It doesn’t take a chartered accountant to know that just about every major decision taken within a company is done for one reason: profits.
Yet more money can be saved and earned by taking notice of the “soft” issues, and combining traditional strategic and marketing philosophies with ancient ones.
Astrology, numerology, feng shui and colour harmony are some of the centuries-old sciences which are gradually being utilised in the area of mergers, company relocation, employee placement and corporate or brand identity. Not an end in themselves, these ancient disciplines are used as extra tools in strategic planning. The recent launches of two Johannesburg-based companies, Zenzes Advertising and Design Source, and corporate consultants Higher Sources International, confirm growing local interest in such issues.
A variety of internationally successful companies have already bought into the benefits of these practices, including British Airways and The Body Shop, which utilised feng shui in recent design ventures.
The underlying premise of feng shui is that everything in your surroundings can either motivate your energies positively or negatively.
As Winston Churchill once said: “We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us.”
Morningside-based Computer Associates hired architect and environmental designer Ian du Toit to design their new office building. Managing director Jeremy Smith was instrumental in allowing feng shui to be incorporated into the design. “By nature I am cynical about these things. But Ian is a very good architect and if his Chinese philosophies gave us a slight edge, then it could do no harm.”
Staff turnover is an expensive problem for companies, with the cycle of a single unhappy staff member leaving and his or her replacement being up and running estimated to cause approximately nine months of lost or low productivity and direct financial loss. This includes lack of interest in their job, demotivation of other employees, work-to-rule in their notice month, severance pay, time out for interviewing for a replacement and three to six months of training and settling in for the new employee.
Another important factor in staff equilibrium and financial success is the changing of a company name. Numerologists believe that every letter of the alphabet has a particular vibration, thus every name has its own vibration.
Often with mergers and acquisitions, the new name is simply an amalgamation of the two original company names, giving off an energy that no longer reverberates correctly with the philosophies of the company. Indeed, the name may unwittingly contain the bankruptcy number, signaling doom from the onset.
While this theory may sound ridiculous to some, the main system of numerology used today was given to us by Pythagoras, among whose main tenets was the view that numbers are the ultimate elements of the universe. The Bible, too, is full of numerical symbols and the Chinese, Egyptians, Chaldeans, Greeks and Romans have used their own numerological systems.
Even corporate logo design is an energy and can be created in accordance with feng shui and colour therapy. Zenzes is the first South African creative source to offer the full range of disciplines, together with innovative design and strong creativity.
Cheryl Adamson, founder of Zenzes, says, “Strategic planning and marketing should be proactive in assessing trends and we should be available to respond to them. But while many companies have begun to incorporate ancient sciences, specifically in interior design and corporate communications, few have recognised the potential for application within the wider marketing arena. I would hope that utilisation of these disciplines becomes as mandatory as market research.”
Corporate executives are not viewing this approach with the same scepticism as in the past. A top cosmetics manufacturer, a prominent Johannesburg stockbroker, a thriving advertising agency and an information technology company are just some of the successful companies to whom Anita Noyes-Smith of Higher Sources International consults.
“All of my clients are straight up the line and down the sides, they are not wacky – and neither am I. The services I offer are extremely scientific, which is why they originally appealed to me as I studied biology. Did you know that the RNA and DNA in your body works in precisely the same way as the planets do? It is simply a macrocosmic look at a microcosm. Standard science.”
Another important service is electional management, which is used to determine the best time to initiate projects and time important events, such as the launch of a new company, a major purchase or the signing of a contract.