On the edge of the box

GREENSBORO - You've heard of Myers Briggs, the preferred personality profile test for corporate America.

Now comes the New Age version holochromatic profiling. Instead of Myers Briggs letters - 'I' for intuitive, 'P' for perceptive, and so on workers are assigned a series of colors, divined for each employee by an "energetic medicine consultant."

They're doing it at Greensboro's Ouixote Group, a year-old public relations and marketing firm. And they are using it as a core part of the firm's avant-garde human resources strategy. Whole client teams are built around workers' color spectrums, with yellows (fun and playful types) matched with counterbalancing saffrons - a.k.a. "butt-kickers."

"We teach our employees every day as much as we ask them to do," said Quixote President Kim Doran, whose colors include nectarine (the essence of an executive), magenta (suggesting a coach) and indigo (the hue of an intuitive person).

"We help them access their creativity," Doran said, "their passionate sides as individuals and as professionals. we are committed to adding value to employees' lives because they give back."

That philosophy is only the tip of the iceberg at Quixote, founded by former Trone Advertising executives Doran and Angelyn Whitmeyer. They envision Quixote as an antidote to narrow, initiative-squashing corporate culture, the cure coming by introducing their employees to a variety of self-discovery programs.

Toward that end, Quixote's office features a meditation room, equipped with pillows and stereo; a Zen-inspired fountain designed by a yoga master; and an entire office designed around feng shui concepts. (Feng shui is a Chinese practice designed to bring harmony between natural forces.)

Topping it all off most recently were 30-minute "musical soul portraits" for each employee.

Goal: Personal and...