this seems a bit extreme, the underlying principles are what really matter – the world is an ever-changing phenomenon, and as an organization, if you want it to function smoothly within and rise above the competition, you need to change too. By using an approach that not only involves your staff but your clients too - and taking them away from the work environment, letting them release, explore, and discover - you, as a manager, your staff, your clients, and therefore, the organization as a whole, can learn from and with each other, and grow. In order to change the direction of his company and manage it effectively and efficiently, Tom Gegax, ‘head-coach’ of Team Tires Plus Inc., realized that he first needed to change himself, to be able to manage by example, altering his physical, mental, and spiritual paths. He feels that there should “be no division between who you are at work and who you really are.” (Fast Company 60) He believed that it goes much deeper than calling it just a job. So… with this new view that a company should embrace customers and employees, or ‘teammates’ as Gegax calls them, as ‘whole people’, he started up a company wellness center that provides monthly classes in healthy cooking and nutrition. In addition, the company now offers Shiatsu massages at headquarters and retail stores and courses on work-life balance. One of Gegax’s reasons for this fine tuned approach is that feeling and living healthy and working in a good environment all alters how one sells. And if he can use simple techniques to increase these variables and to heighten productivity – then it’s all good! “You manage fixed assets. You coach people.” (Fast Company 60) Some feel that although this move towards the ‘today’s’ management techniques is great and definitely needed, it is felt that it only works in certain types of industries. On th...
