Category Archives: Professional Development

How Gauche! Take Our Quiz to Rate Your Workplace Etiquette

Think you’ve got impeccable business manners? Why not find out? Take Blue Pencil Institute’s workplace etiquette quiz below to see if you’re a gracious and well-mannered career professional — or if your workplace manners are, shall we say, a little rough around the edges. Choose A, B, or C to respond to each statement below:

1. A co-worker starts to tell you a story she heard about a co-worker’s private life. You:

A. Diplomatically tell her you’re not interested in hearing it.

B. Listen carefully. You figure that the more you know about your co-workers, the better equipped you’ll be to navigate the politics in your office.

C. Listen but share what you heard only at home and not in the office.

2. A client has been waiting about five minutes to meet with you but you’re running a little behind schedule. You need a few more minutes to finish what you’re doing so you:

A. Apologize in person and offer the client a cup of coffee and a magazine.

B. Have someone else tell the client that you’re running late and will be a few more minutes.

C. Let the client continue waiting without hearing from you but finish what you’re working on as quickly as you can.

3. One of your co-workers had too much to drink at your office’s holiday party. You:

A. Pull her aside and try to get her to switch to coffee or a soft drink.

B. Take the drink out of her hand in front of everyone and make a joke of it.

C. Ignore it.

4. You have a non-urgent question for a co-worker who is talking with someone on the phone so you:

A. Leave a note saying you need to speak with him and try to get him another time.

B. Stand in the doorway and wait for him to get off the phone. You figure that that will save you time and that he’s likely to be on the phone again when you come back later.

C. Motion for him to put the caller on hold so you can speak to him.

5. One of your co-workers tells you that the new employee in the office looks really sexy in the clothes he or she usually wears to work. You:

A. Privately point out that the comment was sexist and offensive.

B. Publicly criticize him for saying something sexist and offensive.

C. Laugh heartily and voice your agreement. You figure that it’s harmless fun.

6. You notice that one of your male colleagues’ fly is unzipped. You’re a female and believe that he may be embarrassed if you point this out to him. You:

A. Quietly and privately ask one of the other men in the office tell him.

B. Ignore it.

C. Make a lighthearted joke of it.

7. A co-worker made a dish that exploded in the office microwave and didn’t clean up after herself. You know who made the mess. You:

A. Tell the person privately that the mess is still there and that it is courteous for her to clean it up so others can enjoy using the microwave.

B. Ignore it.

C. Leave a note anonymously on the microwave to “Whoever Made This Mess.

8. A client who is hearing impaired phones your office and wants to talk with you. You work in a cubicle. You:

A. Remove yourself to a room where you can close the door so you can speak to the client at the volume he needs to hear you.

B. Speak at a normal volume into the phone and figure that if the client can’t hear you that he can email you or come in person to talk with you.

C. Raise your voice volume so the client can hear you, even though everyone in and around you will hear what you’re saying.

YOUR SCORE: A’s are worth 2 points, B’s are worth 1, and C’s are work 0. If you scored 14-16 points, your business etiquette skills are strong. You’re able to handle challenging situations courteously. If you scored 10-12 points, you usually practice good business etiquette. Seek ways to approach every situation in your workplace with respect and consideration for others. If you scored below 10 points, you would benefit from doing some additional work to improve your business etiquette skills. Look for books, courses, and one-on-one coaching to help you develop the manners you need in your workplace.

For more information about workplace etiquette, check out Blue Pencil Institute’s Top 25 Tips for Workplace Etiquette. On Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/drlaurahills/workplace-etiquette-25-tips/. – Dr. Laura Hills, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

Four Guidelines for Setting Goldilocks Goals

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I’ve coined the phrase Goldilocks goals to describe goals that are not too soft, not too hard, but just right. Goldilocks goals are the ones that are challenging and motivating, but not insurmountable. Remember, Goldilocks had a pretty good idea of the kind of chair, porridge, and bed she was looking for. She had goals. But they were reasonable ones. Her vision of what she was looking for, coupled with her and tenacity and positive outlook, drove her to keep going until she found everything just right. Your Goldilocks goals can drive you to keep going, too. They can help you know what you’re looking for – what just right looks like, feels like, and tastes like in your career and your life — but they can also be reasonable so that you don’t become overwhelmed by your goals and deflated by them.

Below are the four guidelines I’ve developed to help my clients craft their personal and professional Goldilocks goals. In addition, I recommend that you take a look at my Pinterest board, “Goal Setting: 25 Tips” at http://pinterest.com/drlaurahills/goal-setting-25-tips/. Together, these two tools will help you set your own Goldilocks goals – and articulate them positively.

Write your goals for your career and your personal life following these four guidelines:

1. Phrase your goals like you’ve already achieved them. For example, “I now own outright a new black BMW 4-door sedan” or “I have just been promoted to vice president in my firm”. Putting goals in the present tense makes them more compelling and triggers your brain to think of them as achievable and real.

2. Use passionate, motivating language. For example: “I absolutely love and am excited about waking up every day in my beautiful townhome.” Such a statement is far more motivating than the more sedate, “I like my new townhome”. Let passionate language drive you to achieve your goals.

3. Write specifically and in rich detail. Your subconscious mind manifests ideas literally. Therefore, use clear, specific and powerful language to describe what you want. For example: “I absolutely love being the HR director of my company. I love having my own office, earning a higher salary, and having the respect of others that go with the title. But most of all, I love being in the position to help others, to solve problems, and to make our company a great place to work.”

4. Write in positive terms. Examples of positive statements might be: “I am now free of the habit of smoking”, or “I am now a smoke free person”. Negative examples might be: “I don’t smoke any more” or “I’m not a smoker”. Your subconscious mind is likely to be motivated by positive outcomes and the benefits associated with them.

Tip: Share these four guidelines and my Pinterest board with your employees, colleagues, and mentees if you are in a position to help them with goal setting. – Dr. Laura Hills, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

Why I Love Complaints

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While no one wants a client to become angry or upset, it is not an altogether bad thing when a client complains. In fact, I encourage businesses to welcome complaints.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the vast majority people who are unhappy with the services and products they buy don’t complain. A huge number of them simply walk away and no longer want to do business with service providers and vendors who have disappointed them. And perhaps an even greater number will tell others about their bad experience. In fact, it is likely that people who are unhappy with a service or product will tell between 10 and 20 people about their bad experiences. That means that if 10 of your clients are unhappy with something you have done or not done, the chances are that 200 people will hear the story – and perhaps with some embellishments and exaggerations. The damage to your business is potentially huge.

An interesting corollary to this is that the vast majority of people who complain about a service or product and feel that their problem has been satisfactorily addressed remain loyal to the business. Furthermore, the mere voicing of a complaint, even in the absence of a resolution, increases loyalty, too. Therefore, don’t look at client complaints as a negative. Remember that the client who is complaining to you, even angrily, is giving you an opportunity to do something to solve the problem, retain his or her loyalty, and build goodwill for your business. Thank the complaining client for bringing the matter to your attention and for giving you the chance to provide the best service and products possible – and really mean it when you say it. – Dr. Laura Hills, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com.

Communicating Personally on a Business Email? Uh-Oh!

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If your business uses email, provides email service for you and your co-workers, or allows you to use email for business purposes, you’ll benefit tremendously from instituting and following a company-wide email policy. Here’s what typically goes into a business email policy:

Personal use of the email system. A business email policy can explain whether employees can use email for personal messages. If the business places restrictions on personal messages (for example, that employees can send them only during non-work hours, must exercise discretion as to the number and type of messages sent, or may not send personal messages with large attachments), describe those rules.

Monitoring. In general, an employer reserves the right to monitor employee email messages at any time. An email policy can explain that any messages employees send using your business’s equipment or email are not private, even if the employee considers them to be personal. If you will monitor employee emails regularly using a particular system — for example, a system that flags key words or copies every draft of a message — explain that system. This will help deter employees from sending offensive or highly personal messages on your work email.

Rules. A business email policy can make clear that all of your workplace policies and rules (such as rules against harassment, discrimination, violence, and solicitation) apply to employee use of the email system. The policy can further remind employees that email messages sent on your business’s equipment or email should be professional and appropriate.

Deleting email. A business email policy can establish a schedule for purging email messages and for archiving emails. The policy can further describe for employees specifically how they are to save important messages from the purge.

Are you looking for more information about managing your emails? Or, would you like to use an interesting tool to help your employees manage their emails well? If so, check out my Pinterest board, “Email: 50 Do’s and Don’ts” at http://pinterest.com/drlaurahills/email-50-do-s-and-don-ts/. – Dr. Laura Hills, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

What’s Causing Your Stress? The Answer May Surprise You

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Certain working conditions are stressful to most people. For example, excessive workload demands and conflicting expectations are workplace situations that most everyone will find stressful. However, such situations are not the norm. Apart from universally stressful workplace situations such as these, differences in individual characteristics such as personality and coping style are the most important factors in predicting whether certain job conditions will results in stress. In other words, except for universally stressful workplace situations, what is stressful for one person may not be stressful for another.

There is no “one size fits all” solution to managing stress. Workplace stress management begins with identifying the sources of stress and your own particular hot buttons. This is not as easy as it sounds. Your true sources of stress may not be obvious to you. It’s very easy to discount your own stress-inducing thoughts and behaviors. For example, you may know that you’re constantly stressed about staying on a tight schedule or meeting ambitious deadlines. Clearly, a jam-packed appointment schedule or a project that has to be done triple-time is stressful. However, it may be possible that your own procrastination, fears, expectations, insecurities, or guilt (and not only the actual job demands) are contributing to your stress. That’s why it is so important to look closely and objectively at your habits, attitudes, and excuses.

Many people find it helpful to keep a stress journal to help them identify their true stressors and the ways they deal with them. Each time you feel stressed, keep track of your feelings in a journal. As you keep a daily log, look for patterns and common themes. Record what caused your stress (guess if you don’t know), how you felt (physically and emotionally — be specific), how you acted or didn’t act, and what you did, if anything, to make yourself feel better. Pay particular attention to journal entries that suggest that you explain away your stressors and don’t deal with them directly. Also, look for entries that suggest that you define stress as an integral and inevitable part of your job. (“Things are always crazy around here.”) Also note journal entries in which you blame others or outside events or when you view the stress as normal and unexceptional. Finally, use your journal to help you identify the techniques you use to cope with stress and evaluate whether they are healthy or unhealthy, productive or unproductive.

Are you looking for more ways to avoid and reduce work-induced stress? Or, would you like to use an interesting tool to help your employees to minimize and manage their workplace stress? If so, check out my Pinterest board, “Stress Management: 25 Tips” at http://pinterest.com/drlaurahills/stress-management-25-tips/. And the next time you feel yourself gritting your teeth, coping with a stress-induced headache, or otherwise feeling that your work stress is getting the better of you, try to step back from it and identify what’s really going on. Look for solutions externally that will help you avoid and minimize the stressors. Then, look for solutions inward that will help you cope better. – Dr. Laura Hills, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

The Barista with the Blank Face: Three Hallmarks of Professional Excellence

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The other day I stepped into a local coffee shop where I smiled and said hello to the barista behind the counter. The young woman neither responded verbally nor smiled, but rather, stared at me blankly waiting for me to tell her the next monotonous coffee order she’d have to fill. While her response was obviously far from what any employer would hope for in a customer service representative, what struck me most about my barista was how apparently miserable she was in her job. I felt sorry for her.

The barista with the blank face clearly wasn’t happy, and because of that, I have to say that she wasn’t excellent in her job. Getting a cup of coffee should be a pleasant experience, not one where the customer feels that his or her order is a burden. Because of my barista’s poor response, my overall experience in the coffee shop that day was lackluster, even though the coffee was hot and delicious. I thought more broadly about the excellent customer service experiences I’ve had elsewhere and the excellent individual performance I’ve witnessed. While professional excellence may vary from one person to the next, it struck me that there are three hallmarks of personal excellence that are always in place – and that this unfortunate young woman lacked. Excellent career professionals:

1. Sincerely want to better the business. Have you ever come up with a solution to a problem in your company or suggested a better way of doing things or of providing better service to your clients? Do you treat the company you work for as though it is your own? If you love what you do and you are committed to excellence, you’ll be constantly on the lookout for ways to improve your business, whether it’s your “coffee shop” or someone else’s. If my barista owned the shop, I doubt that she’d have behaved as she did. Or certainly, if she did, the shop couldn’t survive long.

2. Are constantly learning and enlarging their expertise. Do you read books, professional journals, and newsletters pertaining to your work? Do you attend conferences of your professional association and participate in courses, either face-to-face or online? Do you know and regularly visit several blogs and/or websites that help you keep abreast of your field? The career professional who is passionate about gaining new knowledge is better equipped for the future and has more to contribute. It’s a likely guess that my unfortunate barista hadn’t learned anything new on her job or about her work since her initial training.

3. Get in the “flow” of their work. Flow occurs when we lose track of time and are 100% engaged in what we’re doing. Do you find yourself staring at the clock and waiting for each break or the end of the day? As the day is winding down do you find yourself counting the minutes until you can bolt out the door? If you’re just punching a clock at work, like my barista, you’re most likely not performing excellently. Notice the times when you’ve gotten lost in your work and were fully present in the moment. Strive to have more and more flow times like those.

Career professionals who are truly excellent don’t put on a set of behaviors and act the part (though in this case, I’d have preferred that to my barista’s blank stare). They are excellent from the inside out, making their excellence genuine.

Are you looking for more ways to increase your personal and professional excellence? Or, would you like to use an interesting tool to help your employees to increase their personal and professional excellence? If so, check out my Pinterest board, “25 Rules for Being Excellent” at http://pinterest.com/drlaurahills/25-rules-for-being-excellent/. And the next time you encounter excellence – or the opposite of excellence, like my barista with the blank stare — think of the three hallmarks of excellence I’ve identified and look for other lessons that you can apply to your own life and career. And remember, your client’s experience will suffer if you’re not excellent – even if your coffee is hot and delicious. – Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com.

Don’t Be a Time Bandit: A Four-Rule Ethics Tune Up for Employees

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Most people agree that it’s unethical to steal goods, equipment, funds, or information from an employer. Most also agree that it’s unethical blame others for our mistakes, to lie, or to belittle or bully others. These are ethical “givens” that are part of the deal anyone makes when agreeing to work for an employer.

However, employee time is often a gray area. Many employees use work time to do things other than their work. But is that the right thing to do? To begin, consider carefully what it means when an organization agrees to employ you. Your employer pays you a specified salary or hourly wage and perhaps some benefits for your work. In exchange, the assumption is that you’re working the hours you’re scheduled to work. The overarching agreement between you and your employer is therefore that work time is work time. That means that the time you’re scheduled for work is under the control of your employer. It’s not time for you to use for other activities.

I believe that the misuse of work time is a pervasive and subtle form of theft that shortchanges an employer and chips away at an employee’s integrity. To help, I recommend that employees ensure that they’re working the hours they’re supposed to and have agreed work and giving their employers an honest day’s work by following by these four basic rules:

1. Be prompt. Arrive on time, be ready to work, and work all of the hours you’re scheduled to work. Sounds simple, right? However, many employees steal time at the beginning and end of the workday. Imagine that your regularly-scheduled work hours are between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Now imagine that you clock in at 8:15 a.m. every morning and leave at 4:35 p.m. Missing these 40 minutes of work time each day for a month adds up to a total of 13 hours of lost work time. Over the course of a year, that 40 minutes per day adds up to 156 hours of missed work – the equivalent of nearly four weeks! So, an employee who misses 40 minutes of work each day is essentially taking an extra one-month paid vacation each year. Don’t let this happen to you. Come to work early or on time and don’t ask to leave early or try to slip out unnoticed. Then, if circumstances occur so that you don’t work all of your scheduled hours, don’t exaggerate or lie about your work hours on your time sheet. Fill in only the hours you’ve been present and working. Offer to make up the missed time or take less pay – that’s what’s fair and right.

2. Don’t take unsanctioned breaks. Your employer may allow you to take a 15-minute break mid-morning and mid-afternoon and a 30- or 60-minute lunch break. Don’t stretch these times or take more breaks than you’ve agreed to take. If you do, you’ll be shortchanging your employer of the hours you’ve agreed to work.

3. Conduct your personal business outside of your work hours. Employees are stealing time when they use work time to make personal phone calls, check personal emails, tweet, text their friends, go on their personal Facebook pages, shop online, play games, run errands, socialize, or engage in study, a side business, or other activities that aren’t within the scope of their jobs. Unless clearly specified as exceptions, your employer expects your time and your attention to work matters during work hours.

4. Be industrious. Your employer shouldn’t expect you to kill yourself working but does expect you to work at a reasonable pace to complete your work. An employee with integrity doesn’t goof off and isn’t lazy at work. — Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

Author’s Note: This blog post is written for employees. Business owners and managers may want to share this post with their employees or make this post the topic of a staff meeting or one-on-one meetings with their employees.

Readers interested in learning more about managing their time may enjoy Blue Pencil Institute’s 25 Top Time Management Tips. On Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/drlaurahills/25-time-management-tips/

Hello, My Name Is Laura

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Have you ever had a job that required you to wear a name tag? I serve as the pianist and music specialist at an assisted living facility on Friday mornings and even though I’m there only a few hours each week, my work requires me to wear a name tag. In fact, everyone on the staff wears the same lightweight plastic name tag, from the president on down, giving us all a common identity and a sense of belonging.

Wearing a name tag is not a daily habit for me, so I sometimes forget that I have mine on when I leave the facility. When this happens, and I stop somewhere to run an errand or get a bite to eat, the same thing inevitably happens. Someone I don’t know in the store, bank, or restaurant starts to talk to me. “Hi Laura,” “How ya’ doin’, Laura” or “Can I help you, Laura?” are typical remarks. Sometimes, someone will ask, “Laura, where do you work?” or “Laura, what do you do?” People are much friendlier to me when I’m wearing my name tag. I’ve noticed that they’re more likely to talk to me, to ask me a question, or to smile at me than when I’m not wearing my name tag.

We are issued name tags at conventions, corporate events, and social functions. Don’t we do that so people will be friendlier to one another? A name tag breaks the ice and helps people connect. It enables us to remember one another and makes the awkwardness of first introductions just a bit easier. Name tags can also provide information that can stimulate conversation. For example, a name tag can tell where you are from, what organization you represent, or your title. I’ve noticed that the employees in a local grocery store wear name tags that have something personal on them and an invitation for customers to ask a question. For example: “Hello, my name is Bob. Ask me about the Dallas Cowboys” or “Hello, my name is Denise. Ask me about running marathons.” The employees have told me that these name tags work like a charm in stimulating interesting and friendly conversation with customers.

My point is this: If there’s an opportunity for you to wear name tags in your workplace, wear them. People would be friendlier to you and more likely to strike up conversations. They’d be kinder to you, too. It would be much harder for someone to cut into a line in the company cafeteria if the person next to him could say, “Hey, Michael, we have a line going here.” Name tags remove the anonymity that many people hide behind to excuse rude or unkind behavior. Name tags would make it a lot easier for your clients to know who you are and in larger organizations, for you to know your colleagues in other departments and divisions. And think, too, about wearing your name tag when you’re out visiting client sites and whenever you are doing business on behalf of your company. You’ll see. People will open up to you more when they know your name. — Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

Knowledge? Shmowledge! Go Ahead and Make a Little Trouble

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My father used to say that I made my own trouble. He was right, of course. But in my defense, I can tell you precisely why that was the case. Whenever anyone asked me if I could do something I’d never done before — or whenever I saw some great opportunity out there that looked good to me– I was the first one to blurt out an emphatic yes. Yes, I can write that. Yes, I can teach that. Yes, I can make that. Yes, I can do that. I’ve yessed myself through life even when I didn’t have clue about what I would have to do or how I would do it. I just said yes.

Want some examples? Well, here are just a few of the things that I have said yes to in my life with no relevant experience under my belt and without really knowing what would be involved:

Write my first book for Prentice-Hall
Chair an English as a Second Language program at a university
Serve as a marriage celebrant and legally marry a couple
Write a newsletter for hospital medical directors
Serve as an expert witness in a court case
Sing our national anthem at a golf tournament
Script and emcee a university commencement ceremony
Write an elementary school spirit song
Accompany a novice tuba player on the piano for a music competition
Make 1,600 chocolates for my nephew’s Bar Mitzvah
Play Here Comes the Bride for a wedding
Lead an Irish sing-along, and
Give subcutaneous fluids to a cat

Why would I say yes to such things if I didn’t know how to do them? Because that’s how I’ve gotten to do amazing things in my life (fluids for the cat aside). I suppose I could have been conservative and taken on challenges only after I’d had proper training and experience. But what fun would that have been? Besides, saying yes when you don’t know what you’re doing is an invigorating leap of faith – in yourself. I may not always have known how to do the things I committed to doing. But I believed in me and I believed that I would ultimately figure things out. Call it gumption, call it confidence, or call it foolishness if you like. But whatever you call it, my yesses have given me opportunities that other people have not had.

Mind you, once I say yes to something I don’t know how to do, I react pretty normally. I panic just like anyone would and tell myself that I must have been completely nuts to say that I could do whatever it was. But then, inevitably, I calm myself down and get to work, and guess what happens? Somehow, I manage to write the book, to bang out the chocolates, to accompany the tuba, or to do whatever other crazy thing I said that I could do.

My daughter, Meredith, has told me that she thinks of her mother as a “professional expert”. According to her, it doesn’t matter what task is in front of me. She says I will always appear to be an expert in it – and then, somehow or other, I will actually become one. The kid has a point. Some people learn to swim by taking lessons in the shallow end of the pool, blowing bubbles, and learning technique step by step. I guess I’m the type that learns best by jumping into the deep end. I may flail and sputter a bit but somehow, I will always manage to stay afloat. And most people will think I know what I’m doing while I figure things out.

The next time you’re wondering if you should agree to do something that’s completely new and unfamiliar to you, don’t back off. Don’t let a lack of knowledge and experience stop you from doing what you would like to do in your life. Take a giant leap of faith and join me in the deep end. Say yes. You’ll figure out how to do whatever it is that you’ve agreed to do. Don’t worry when the panic sets in, because believe me, it will. But it won’t last. Don’t worry about the trouble you will create for yourself either. It will be worth it. Besides, what’s so bad about making a little trouble in your life? After all, the world needs more experts, doesn’t it? — Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com

It Started with a Red Kitchen

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Many years ago, I was feeling stuck in my career and my life. I had lost my mother only months earlier and the combination of my grief and my overall dissatisfaction made me feel incredibly sad. Then one day, as I was preparing my breakfast, I noticed how beige my kitchen was. The walls were almost the same shade of beige as the countertops, appliances, table top, and vinyl flooring. Even my toaster and coffeemaker were beige. The beige engulfed and surrounded me and stood for me as a symbol of my beige, bland life.

That’s when I decided that I had to paint my kitchen. But I didn’t know what color to choose. I spent weeks looking at paint chips of tasteful colors that most people would like – light greens, blues, and tans for the most part. I asked my friends for their suggestions. But nothing was right. Then, as I was looking at the paint chip display in a big box hardware store, I saw a man walk by who was wearing a windbreaker in the most delicious shade of red. It was a clear, strong, and definite red, and it immediately caught my eye. I followed the man and asked him if he could please come with me for a moment so I could match my paint to his windbreaker. He must have thought me mad. But he was a kind man. He humored me and together, we were able to match his jacket perfectly.

The moment the red paint went on the wall, I started to feel better. With every stroke of the brush and every pass of the roller, I felt that I was covering my beige sadness and preparing for a happier time in my life – a red time. When the room was completely red, I felt for the first time in a long time that I could finally breathe again. I felt exhilarated. My red kitchen was the harbinger of so many great new things in my life. After that, I returned to graduate school, took better care of my physical self, created a more orderly home, started playing the piano every week at an assisted living facility, and even, composed music for the first time ever. My creativity and energy soared, and with it, my happiness.

Are you feeling stuck, sad, down, or at a loss for what to do? Choose one room in your home where you spend a lot of time and paint it a spectacular new color. Don’t pull your punch. Give yourself permission to live in a color you love. If you don’t know what color that is, keep your eyes peeled and notice what pops. A color will come to you. Then live in that color, wrap yourself in it, and let it heal you. You’ll draw energy from the color but also from your own power for having changed something so dramatically in your environment. Then see what happens next. My guess is that good things will follow. — Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com