Joey Yap
Essentially, when a particular sector has positive features in the space, the aspects (departments, divisions, business activities, personnel) that relate to that sector will generally have fewer glitches, problems or issues or show better progress or profitability.
By contrast, if a sector has features in the space, the aspects that relate to that sector will have a disproportionately high number of problems, challenges, obstacles or require an inordinately high amount of attention at the expense of other areas of the business or organisation.
For example, office A has certain negative features in the east area. The east sector relates to action, execution, operations and implementation, as well as the business development team, staff engaged in fulfillment of services or orders, and the COO of the company. Any business occupying office A will experience a great deal of problems that relate to the execution, operations and implementation aspects of their businesses.
For a simple trading business, this could manifest into frequent and costly mistakes made by staff delivering the wrong orders to customers, or failing to send orders in a timely fashion. In a more sophisticated organisation, the COO may find constant challenges or obstacles in attempting to improve the business processes of the organisation.
Spotting negative features in your office
So how do you know if a particular area in your office has negative features? Negative features come in many forms but here are few common variants:
• Exposed overhead beam or an uneven ceiling protruding wall columns in the area. The area is dark, dank or musty, windowless and airless, making the area very Yin.
• The area is very cluttered, or the space is very tight.
• The sector is a closet or storage area.
• Thick foliage or trees outside the area that result in the space being dark or very shady due to a lack of natural sunlight despite windows in the room or space.
• Pylons or lamp posts outside the area, whether it is visible from inside the building.
• A T-junction right outside the area, especially if the office is on the ground floor.
External negative features
External negative features (typical negative features found outside the building or office space are thick foliage, pylons or lamp posts and T-junctions), tend to have a greater impact as it is harder to minimise its negative effects, since it tend to be larger structures or public structures.
Internal negative features
By contrast, internal negative features can be cornered with renovation, or the careful positioning of office furniture or potted plants. An exposed overhead beam can be covered with an artificial ceiling. Exposed columns can be covered or evened out, using heavy furniture such as filling cupboards or built-in cupboards or storage, or natural walls. Very dark, extremely Yin Qi spaces can be brightened by using more lights.
The case of the missing sector
For small and medium sized businesses operating out of a single office unit or a floor of a shoplot, there sometimes can be the problem of a missing sector. This is usually the case if the office unit or shoplot has an odd design, or is set at an angle, resulting in a space that is not a square or rectangle.
An office or business premises house a missing sector when one of the squares of the eight grids is missing. This does not mean that the office space is automatically bad, but it does mean that the aspects that relate to that sector, be it people, divisions or departments, or business activities, will often be the bane of the business or the most problematic aspect of the business.
For example, office B is in a shoplot that has a missing south sector. The south sector relates to an organisation or businesses branding, public relations, reputation and status. Since the south sector is missing, the business occupying office B will find that it is either unable to find good staff to assist in branding and PR efforts, or the business services or products lack awareness among the public, or do not seem to be top of mind among the target market.