OK, be honest. When there’s a break in your all day meeting and someone brings out a tray of brownies, do you eat them? I’ll admit I do!
Scott, on the other hand, doesn’t touch them. Who’s Scott? One of the sharpest, most articulate, and healthy looking executives I’ve seen in a long time.
A few months ago Scott led our executive team through a high energy, multi-day workshop. Long days. His energy seemed infinite even as the rest of us fought to stay awake. While we were gorging on brownies and the other junk one normally finds at company events, Scot was eating salt free nuts. Instead of a heavy lunch he opted for a protein shake.
I learned later that Scott is on the road 200 days a year. For him jet lag, erratic meals, and stressful business travel are a way of life. How can he perform better under those conditions than most of us can with a regular job? One secret is the way he chooses to fuel his body.
Think about the last off-site company meeting you attended, a meeting I’m sure was incredibly expensive. We pour massive time and money into these events and then we leave the food selection in the hands of a low level catering manager? Crazy.
An event planner recently told me how one company paid $10,000 for a keynote speaker and then scratched fresh fruit from the breakfast menu in favor of cheap pastries to save $300. Let’s see… $10,000 speaker sharing life changing advice with an alert audience fueled with power food or a comatose audience riding a post-pastry sugar crash… Which do you think delivers better business results?
It strikes me as ironic that we obsess over the latest productivity tools: smartphones, faster computers, etc. only to skimp on the areas that truly drive productivity: healthy body, sharp mind, focused effort.
Before your next important meeting, a few thoughts on how to maximize your performance in the same way Scott masters his:
• Gut bombs kill your brain.
Fact: Loading your stomach with heavy food diverts blood from your brain to your stomach. Less blood to the brain = a more tired, slower thinking you. If you’re gonna pig out, do so on a day you can afford to be a slouch.
• Embrace slight hunger pangs.
Didn’t get enough to eat at that business lunch? Good! Feeling a little hungry fine tunes one’s senses.
• Event planners and executives: Stop obsessing over every detail of your off-site meeting agenda and start paying a lot more attention to the food the hotel has planned for your attendees.
I don’t care how dazzling your presentation is; it cannot compete with the afterglow of chicken nuggets and Twinkies.
So, kind reader, what’s your advice on super foods that keep you on task?
What about tips on how to persuade our employers to invest in proper nutrition?
Secrets to staying alert during all day meetings or lengthy business trips?
Thank you for sharing your comments!