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11.07

Physical Excellence

by Terrance Malkinson

Excellence can exist in a number of dimensions: physical, mental, moral and social. Are you fit and trim, firmly muscled, and radiating with energy? Can you snap off push-ups and sit-ups? Do you walk to the grocery store or to work? Are you an observer of sporting events or a participant? Do you select your food for its nutritional value? Are you frequently absent from work or facing increasing costs for your healthcare? More than 50 percent of the western population is overweight, and disease is burdening our health care system. Many workers are injured at work — injuries that could easily be prevented or mitigated by engaging in a few minutes of stretching before, during and after work. Many workers are ineffective at their jobs because of chronic fatigue. Physical excellence should be considered as encompassing the following components:

• Strength

• Flexibility

• Energy

• Stamina

• Leanness

• Endurance

Companies must work with employees to seek ways of improving their physical health. Doing so will yield more effective employees. It is not difficult for anyone to achieve physical excellence. It will increase your quality of life and contribute to your personal and career success. Simply do it!

For Further Reading:

Booth, F.W. et al., "Waging War on Modern Chronic Diseases: Primary Prevention through Exercise Biology," Journal of Applied Physiology, 88(2), pp. 774-787, 2000.

Kramer, A.F. K.I. Erickson ,and S.J. Colcombe, "Exercise, Cognition, and the Aging Brain," Journal of Applied Physiology, 101(4), pp. 1237-1242, 2006.

Meeusen, R., and K. DeMeirleir, "Exercise and Brain Neurotransmission," Sports Medicine, 20(3), pp.160-188, 1995.

Shephard. R.J., "Do Work-Site Exercise and Health Programs Work?" The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 27(2), pp. 48-72, 1999.

Wattles, M.G., and C. Harris, "The Relationship Beteween Fitness Levels and Employee’s Perceived Productivity, Job Sagfisfaction, and Absenteeism," Journal of Exercise Physiology, 6(1), pp. 24-32, 2003.

Other Bytes

Here are some of the things going on in and around the engineering community:

• Forbes (180(9), 29 October 2007, www.forbes.com) has published its listing of the 200 Best Small Companies in America (pp. 114-136) and named its entrepreneur of the year (pp. 88-97). Hansen Natural, ranked as #1 followed by NutriSystem and Under Armour. As stated in the articles introduction “small businesses are dynamic and sometimes volatile.” This year seven companies are new to the top 10, and 111 companies that appeared on the list last year did not make the cut this year. Hansen Natural manufactures specialty natural soft drinks and juices (www.hansens.com). NutriSystem (www.nutrisystem.com) is involved in weight management and fitness programs and Under Armour (www.underarmour.com) designs and markets branded athletic clothing. Entrepreneur of the year is Clint Severson who developed a machine to test blood quickly, accurately and cheaply. The small toaster-size machine manufactured by Abaxis (www.abaxis.com) is capable of completing a number of blood tests in a few minutes all in the doctors’ office. The article describes many of the issues involved in developing the machine and the story very interesting reading.

• Leadership 2007 is the theme of the October issue of Fortune (156(7), October 1, 2007, www.fortune.com). In “Leader Machines” (pp.98-106) Geoff Colvin discusses the practices of how the great companies build their leaders. Valuable information from the trenches on how you can manage your professional development should you be interested in leadership positions. A ranking of the world’s companies that do the best job of developing strong leaders is provided in “The Top Companies for Leaders” (pp.109-116, 2007). Leading the ranking is General Electric Followed by Procter & Gamble, and Nokia.

• Effective communication is essential for managerial success. In “Bringing out the Excellent Communicator in Managers,” (Strategic Communication Management, 11(5), pp. 20-23, 2007, August/September 2007, www.melcrum.com) Sue Dewhurst and Liam Fitzpatrick describe their work on how they help managers develop the skills to become better communicators. A short, effective article of tips and strategies that includes two case studies.

• A number of stories have emerged lately on the quality and safety of goods manufactured in China. This has concerns not only for the global consumers but also for the Chinese and other foreign manufacturers. In “Made in China Stigma Shock” (Far Eastern Economic Review, 170(7), pp. 9-13, September 2007, www.feer.com) Ken DeWoskin discusses aspects of this issue. A recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that 57 percent of Americans consumers are “not too confident” or “not at all confident” in the safety of products made in China. The author discusses the value of reputation, what to do, assessing the damage, and looking ahead.

• We are experiencing rising healthcare costs and there is a significant relation between employee health and productivity. In “True Costs of Workplace Health” Employee Services Management, 50(2), pp. 5-7, 2007, www.esmassn.org) the editors report on their analysis of the recent Health and Productivity as a business Strategy published in the July 2007 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (49(7), pp. 712-721, 2007, www.joem.org). Looking at four U.S. companies, researchers found that “lost productivity costs related to health were four times greater than direct spending on medical costs, the traditional measure of healthcare spending”.

• For some entrepreneurs success is only the first step…entrepreneurs are often driven to take it to the next level. In “When Success Isn’t Enough” (Entrepreneur, 35(11), pp. 78-81, 2007, www.entrepreneur.com) Chris Penttila discusses stories of those who have reached for the next level. A check list based on General Electric’s Six Sigma approach is provided that you can rate your companies’ growth strategy.

• Entrepreneur recently published its listing of the top 50 entrepreneurship graduate and undergraduate programs in America (Entrepreneur, 35(11), pp. 83-98, November 2007, www.entrepreneur.com). Topping the list for graduate education is the University of Southern California followed by Babson College and the University of Arizona. With regard to undergraduate programs Babson College was ranked first followed by The University of Houston and Drexel University. The article also includes a listing of many other entrepreneurship programs offered in the United States. A link is provided to more detailed information at www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges).

Terrance Malkinson is a communications specialist, business analyst and futurist. He is an elected Senator of the University of Calgary, a Governor of the Engineering Management Society, international correspondent for IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Online, editor-in-chief of IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Digest, editor of IEEE Engineering Management, and associate editor for IEEE Canadian Review. He the author of over 300 publications and is also an accomplished triathlete. The author is grateful to the Haskayne School of Business Library at the University of Calgary. He can be reached at todaysengineer@ieee.org.