When should a business pay attention to feng shui?
Before we get into the nuts and bolts, let’s establish this: the feng shui of a business, for the most part, takes after the feng shui of the business’s day-to-day decision maker. In a small company, this would be the business owner. In a public company, this could be the Managing Director or CEO.
It thus follows that every time there’s a change in guard at the very top of the management structure, the business should give its feng shui a good look over.
So, what happens when we invite a feng shui master to do this look over? With Wavemark, we started speaking to a master before the business was incorporated.
He helped me understand that when we talk about the feng shui of a business and its decision maker, we’re referring to (A) the analysis derived from the 八字 bazi birth chart reading of the decision maker; and (B) feng shui principles applied to the company according to the nature of its business.
Using (A) and (B), the master established some guidelines for Wavemark:
1. Favourable element(s)
Of the five elements in feng shui, Wood brings us the best advantage. Fire favours me as well, the business decision maker, but not Wavemark. This is because Wavemark provides design services and Fire in general, clashes with businesses that primarily provide services.
2. Favourable colour(s) and shape(s)
Luscious greens, rich browns and standing rectangles work for Wavemark — picture a strong, tall tree when you think of the Wood element. This is the reason our logo is green and takes an upright shape.
3. Feng shui cure(s)
When we first spoke to the feng shui master, we were still exploring names for the business, although at this point, we had already landed on the word “wave”. We wanted to bake the concept of feng shui into the name. Since feng shui literally means “wind water” in Chinese, and a wave is a creation of wind and water, we thought it was rather clever… until the master explained that waves represent movement and hence, instability. Who would want that for their business?
You might have heard of feng shui cures or remedies for interior design and decoration. Well, there are feng shui cures for business too.
Specifically with Wavemark, we needed to remedy the “wave”. The master determined that our logo needed a symbolically powerful visual device to “still the wave”. He recommended the Monkey King’s magical staff, a mighty weapon borrowed from the pages of Journey to the West, a 16th-century Chinese literary classic and pseudo-historical fantasy novel. We complied. No questions.
For companies going through a changeover of top management, a complete name change or logo makeover is often out of the question. From a practical point of view, an established name and its logo are a part of a company’s legacy. It typically doesn’t make sense to throw away brand equity and name recognition with drastic change.
Legacy, brand equity and name recognition are also precious in the eyes of feng shui. To square these with a change of the guy at the top, a feng shui master will most likely suggest cures rather than an overhaul. Depending on the bazi of the new decision maker, these cures may involve minimal changes such as updating the official typeface from serif to sans serif for example, or refreshing the logo with new colours or decorative motifs.
Working closely together with design creatives like at Wavemark, the master can also suggest a new branding direction for a company under new management.
For illustrative purposes, suppose the Wood element becomes favourable to the company now. This element is associated with growth and vitality, among other things. The master may suggest a brand campaign to showcase the company’s growth stories, and excite their customers with the business’s upcoming innovations.
The changes that feng shui calls for could be big, or they could be small. But the details will be as significant as the decision maker’s bazi is significant to the business.
Special thanks to Master Victor Tan of San Yuan Ke Geomancy Consultancy for providing the feng shui reading for Wavemark Pte. Ltd.
This article also appears on LinkedIn.