Aug
4
The Indian boardrooms are becoming fighting fit. Braving hectic schedules, top honchos are hitting gyms and taking time off for walks when travelling.
Leaving on a jet plane? Laptop, blackberry, meeting papers all packed in.
And the sneakers?
Sneakers? Definitely in if you are Firdose Vandrevala, Chairman, Motorola India or Deepak Kapoor, Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers India. For their mantra could well read as: Don’t let a business opportunity pass, nor a chance to sweat out a bit. Wherever, whenever in the world.
For top honchos like Vandrevala travelling up to 150 days a year, business class seats and luxury hotel beds are not the antidotes for the abuse their bodies face. So what works? Ask those who have been there, done that.
The daily cuppa exercise
The must-do. No excuses entertained. Ashok Soota, Chairman and Managing Director, Mindtree Consulting, makes sure he checks in only at hotels with a pool for his daily laps. Moon B Shin, Managing Director, LG Electronics India never misses his 20 minute morning yoga wherever he might be. Adman Arjun Banerjee, CEO, Grasshoppers indulges in adventure sports and trekking whenever he can take time off during travels. And while Arvind Thakur, CEO, NIIT Technologies seeks out the gym at both home and in hotels, PwC’s Kapoor prefers the brisk outdoors walk. No stuffy gyms for him. He boasts of knowing the best areas to walk around top hotels in the cities he travels to. In fact, Kapoor goes for a 25-minute walk around the hotel after an evening check-in. Helps beat jet lag too for him.
Medical experts advise stretching exercises in the plane, or in the hotel room. The message: Every little bit helps, like walking and taking steps wherever possible says Sandeep Ahuja, Director VLCC Healthcare. Soota agrees. He actually looks forward to opportunities to walk when transiting between flights. “Problem is we all know this, but do not practice enough of,” adds Ahuja.
Keep the spirits low
If Frenchman Emmanuel Cantegrel, General Manager in India for the international luxury furnishings brand Somfy, can limit his intake of wine to just one glass at a meal, there is some message out there for frequent travellers. Excessive alcohol can drag you down. Despite the compulsions of business socialising, drinks are a no-no when possible even for the younger lot like Rohit Agarwal, CEO of TechTribe.com. Water in ample quantities seems the new exilir of life for smart executives like Shin and Cantegrel.
Avoid the oil slick, go natural
No fatty, fried and junk foods for Raaja Kanwar, Vice Chairman, Apollo International. Greens, salads, fruits and vegetables are the new buzzwords. Sandeep Nanda, Director, Security Investments Ltd proposes smaller but more frequent meals. Its daal and roti for Meenakshi Bhalla, President, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, India. A vegetarian by choice, Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group, goes for the high energy foods rich in fibre. Unsalted nuts are a healthy way to curb those hunger pangs between meals say health experts. Vandrevala has his almonds always handy for that evening snack.
Let your mind have it easy too
No matter what you do with your body, it will work only if the mind wants it to. And travel causes its own stresses at the top. How do you bust it? Cantegrel banishes work in the plane to be full of energy for work the moment he lands. Shin likes reading, Kanwar seeks out his own quiet corner at home and its music on his noise canceling Bose headphones for Thakur. Pramod Jajoo, Managing Director for the India operations of Xora Software, roots for sightseeing and shopping. Sounds like fun!! Breathing exercises, movies, oil massages and never taking work home is what Asvini Kumar, CEO, Thinksoft Global Services prefers. Catching up on missed and disturbed sleep is critical too. Soota catches two winks wherever he can, while Agarwal naps when being driven around in India.
Pair up
Kanwar and Vandrevala have personal trainers to guide and push them, while Cantegrel credits his wife for supporting his efforts in weight loss. Pairing up with a friend, colleague or spouse always helps in reaching the set goals. Managers should know all about teamwork.
Where there’s a will, there’s a shapely body
For all the advise and remedies health centres might provide, it all works only if executives can impose self discipline upon themselves says Praveen Chawla, COO, Fortis Hospital Noida. Remember the horse who was taken to the water?
And age should never be a bar. Industry veteran Vandrevala started looking after his body only since late 2006. Soota has been for exercise for long. One body, one life.
It need not be about big sacrifices. R Sridhar, the 54-year old CEO of Brand-Comm believes in this one. “Do everything you like but in moderation, and move your body for 45 minutes a day, and you will feel fitter than your age like me,” he says. Ogilvy’s Bhalla hogs and binges at times, only to balance out at another time with a shot at moderation. Ditto for many others.
Health for travelling executives may just be the new wealth no Prime Minister can grudge. There can be other dividends too. A performance boost at work for sure. And in the case of Vandrevala, a dose of light-hearted self flattery is the bonus. He enjoys who he sees in the mirror after shedding seven odd kilos.
What does your mirror say?
Download article: This article appeared in Outlook Business in June 2007 and may downloaded here.
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