|
|
|
RESULTS
Personal & Business Benefits of
The Inner Quality Management® Programme
Oil Company - Case Study #9
by Alan Watkins, M.D. and Chris Sawicki
of Hunter Kane Management
I would like to thank Dr. Alan Watkins and Chris Sawicki of Hunter Kane Resource Management for allowing me to share one of the case studies of their IQM program. They work mainly with executives in the European Economic Community.
Background
Most world-class companies are in the grip of continuous change and transformation and it seems that the pace of change is increasing. Some organisations are in a perpetual reorganisation cycle; some are struggling with the problems of globalisation as they try to rationalise their approach to a "world market."
But whether it is downsizing, outsourcing, more sophisticated markets, more demanding customers, more competition, information overload, rapid access and technological changes or all of the above facing a business, there is little doubt that we have created the most complex working environment in history. Some people find this rapidly changing "new-world" challenging and stimulating, but many find it stressful and cope with increasing difficulty.
In order for individuals to flourish in such rapidly changing times and perform at their peak, they need to be able to handle stress, be more flexible, more adaptable and more resilient. In short, they need to be smarter than before.
Science
Recent research by cardiologists and neuroscientists has shown that powerful techniques are available that can generate rapid and significant improvements in...
- mental clarity, creativity, and decision making
- cardiovascular flexibility
- hormone balance
- immune function
Specifically, this research has demonstrated that there is a profound link between productivity, brain function, cardiovascular health and stress. Learning how to consciously change the quality of the internal signal from the heart to the brain enables individuals to maximise cortical function, this is called "brain-heart entrainment." This enhances clarity, creativity and insight which are the key factors determining an individual's personal performance. These techniques are therefore capable of improving personal and organisational effectiveness, adaptability, productivity, and morale.
The Inner quality Management Programme
The Inner Quality Management Programme is based on this scientific research and has been shown to impact a wide variety of health and business performance indicators. The IQM programme is formatted as a one-day workshop accommodating up to 20 attendees.
Study Design
Because of this compelling scientific evidence, a major Oil Company organised a series of pilot studies to evaluate the efficacy of this new technology within a corporate setting. The success of the pilot programmes has lead to over 700 Oil Company employees being trained in IQM to date, and the improvements seen remain remarkably consistent. The data presented here represents the results of over 30 IQM Programmes conducted over two years at this Oil Company in nine different business units across Europe and Asia. This data summarises the changes experienced by the first 500 attendees.
Psychometric Results
Prior to attending the course, all participants completed an extensive psychometric questionnaire, the Personal and Organisational Quality Assessment (POQA). The POQA addresses individual and business performance issues. It has 58 items scaled to represent 12 constructs. There are five potential responses to each question, ranging from almost never, rarely, occasionally, often or most of the time; or alternatively from strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree or strongly agree. The POQA was repeated after six weeks to determine the impact of the IQM programme. The main findings of the POQA are presented below and on the next page. Scores shown are for responses of Often/Most of the Time (OMT) or Agree/Strongly Agree (ASA).
The POQA was repeated after six weeks and six months to determine the impact of the IQM programme. In addition to this subjective data, some groups underwent objective assessment of their blood pressure and heart rate variability before and after the IQM programme. The Oil Company's own medical team gathered this data. The main findings of the POQA are presented below and on the next page. Some groups have now been followed up at 12 months. The data gathered demonstrates that the improvements seen at 6 months are sustained at 12 months (see case study 12). Scores shown below are for responses of Often/Most of the Time (OMT) or Agree/Strongly Agree (ASA).
Personal Data
|
Business Data
|
|
|
Blood Pressure Results
Attendees on the first pilot study had their blood pressure monitored over a three-week period prior to the Personal Effectiveness Programme. The group average prior to the programme was 126/80mmHg. Six weeks after the programme, with no other lifestyle changes, the average blood pressure had fallen to 118/78mmHg. That is an 8mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure and a 2 mmHg drop in diastolic blood pressure. One particular individual, whose blood pressure was very high prior to the programme (160/100mmHg), had the first normal reading (130/80 mmHg) for the first time in fifteen years according to the Oil Company's Chief Occupational Health Physician. This individual's blood pressure has remained normal now for the 2 years since the Personal Effectiveness Programme.
This level of blood pressure reduction, if repeated in a large clinical trial, would reduce the incidence of stroke by approximately 60%. The reduction in blood pressure in this pilot study was in keeping with the reduction in blood pressure seen in other groups who have run the Personal Effectiveness Programme (Figure 1). Specifically in another Oil Company the group average blood pressure dropped from 132/84 to 123/79 mmHg, a 9mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure and a 5mmHg drop in diastolic blood pressure.
Figure 1
Heart Rate Variability Results
Heart rate variability (HRV), as measured by the beat-to-beat variation pulse rate derived from a 24-hour electrocardiogram (ECG), is a very sophisticated physiological measure. It has been repeatedly shown to be a very powerful predictor of all cause mortality and is known to be an important measure of overall health.
The scientific literature suggests that HRV should remain stable over time with a gradual deterioration increasing with age. Significantly reduced HRV suggests an increased risk of disease, premature aging, and poor overall health.
Controls
A number of individuals in the pilot studies have had their HRV measured before and after the Personal Effectiveness Programme. In one pilot study the entire management team underwent HRV analysis. In this study all ten subjects who started to apply the tools after the Personal Effectiveness Programme saw an objective improvement in their physiology. In contrast, the three subjects who did not practise the techniques saw their data deteriorate.
These significant objective improvements in physiology, as measured by a range of HRV indices, occurred despite the management team being in the middle of a major divisional re-organisation (see Table 1). The improvements in HRV ranged from 10-195% and were achieved in just 8 weeks. This represents a reversal of the normal age-related decline in HRV data and demonstrates that individuals can indeed improve their physiology through practising effective self-management.
Overall those practising the techniques taught saw a 20-30% improvement in their data while those not practising saw a 20-40% deterioration in their data. The improvement in HRV in individuals who practise the techniques and the deterioration in those who do not practise has been confirmed in other organisational case studies (see case study 13). We have also observed that the improvement in HRV is closely related to the quality of application of the techniques taught during the Personal Effectiveness Programmes. The biggest improvements in individual physiology have been seen in those individuals who practise most consistently.
The Benefits of Inner Quality Management
- By the end of the one-day programme attendees will learn and be able to use four scientifically based techniques that are highly effective in preventing the negative impact of stress, both psychologically and physiologically.
- In addition to preventing stress the moment it occurs, these tools will help attendees to achieve peak performance by enhancing their creativity, productivity, and decision making.
- 25% of the adult population has high blood pressure (BP). IQM programmes conducted at Motorola in the US, plus the data cited here show that IQM can significantly reduce blood pressure in all individuals without the need for medical, dietary or exercise interventions.
- After one day's training >85% of attendees will be able to use these tools successfully and see for themselves, using computer aided cardiovascular equipment, how their own physiology improves while using the techniques.
Download this document
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
