Shaping Up: Four Benefits of a Strong Core in Both Body and Business
How strong is your core? Does that question make you immediately suck in your gut and think, “I might need to do a few more sit-ups?” It’s common knowledge that having a strong core not only helps you have a flatter stomach but also a stronger back, improved balance and stability, and be less susceptible to injuries.
How would you react if asked, “How strong is your business’ core?”
It turns out that having a strong foundational core, whether it’s in your body or your business, allows you to reap the same benefits! Maybe not a flatter stomach exactly, but let’s explore how the benefits of a strong physical core translate into business.
Benefit #1. Flatter stomach. Let’s face it, people want to have a 6 pack to look and/or feel more attractive. But it takes hard work and discipline to achieve and even more hard work and discipline to maintain. An attractive business is one that has customers and applicants lining up. It has quality products, good customer service, and thriving employees. These are all things that seem easy to get on the outside, just like abs, but business leaders know how hard they really are to achieve.
To get these types of results, a business has to know what they are working towards. They have to be willing to put in the hard work and put the systems and processes into place to keep the results from backsliding. It only takes a few donuts a week (or lapses in these business systems and processes) and all hopes for flat abs are lost!
Benefit #2. Stronger back. A stronger back allows people to lift and perform work. Whereas the ab results are very noticeable, being front and center on our bodies, back muscles are a bit harder to assess. The most powerful back muscles are internal and have complex connections deep in the body. In the business analogy, these important muscles relate more to integrated systems and processes; they are the keys to holding up the body or the business that no one really sees on the outside.
To achieve this type of strength in your business, systems and processes need to be identified, refined, practiced, improved, and integrated.
Benefit #3. Balance and stability. Strong abs and backs are what allow dancers to flex and jump and spin without falling over. In the same way, balance and stability are hugely important for business operations. This happens because those core muscles in the back are connected with those of the limbs and upper torso. In business this would be referred to as integration.
To achieve this benefit for your business, systems and processes need to be integrated with the overall strategy, goals, and core values of the business, as well as what I refer to as ‘micro-strategies’, like marketing, financial, product, and risk management plans.
Benefits #4. Less susceptibility to injuries. You might at first equate this to resiliency. However, stability is more about preventative measures to ensure there isn’t an injury in the first place. Resiliency is how we recover from mistakes and injuries. When you have a strong core you can lift more, throw further, and misstep without hurting yourself. In business, this means you’re able to balance the different priorities, issues, and opportunities that are coming at you all at once. It also means your business is less prone to cost-cutting problems. For example, a complaint never happens because systems and processes are there to catch it. Or, in a scenario such as the pandemic, your company was ready to pivot or had a buffer for a downturn in sales.
To achieve this benefit for your business, you need contingency plans, risk management plans, marketing plans, training and development plans, feedback loops, and all other critical pieces of planning that sometimes fall short.
Overall, you can’t achieve a strong body core by just doing crunches and you can’t build a strong core in your business by just watching the bottom line. You need a holistic strategy, one that focuses on achieving all the benefits possible and integrates all the other parts.
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Laura Thorne specializes in strategy and execution through workshops, coaching, and other services. Click here to learn more about Laura’s consulting partnership with MACNY. Want to to suggest an article topic or make a comment? Contact Laura at laura@laurathorneconsulting.com.
Originally published as part of MACNY’s Bench Marks Blog Series at https://www.macny.org on December 7, 2021.
