www.b2billinois.
com The Weekly Business-to-Business Forum
Proceed With Caution:
High Stress Levels Ahead!
Julia M. Rahn, Ph.D. | B2B Illinois contributor
Are you
one of
many indi-
viduals who
have read good
articles on how
to manage stress?
Do you say to your-
self, “yes this makes
sense and I should
practice some of those
techniques?” Somehow
life keeps happening and
your attempts at stress man-
agement fall to the end of the
priority list. You say to yourself,
“When I have time, I will try again”.
This is a common experience for
most professionals. Decreased produc-
tivity, poor co-worker relations, increased
absenteeism due to needing a “mental
health day” or to take care of a physical ill-
ness are just a few of the red flag consequences
of unmanaged stress. All of these negative out-
comes originate from individuals not taking care of
themselves when stress levels begin to increase but wait until their
stress is at Level Red to do something about it.
Before anyone attempts to change behavior, however, they must
know their own ‘Yellow Flags’ that indicate danger zone ahead. Here
are some known and little known Yellow Flags indicating a crash is
impending:
Around the County with the State of Illinois:
DCEO’s Bureau of Energy and Recycling
Edward S. Piatt | B2B Illinois contributor
This month I would like to highlight the Department of Com-
merce & Economic Opportunity’s Bureau of Energy and Recycling
which seeks to demonstrate the economic development benefits,
including job creation, of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and
recycling through a variety of programs and services. Further,
Bureau programs will demonstrate that economic development,
sustainable energy, and recycling practices and environmental pro-
tection go hand in hand.
In addition, the Bureau continues to promote the leadership of the
State of Illinois, through its own energy and recycling policies and
practices, at state facilities. Individually tailored programs are avail-
able to assist Illinois citizens, communities, non-profit organizations,
businesses, industry, and other government agencies in an effort to
achieve the Bureau's mission. Program areas include the following:
Illinois Energy Efficiency Portfolio
Under Public Act 95-0481, DCEO Bureau of Energy and Recy-
cling, Ameren Illinois and ComEd are required to develop a portfo-
How to “Green” Your Business
Susan Meredith | B2B Illinois contributor
Converting to “green” is a lot like learning to ride a bicycle.
When our son Ian first started riding a bike, he was a bit reluc-
tant. He watched other people do it, talked about it, was interested
in how the equipment worked, but wasn’t so sure he was ready. Ian
was just starting to feel comfortable when he sailed down a hill. He
didn’t know how to use his brakes and eventually toppled. With
only his confidence shaken, Ian figured he would leave bikes alone
and let other people ride them.
Ian’s experience is a lot like how many of us approach green.
We’re watching, listening, talking, and interested, but not really
pushing off into it yet. Hearing about mercury in compact fluores-
cent lightbulbs leaves our confidence shaken. Is it going to do us
harm? Maybe we’ll leave it alone and let someone else do it.
If you reduce the amount of paper you use, you reduce the
amount you have to buy. If you reduce the amount of travel and
transportation, you reduce the travel costs. If you improve the effi-
ciency of your light bulbs or turn them off when not in use, you
reduce the amount of electricity you have to buy.
If you’re hesitant about becoming a green business, find someone
to give you a push. You’ll find it’s fun to play the game of energy effi-
ciency. “What if we kept the temperature one degree different –
would we notice the difference and how much energy would it save?
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■ Early morning (3 or 4 a.m.) awakening
■ Eating that “oh I shouldn’t” piece of candy found in your cowork-
er’s candy dish
■ Feeling on edge most of the day
■ Feeling like you are walking through molasses on your way to work
■ Hitting the snooze button 10-15 times each morning
■ Procrastinating on important projects
■ Drinking that “oh I shouldn’t” extra glass of wine at night
Once these signs are acknowledged there are many proven tech-
niques to prevent Level Red breakdown. Here are five techniques
you or your employees could actually do, starting today, often with
immediately stress reducing results.
Remember to Breathe. Breathe by directing air into your
diaphragm and extending your belly, then hold it a second or two,
and then slowly let all of the air out your mouth or nose. Repeat 3-
5 times. Breathing in this way will help slow your thoughts down,
clear your mind, and get more oxygen into your system to help you
work more effectively.
Say a simple mantra to yourself. No you don’t have OCD (Obses-
sive Compulsive Disorder), if you repeat over and over “yes I can”,
“I can stay calm” or “stress is manageable”. You can also pick words
that are meaningful just to you. This strategy really works to start
changing negative self-talk into productive self-talk.
Take a walk around the block. It will help your mind switch
tracks from focusing on the problem to figuring out a solution. To
stay in solution-focused mode, it is believed that exercising at least
20 minutes a day will keep those neurons firing productively.
Complete a mini Progressive Muscle Relaxation protocol at your
desk. Pick various muscle tensing activities, such as pointing your
toes toward head, clenching your fists, and raising your shoulders
to your ears. Separately, tighten each muscle grouping for 30 sec-
onds and then release, feeling the difference between tensing and
relaxing. Once you stop tensing, your body wants to relax and will
assist you in helping these specific muscles to relax.
Draw circles. One last resort before blowing your cool is to just
take your pen to paper and draw circles. The process of actively
doing something in your control plus the symbolic representation of
the circle (i.e. wholeness and completeness) should be enough to
get you through to the end of the meeting. Of course, after the meet-
ing it is suggested you take a walk, remembering to breathe deeply
in order to process out the built up stress effects from the meeting.
lio of electric efficiency programs to achieve targeted annual ener-
gy savings goals. Over $50 million will be utilized for the Portfolio
programs during the first year, which began June 1, 2008. The port-
folio program funding will double during the second year and triple
in the third year. DCEO will work with Public Sector entities where-
as Ameren Illinois and ComEd programs are focused on residential,
commercial and industrial sectors.
For further information on the legislation, background and his-
tory, Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards go to www.ileeps.org.
Incentives for measures to reduce electricity available now!!!
Sources of Energy Professionals, Vendors, Contractors
For help finding energy professionals and vendors there are
three sources for you to utilize:
1) SEDAC (Smart Energy Design Assistance Center) Energy Ser-
vices Providers: http://smartenergy.arch.uiuc.edu/html/
search_serviceprovider.html
2) Ameren Illinois Provider Trade Allies:
http://www.actonenergy.net/program-allies-business.asp
I wonder how few lights we can use? How about if we stagger work
hours so employees could avoid rush hour traffic and use less gas on
their commute? What if we allowed more telecommuting? How
about if we used teleconferencing in place of some of our business
travel? How can we reduce paper waste and other waste? I wonder
how much energy we’d save if we installed motion sensors in the
bathrooms?” To really understand the impact, you should track the
changes as business process improvement projects.
No matter what size your business is, everyone can contribute to
making a greener office environment by simply starting small. Each
small movement will make everyone more comfortable with bigger
steps. For instance, changing out lightbulbs, in the office or at
home, is relatively simple and inexpensive to do. It’s like taking that
first push on the bike – you’re on your way.
Computers generate lots of heat and provide lots of opportunities
for energy savings. Make sure defaults are set to standby or hiber-
nate when idle; screensavers still use energy! Encourage staff mem-
bers to start the habit of turning computers off when going home or
leaving the office for an extended period. Consider using power
strips to shut down all electronics completely.
When you’re ready to move onto bigger projects, your computer
networks are a good place to look. Get more efficient equipment,
energy efficient chillers for data centers and check into computer
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As you can see, stress management can be simple. Now that you
know these five helpful stress management techniques, you only
have one decision to make. You have a choice to stay healthy and
happy in the fast lane with green lights ahead or crash and burn
from hitting stress alert. It is your choice.
Dr. Julia M. Rahn is a clinical psychologist and founder
of Flourish Studios™ – a multi-faceted learning cen-
ter. In addition to running Flourish Studios™ and
working individually as a therapist with her clients, she
is a speaker and consultant. To find out more about
Dr. Julia and Flourish Studios™, please visit www.ican-
flourish.com or call 773-281-8130.
3) ComEd Trade Allies:
http://www.exeloncorp.com/ourcompanies/comed/comedbiz/
energy_savings_products_and_services/tradeally/
participatingallies.htm
For further information regarding these programs, please contact:
Bureau of Energy & Recycling
620 East Adams Street
Springfield, Illinois 62701
Phone: 217.785.3416
I would also like to take this opportunity for anyone interested in the
Opportunity Returns program or seeking business assistance to contact
me at 312.636.0739 or email me directly at Ed.Piatt@illinois.gov.
Until next month, see you around the county…
Edward S. Piatt is the northeast senior account man-
ager for the Illinois Department of Commerce &
Economic Opportunity.
power management for large-scale networks. In other areas, think
about using solar water heaters, acquiring your own energy storage
to take advantage of off-peak electricity prices, and xeriscaping the
grounds to reduce the water usage. Use alternative fuels and alter-
native vehicles for company vehicles. For those with dedicated
routes, see if fully electric vehicles will do the job. Share your
research with other companies so they can benefit, too.
Knowledge dissipates fear, so continually educate yourself and
your employees. Knowing you’re contributing to the solution just
feels good! Like riding a bicycle.
Susan Meredith is an engineer, MBA graduate and
founder of HumanExcel, a corporate educational firm
that helps organizations improve efficiency, reduce
wastes and save energy. Her forthcoming book,
“Beyond Lightbulbs: Lighting the Way to Smarter
Energy Management,” provides insights based on
years of research on the innovative ways consumers,
companies and government organizations can reduce energy con-
sumption and dependence on oil, and curb global warming. Susan's
expertise includes global, personal and organizational energy man-
agement. For more information visit: www.HumanExcel.com or call:
512.326.9300.
102608201106287
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