《Corporate Sigma 12》.pdf

11 Corporate Wellness: The Physical Without change, there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improve- ment. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the inevitable change. William Pollard Chairman, The ServiceMaster Company To stay healthy, people visit their doctors for regular physicals. This allows them to monitor and assess the function of vital organs and systems to ensure health and to identify any problems early on when intervention is easier. During a routine physical, the doctor discusses the patient’s con- cerns and checks blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, responsiveness, and other basic vital signs. If, after these checks, any body functions are of concern, the physician recommends additional tests and an appropriate treatment. Regular physical checkups are necessary to evaluate wellness, and physicians view this as one of the most important steps we can take to ensure our health. Wellness is generally defined as achieving a balance between mind and body, or internal and external environments, which leads to a heightened state and feeling of peace. From the perspective of alternative medicine, wellness means much more than being disease free; it is a conscious choice to pursue a healthy lifestyle and balance of mind, body, and spirit. The same is true for a corporation. In order for the corporation to be healthy, it needs to evaluate its wellness through constant assessment and monitoring of its vital functions. Review of profit and loss, customer sat- isfaction, employee satisfaction, and other metrics are common vitals that corporations need to check. If a department is not functioning well, an appropriate action should be executed to resolve the issue. 223 224 • Corporate Sigma: Optimizing