Global Oil Company Case Studies

• Global Oil Company - Senior Management Team

• Global Oil Companies - Combined Data

Global Oil Company - Senior Management Team
Global Oil Company - 17 members of the Senior Management Team of a division of this international oil company participated in the Inner Quality Management® training program in London, England. Physiological and psychometric data were gathered one week prior to a 2 day training retreat and again 6 weeks after the retreat. Changes were culled from the subset of individuals exhibiting the strongest negative effects of stress on health and performance.

Among this group, physical symptoms of stress were significantly improved:
• Rapid heartbeats declined by 38%
• Tension declined by 65%
• Aches and pains declined by 70%.

They were 65% less angry, 70% less worried, 87% less fatigued and 68% happier. There was a 44% decrease in their desire to leave the company and a 52% decrease in the desire to quit their jobs. Listening skills increased by 65%, intuitive decision making increased by 100%, alignment between personal and organizational goals increased by 107%, meetings were 107% more organized, and clarity of organizational goals increased by 197%. They experienced a 34% increase in focus, 86% increase in efficiency, 119% increase in creativity and results.

Global Oil Companies Combined Data

Global Oil Company –
The following is a report on the performance improvements and health benefits experienced by participants in the Inner Quality Management. This program was attended by the European senior management team of global oil companies.
All together, there were 7 separate studies involving over 1,300 employees, led by Dr. Alan Watkins and Chris Sawicki of Hunter-Kane, Ltd., who worked closely with Chris Roythorne, MD, Chief Medical Officer at BP Amoco and Tony Yardley Jones, Chief Medical Advisor at Burmah Castrol.
To hear them speak about the IQM Program, contact us to order the CD-ROM “From Chaos to Coherence”.

Peak Performance
Managing Performance at Times of Change
Most world-class companies are in the grip of continuous change and transformation and it seems that the pace of change is increasing. Some divisions are in a perpetual re-organization cycle, some are facing problems of globalization or mergers, while others are constantly trying to “catch-up” with the rapidly changing marketplace as well as keep pace with the competition. Whether it be downsizing, more demanding customers, more competition, or information overload, to name but a few, there is little doubt that we have created the most complex working environment in history.
This Oil Company’s Logistics Division has been a prime example of this rapid change undergoing a very significant transformation over the last twelve months. The decision was made by the management team to take a positive, proactive approach to the transformation process and run the Inner Quality Management (IQM) program to help deal with the turmoil, stress and conflict that inevitably arises at a time of significant change. The view was taken that a failure to deal with the turbulence would significantly reduce the chances of coming out the other side in any sort of healthy state.
The view was that unless the division was equipped for change, their ability to provide high-quality service, and be the dynamic, flexible, innovative group that would flourish in difficulty economic circumstances, would be lost. In short, the division would become a poor performer.

Figure 1 The relationship between pressure and performance Achieving optimum performance depends upon generating the “right” amount of pressure in any system (Figure 1). The danger of transformation is that too much pressure is created, often going unnoticed by management and workers alike, until performance levels have dropped substantially. If such pressures go unchecked, individuals may move inexorably further down the “downslope” where excessive burdens can ultimately result in a system breakdown – physical, psychological or organizational.

Scientific Background
There has been a substantial amount of scientific and organizational research demonstrating that the turbulence of change and transformation, the feelings of being over-burdened, under-resourced, time-pressured or “stressed”, prevent individuals and teams from performing well. This then impairs their ability to make a success of the transformation of the business.

Thus if the goal is to achieve peak performance then it is vital to create the right amount of pressure in the system. A lack of pressure in the system would fail to generate a challenging and stimulating environment, but too much pressure in the system would simply inhibit performance (Figure 1).

Leading edge research by neuroscientists, cardiologists and system theorists indicates that individuals can be taught to establish and maintain new behaviours in the midst of turbulence. Changing and sustaining new behaviours are at the core of the Inner Quality Management“ (IQM) Program. This program is based upon this cutting edge research, demonstrating that the ability to flourish during change is critically dependent on internal physiological processes, particularly an individual’s heart rate variability (HRV) signal.

The IQM program teaches a number of techniques that enable people to consciously alter the quality of these internal electrical signals to the brain in order to maximize cortical function. Enhanced cortical function enables individuals to react faster, make better decisions, seize opportunities and be more perceptive and creative. The IQM program goes beyond the theory of performance and actually helps individuals to establish new behaviours, which can be sustained in the long-term.

Impact of the Inner Quality Management“ Program
One of the unique points about the IQM program is that its impact can be measured, by tracking changes in psychometric and physiological parameters over time. Measuring both the psychometric and physiological changes before and after the IQM program has demonstrated that there is a dual benefit on business performance and health. This data is collected in collaboration with each organization, the physiological data is gathered by a company’s own medical team.

a) Psychometric

All participants completed an extensive psychometric questionnaire before and 6 weeks and 6 months after the IQM Program (Figure 2). This psychometric data tracks a number of individual and business performance issues.

The evidence gathered from training approximately 30,000 people in the USA, as well as over 2,500 in Europe the Middle, the Far East and Africa indicates that personal and business benefits of the program sustain for over 12 months after a single day’s training. The impact of the IQM program has been reproduced in many different cultures around the world, from the boardroom to the shop floor. The impact of the IQM program on nearly 1,400 people at six global companies, as measured by the psychometric survey, has been pooled and the results are presented below.


Figure 2 - Personal & Business data before and after IQM (sample size = 1376)
(Percentage of individuals responding to the top two of five possible answers)







b) Physiological:
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

In addition to the significant improvements in the personal and business data cited above, there were also significant improvements in objective physiological data, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is a very sophisticated measure of overall health and underpins human performance and vitality: it is derived from a standard 24-hour electrocardiogram (ECG).

The HRV of 46 individuals has been measured before, and 8 weeks after, the IQM program. Of these 46 individuals 34 were practicing the techniques taught during the program and 12 individuals were not. The results show that the users of the techniques improved their physiology significantly while the non-users deteriorated (Figure 3).

The significance of this result is that HRV has repeatedly been shown to be a very powerful predictor of all-cause mortality. The scientific literature suggests that HRV should remain stable over time, with a 3-5% deterioration per annum. Significantly reduced HRV suggests an increased risk of disease, premature aging, poor overall health and impaired performance.

The improvement in physiology seen in those practicing the techniques was achieved in just 8 weeks, despite most individuals being involved in and driving a major company-wide reorganization This improvement would enable individuals to increase their performance and become more dynamic and flexible.


Figure 3.
Percentage change in some standard HRV parameters after the IQM program

Blood Pressure Results
In addition to significant improvements in HRV we have tracked the blood pressure (BP) of a number of individuals before and eight weeks after the IQM program in several organizations. In Organization 1 the group average BP prior to the program was 126/80mmHg.

Six weeks after the program, 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. Similarly, in a second organization, the group average BP dropped from 132/84 to 123/79 mmHg, a 9mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure and a 5mmHg drop in diastolic blood pressure (Figure 4).

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 these studies was in keeping with the reduction in blood pressure seen in other organizations that have run the IQM program.


Figure 4.
Systolic & diastolic blood pressure changes before and after IQM





Conclusion
The effective management of change and transformation begins with an individual’s enhanced ability to manage themselves. With these new-found skills they can more successfully lead and motivate others through change.

The improvements in business, personal and health performance, following the IQM program, can be measured and compared to changes in Key Performance Indicators within the business. The improvements in psychometric data is underpinned and supported by the objective physiological data, which shows that users gained significant benefit, while nonusers did not cope as well with the impact of change.

The IQM program can be run as a “stand-alone”, or integrated into an organization’s own Process of Change, complementing existing activities depending on need.

Inner Quality Management, IQM and Freeze-Frame are registered trademarks of the Institute of HeartMath.
Shell, Unilever, BP, Burmah Castrol are clients of Hunter-Kane.
April M. Frank, Innovative Edge, Inc., is a Certified and Licensed HeartMath trainer & coach.

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