Finding Homeostasis in the Business Environment During Troubled Economic Times

The purpose of this article, while meandering from point to point is to help the reader determine how they can experience an equilibrium and balance, especially when the lives of people they have hired depends on their the company's ability to thrive, and vice versa. As the company thrives, so do its dedicated employees and associates. As they thrive, of course so does the company.

Have you ever wondered why so many independent disciplines have common factors by which we can borrow and apply such factors in an algebraic manner, and exponentially gain a winning perspective, and perhaps a balance sheet as well, by doing so?

Speaking of that balance sheet, isn't that already tied to the homeostasis concept by name alone? Hasn't someone already thought through the process by which a business is experiencing success or failure, risk or opportunity by looking at a concept which primarily is applied to organisms and living things?

We want our businesses to be thriving living things, don't we? In order to thrive, rather than just survive, during a down economy, a business may need to reinvent itself to maintain business and economic homeostasis.

Did you hear that Burger King is going the way of Dominos? That a small group of BK's are going to be testing a program that focuses on a delivery service?

The basic principle of the sociological study of economics (no, it isn't just about money, is it?) is that we strive to learn what decisions people make during situations involving scarcity, and what drives these decision making processes.

In order to find homeostasis in a business sense, we need to know what the current trends are, and what the patterns are within the culture in which we operate our business.

Have you examined and researched where the early and late boomers are in their lives right now, and used that knowledge to meet a real life need for them? Please distinguish a concrete need from a contrived one here. When businesses thrive because they are meeting a contrived need, in my humble estimation, they don't do their culture any favors, even though their balance sheets may be doing quite well. As businesses, we need to keep the culture as a whole in mind, or we can do more damage than good and have that be our legacy.

Tangent warning! There is debate in the minds of health professionals regarding the validity of the acid / alkaline diet. Some practitioners believe that the body is designed well enough to offset the highly acidic nature of carbonated beverages, for example, which top the charts in acid with a pH of negative 14. The goal of homeostasis in the body as it relates to pH balance is to stay as close to neutral as possible. Thats a whopping 21 points higher than good old soda, at positive 7.

So, if the proponents of an alkaline diet are correct, then osteoporosis and other chronic ailments will rear their ugly heads at a much earlier age for those raised on pop rather than juice and milk. There are reasons to believe that this could very well be true, but there are other reasons to maintain an alkaline diet. Just why do those soft drinks go so well with high fat and sugar foods, but not so well with a brocolli slaw? Anyway, I digress.

However, have you looked into the blood type diet, and the acid / alkaline diet, or any other non-fad proven by world history and multifaceted elements of differing cultures to see how your company, reinvented, if need be can meet a concrete need for the Boomer generation?

Why not borrow a concept from Japan? Like an exercise room with equipment for your employees to use to revive their energy level at some point in the day? Responsible use by your employees of such an investment can come back to you in increased productivity and fewer sick days. Don't have enough space for such a room? How about investing in a local Y for your employees as a group, with a reduced rate to boot and business referrals coming your way from the Y too?

In conclusion, and I hope these thoughts help you accomplish your goals while meeting also the greater need of a culture that truly needs homeostasis in its life. Balance of priorities, health, wellness, of being and business, for the common good of the current generation and the next.