track. On the way to work we pass green fields, and when we look out of our windows we see healthy trees and wildlife. It’s hard to experience this spiritual uplift, however, when you travel to work underground, your offices are ten floors up and look out onto concrete, and there’s no sense of whether it’s day or night. When we work in these conditions, we have to work with Feng Shui doubly hard in order to feel alive—let alone thrive.
Think of your boardroom. Let’s say you are here to brainstorm case strategies or to hold your monthly partners’ meeting. Typically it has off-white walls, which are bare. It relies on artificial, fluorescent lighting. It receives no fresh air and already smells stale. The table is rectangular with hard, square seats. Does this sound like an inspiring space? Are we likely to feel imaginative when just the thought of this room leaves us brain dead? Feng Shui solutions for the law practice can include good lighting, enriching colours, healthy plant life, inspiring artwork, indoor fountain—or a combination of ail of these. The solutions require an investment in lime in thinking it through but they don’t always need to be expensive.
Where you sit can make or break
Seating arrangements are all important in a lawyer’s private office. If you are not feeling on top of things, the chances are you are sitting too dose to the door. If your experience is to always to be in the firing line, the chances are you are sitting directly in the line of the energy flow entering the room that is, opposite the door. To be in charge of your job you need to be in charge of your space and to position your desk so that it enjoys a "commanding view" of the room, particularly the door. A large, substantial desk is good: it conveys authority and success. However, it is not good to conduct client interviews sitting behind it because it is a barrier to communications, intimidating in fact It is better to be ultimately—and metaphorically—on the same side as your client, in more relaxed seating, if you want a successful meeting
Now look at the seating of your staff How many people can we see facing walls (dead ends), with their backs to one another? Not surprising that staff morale is low and people don’t get along? Or, perhaps there’s a rapid turnover of staff, the majority of whom are floating in an open-plan office like a ship without a sail. Feng Shui considers these issues which to some may seem like commonsense. But since many of us have lost our connection with Nature, we are out of touch with what’s natural and healthy when it comes to office layout too.
An alternative to woolly cardigans
Feng Shui is also about harmonising and balancing two extremes, yin" (the feminine) and "yang" (the masculine). When an environment or space is out of balance— whether it’s a room or the whole law firm— people operate at less than optimum. And it’s not their fault.
Here’s a recent story to illustrate the point. I was talking with an image consultant recently who was aghast that an architectural award-winning office had receptionists dressed in woolly cardigans. She wanted to go right in there and "smarten them up". I asked her why she supposed these women found the need to come to work dressed this way. She didn’t know. I volunteered that their immediate working environment was out of balance and this was causing them to feel vulnerable. They were adding layers in order to protect themselves (introducing a dose of "yin" to use my terminology). She didn’t have to describe the reception area. I did it for her. The receptionists were placed in the middle of a huge space with a glass ceiling. Directly opposite their desks were large, impressive front doors and behind them the elevators to the remainder of the floors opened and closed constantly. This space can also be described as very "yang" with strong, angular lines, lots of harsh, natural light and steel structures. These women represent the front line of their firm and yet they are totally exposed in Feng Shui terms and their environment is out of balance. The receptionists chose to wear "yin" style clothing in order to feel safe and comfortable. The Feng Shui solution would have looked at relocating the reception desk, introducing softer lines in the seating, large healthy plants, warmer but softer colours, and maybe a water feature for good measure.
Measures of success
Once we begin to appreciate the principles of Feng Shui, how can we measure the results? Our method is to start by asking a company to complete a questionnaire on their expectations from the Feng Shui consultation. We also ask them to document their specific goals and aspirations for the business and any specific challenges they face. This could be as seemingly trivial as "we don’t get along with the other firms on the floor" to more critical as "we’re losing clients to the competition". The important thing is that the firm articulates the problems in their terms not according to a set of Feng Shui "rights" and "wrongs". This questionnaire provides the guiding force behind the recommendations that follow—and the measure of success. We then conduct an audit of the premises (which may take hours or days depending on the firm size) and produce a comprehensive action report. It is then up to the client to execute the enhancements, at their own pace and according to their budget, although we are always there as a "coach" and sounding board. Results can manifest quickly when working with the discipline of Feng Shui, depending on the degree of commitment from the company
Going with the flow
Many solicitors’ daily working lives are starved of natural experience. We return home depleted. After a few months of this we’re frazzled. Feng Shui is all about energy: flows of energy. When energy flows steadily and surely through our working spaces, we feel good. When we introduce Feng Shui principles to working spaces, we stand a much better chance of feeling good as often as is realistically possible. When the offices feel good, our people are happy, motivated, their productivity and creativity is up and their absenteeism down. Clients enjoy visiting the practice just to get a taste of this experience. Profits soar and the bottom line looks wonderful. Feng Shui creates the ideal environment for good business, big business. That’s what large, forward-thinking corporations such as British Airways and BUPA have latched onto, and there’s no reason why law firms shouldn’t do so too.
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Through Precision Vision, consultations to homes and business and introductory talks, workshops on Feng Shui are available as part of the Quest for the Authentic self programme. Please e—mail Patrick@nonde.freeserve.co.uk or visit www.nonde.freeserve.co.uk