I don’t know if you have the same issue in your offices, but our Wellness Warrior noticed that as the day progresses staff gradually start slouching at their desks. So we started an afternoon stretch session to break this slouching rut. At 3:30 our Outlook calendar buzzes at us to stop for 5 min and stretch as a team! It’s great fun and re-energising. Everyone returns to his or her work refreshed and buzzing.
The stretches we do aren’t complicated. Here is a list of some of them:
Rotate the wrists to the right and left 10x each side
Stretch the right arm to the left across your chest for 20 counts
Stretch the left arm to the right across your chest for 20 counts
Stretch calf muscle (20 counts for each leg)
A set of 10 – 20 star jumps
Lunges on both legs for 10-20 counts
What do you do at work as a team or on your own to beat the afternoon slouch? I’d love to hear your experiences and practices.
We live in an uncertain world. Natural disasters fill our news, work security does not exist, governments are still invading countries for political gain instead of focusing on the nourishment and progression of their own people and for many people living and enjoying life is becoming a challenge amidst the negativity, uncertainty and confusion of modern, western life. Which is why living a life by certain principles, beliefs and actions is more important now than ever before. These are eight principles that I live by. Please add to them, elaborate on them and apply them personally.
Principles are the root of our existence
1. The key to constant enthusiasm is the forging of positive alliances with common-goaled people. Human interaction is at the core of our existence. Aim to have as many friends as possible. Surround yourself with people who want the best for you. Share your thoughts and dreams and they will help you achieve your goals.
2. Obsession is a great tool if used for creating your best life. Obsession is not a bad thing if applied to eating good food, exercising daily and learning to be a better friend, better family man/woman and a better colleague. Improving yourself should be an obsession. It is only unhealthy if it is applied in only one area of your life to the neglect of the others.
3. To find excitement in your life you must go looking for it. In business we know to go looking for clients. The same goes for our personal life. Fun and friends will not come to you. You have to go looking for them.
4. The effortless way to change your life is to replace old useless habits with new powerful and productive ones. It takes 21 days to sow a good habit. Start today.
5. Admitting you are wrong about a situation puts you in control of that situation. It liberates you and takes power away from people who would like to tell you that you are wrong.
6. Spend at least 5 hours a week exercising the body and at least 5 hours per week sharpening the mind. These are your only insurances to prolonged health and happiness. Body = eating fresh food & daily exercise. Mind = reading and learning daily about how to improve all aspects of your life.
7. True leadership is about giving everyone a fair go. Before you write-off a work colleague as having a bad attitude first consider whether your stated expectations have been communicated clearly and effectively. Good leaders acknowledge that not all of us are built for leadership. Some people need to be led and directed and that is an honorable quality. If all of us were leaders then not much would get done.
8. Do not dismiss your heart’s feelings. They are like a friend guiding you to greener pastures. Feelings are prompts for you to take action (e.g. opportunities) or prompts to make change in your life (e.g. problems). Stop and feel your feelings even if it hurts. If your feelings are one of the positive emotions of love, faith, hope, then act on it. If your feelings are one of negative emotions of fear, anger, envy, then recognize it as negative. If it’s fear, then face that fear. Do what you’re scared of! If it’s anger then ask yourself why you are angry. Are you blaming others, yourself or a situation for something that has happened? Recognize it as such.
5 years ago, business was all about authenticity. It still is. But there has been a natural evolution from authenticity to COMPATIBILITY.
We are wired psychologically to make choices based on compatibility. As children, we made friends based on having things ‘in common’. As we got older we chose a girlfriend or boyfriend based on similar principles.
And now as adults we make subconscious choices, again based on compatibility.
We choose foods that are compatible with our constitution.
We choose a restaurant that agrees with our tastes. Some like restaurants buzzing with activity while others like a quite ambience.
We choose friends who like the same sport or the same team.
We choose a café not just on its ability to make a coffee but one that serves coffee, the way we like it.
We choose a doctor not because of their ability but their manner.
We choose a school that is compatible with our children’s personality. I know some friends who send their children to different schools because of this. And it’s smart to do so.
Therefore, it’s not just about the ability of the person or the product to deliver what you want. It’s about their compatibility with you.
AND things go wrong when we ignore compatibility and make choices based just on ability.
We may choose a restaurant and have a bad experience.
We may choose a school that our children hate and perform poorly in.
We may choose a sport that injures us because we are just not right for it.
Or worse, we may choose the wrong life partner and end up getting a divorce.
So we cannot ignore compatibility. We do so at a great cost.
In business it’s no different. A product or a supplier must have the ability; that’s a given. Things start to go wrong, however, when we make commercial decisions based just on ability. If we develop a product and ignore its compatibility with the target market, it flops. If we choose a supplier that ticks all the right boxes, but their culture is not compatible with ours, the relationship will be negative and the customer will suffer.
So what is compatibility in business? Ultimately it’s about the people you’re dealing with. Do you like your customers or your suppliers? When push comes to shove, that’s what counts. You can face any challenge and meet any objective when you work with someone you like. If you are progressive, then ask are they progressive like me?
Therefore, compatibility is not about being right or wrong but what suits your business requirements. For example:
If you have a local service model, does your supplier support you locally or are their activities centralised away from your local market?
If you have national requirements, does your service provider have national coverage?
If you are focused on automation, does your service provider have capabilities to integrate with your supply chain or does the process fall into a manual queue when it reaches your supplier?
If you are focused on a personal customer experience, does your service provider have staff that are reachable and available?
Do you and your supplier have a similar risk appetite?
Do you and your supplier have a similar growth appetite?
Is your service provider’s model based on building relationships and partnerships or are they transactionally focused?
When you select your key service provider, you will likely want to maintain that relationship for the long term. Changing key suppliers can be very complicated, time consuming and expensive, so it is important to consider your compatibility in the long term.
If you look at evolution, you’ll find that we didn’t evolve by carrying around dumbbells and barbells. We evolved by using our own body weight to strengthen and condition our mind, body and spirit. I personally believe that you don’t have to go to the gym to get a complete body workout. I do three exercises, that’s it, only three! They work up a sweat and get the heart rate pumping, and can be done anywhere, anytime.
1. Squats – Keep your feet shoulder width apart and not 100% parallel. When squatting, make sure you bend down to make a 90 degree angle between your back and the floor. Keep your head up and your shoulders back. When you bend back up make sure you don’t lock your knees, keep them relaxed.
Do 5 sets of 15 squats. Squats are excellent for women, they work out thighs and gluteus maximums (butt muscles). If you feel a strong burning sensation in the thigh, well done! You’ve done them right.
2. Push-Ups – Push-Ups are one of the best all-round strength building exercises. They work both your upper and lower body and can be done anywhere, using different variations to get the most out of the workout. Even though the best way to do push-ups is on your toes, ladies might want to do them on their knees to give their body an equilibrium to push from. Remember to keep you back straight, your head up and your bottom as parallel to the floor as possible.
Do 5 sets of 10 and if you feel like being challenged, try the international 3 minute push-up challenge. Set a timer for 3 minutes and see how many you can do in that time. You can pause and have as many breaks as you wish. Let this amount be your bench-mark for improvement. Athletes average about 100 + push-ups in 3 minutes. See how you go! Keep us posted with your achievements, we would love to hear how you go.
3. Plank Challenge – Holding the plank is a fantastic and very easy way to build your core strength. Turn on a timer and see how long you can hold the position for. Aim for at least a minute.
You can do these three simple exercises anywhere, anytime and still get the workout your body needs. If you feel like you’ve reached your peak with these three exercises, there are variations you can try, for example squat jumps, spider-man push-ups, or holding the plank with extended arms.
We live in a culture that is addicted to speed. We eat fast, talk fast, work fast as we try to cram more and more in the day. And this is having dire consequences on our lives at home and at work.
I realised that I myself had a problem when my children started noticing that I was speed-reading bedtime stories to them. Thankfully I came across a book that made me realise that work wasn’t the cause of my stress but rather it was the speed in which I was working. The book is called In Praise of Slow by Carl Honore and I tell you it changed my life. As I read it, I was having “Aha!” moments where I was nodding continuously. The author is now a friend of mine and I would like to share with you one of his interviews where he explains what slow means in the work place.
Why have we in the corporate world, caught this disease called ‘speed’. Why are we doing everything faster in the name of customer service? And why have we peddled the idea that speed of service is the performance criteria by which customers should judge us. Has anyone stopped to ask, “Do customers really want fast service? Or do they want good, attentive, thorough service?”
If your business is running on speed, let me tell you it is not sustainable. In the short term you will get results, but over the medium to long term, the bubble will burst. Staff will get stressed, tired, and so absenteeism will rise. And that’s when you start seeing productivity drop AND, worse still, you will start to lose good staff.
Here are some of the business consequences of speed:
Hurried consultations
High error rates
Irate customers
Lower long term productivity
More importantly here are some health consequences for the Individual:
Increased stress levels and absenteeism.
Shorter lunch, eating at your desk, indigestion
Poor concentration
Reduced creativity
Poor quality time with children and/or partner
Alcohol Abuse
Insomnia
General executive burn out
So how do you work slower throughout the day? Try adopting some of the following strategies:
Don’t schedule in more than two meetings per day. And meetings should not last more than an hour
Don’t schedule any meetings after 3pm. It is the most unproductive time of day and also the time of day where most misunderstandings and therefore conflicts occur
Don’t pick up your second line (or call waiting) when you are already on a phone call
Don’t rush your meetings or phone calls. Take your time and ensure that you understand the objectives and outcome of a discussion
Don’t rush your meetings or phone calls
Turn notifications off
Taking renewal breaks throughout the day to stretch and breath
Listen more and listen actively. Absorb what the other person is saying
Don’t take on too much work. Learn to say ‘no’
Don’t rush your individual tasks. Enjoy doing them to the best of your ability knowing and reminding yourself that the service you give affects the customer. Visualise them praising you for the good work you will do
Don’t accept any last minute deadlines imposed on you. Last-minute deadlines usually arise from somebody else’s inefficiency. It is somebody else problem. Don’t make it yours unless it is truly an exception requiring you to go beyond the call of duty
Take a walk at lunch – preferably where there is a park or trees. Go alone
Take at least 45 minutes for lunch, eat outside and get some Vitamin D
Take a packed lunch to work for at least three days in the week. You will get more nutrition and you will save money
Keep a photo on your desk and look at it throughout the day. It could be a photo of your partner, your children or a picture of your next holiday destination
If you’re interested in reading Carl Honore’s books, here are the links to the two books that changed my life:
I don’t know if you have the same issue in your offices, but our Wellness Warrior noticed that as the day progresses staff gradually start slouching at their desks. So we started an afternoon stretch session to break this slouching rut. At 3:30 our Outlook calendar buzzes at us to stop for 5 min and stretch as a team! It’s great fun and re-energising. Everyone returns to his or her work refreshed and buzzing.
