A better life means a better business
For too many business owners, their business is their life. They work too many hours, don’t exercise, and have high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They eat too much of the wrong things and not enough of the right things.
Does this sound like you or a business owner you know?
“The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China,” by John Day, M.D., is being published this month. Day found that 70 percent or more of doctor visits are for stress-related ailments such as high blood pressure, chest pain or palpitations.
A Yale University study found that feelings of sadness, anger, stress, impatience or anxiety increase the risk of getting atrial fibrillation by nearly 600 percent.
Until Day visited the village of Bapan, China, where one in every 100 people lives to be 100 or older (compared with one in 5,780 in the United States), he thought these adverse medical conditions were a normal part of the aging body.
To provide some personal perspective, my grandmother was born in 1889 and died at age 109. She lived through almost the entire 20th century. I mention this only because in hindsight, I believe that she followed many of the recommendations that follow, which I hope will improve your health outcomes, and by extension, your business.
First, smile more. A 2010 study published in “Psychological Science” found that baseball players who smiled in their playingcard photo outlived the rest by seven years.
In Bapan, Day found a woman who, at age 107, smiled all the time, and asked her if she smiled during tough times. Her reply: “That’s when smiling is most important, don’t you agree?”
As a business leader and for those you lead, smiling matters. Your face, stern or smiling, sends a message.
Second, focus on daily accomplishments. The goal’s not to put in long hours because you can. It’s to work hard so you can complete something of significance, something you can take pride in.
Third, don’t forget to play. Business leaders need to encourage their team to take deserved time off, and lead by example by going on vacations themselves. This summer, make it easier for employees to play by having a summer dress code, and if possible, go to summer hours. Encourage listening to music if it doesn’t interfere with job responsibilities. Have contests and games with prizes to encourage people to laugh, enjoy being on a team, and to compete.
Fourth, set time aside each day to think. Every business leader has an obligation and responsibility to carve out periods of solitude.
The iPhone, and before it, the Blackberry, created a 24/7 culture of interruption and rapid response, demanding that we be on call all the time. To set aside ample time to think, business leaders need to separate themselves from this artificial sense of crisis.
How much time is ample? Start with 30 minutes a day, and focus on eliminating distractions disguised as opportunities until you have a full hour a day to think.
Thinking consists of reflection, evaluation, assessment, strategizing, focusing, and planning.
If you as leader don’t take uninterrupted time to think, who in the organization will? Failing to invest in the time necessary to do this critical task puts your organization at risk.
We’re at the year’s midpoint. The best thing you can do now is to think about how you want the rest of the year to go, and to being thinking about 2018.
Ken Keller is an executive coach who works with small and midsize B2B company owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs. He facilitates formal top executive peer groups for business expansion, including revenue growth, improved internal efficiencies, and greater profitability. Please contact him at Ken.Keller@StrategicAdvisoryBoards.com. Keller’s column reflects his own views and not necessarily those of this media outlet.