Twelve months ago, I answered a call from a Financial Planner.  He asked if he could set up a meeting to discuss some exciting financial products and his enthusiasm for the lifestyle benefits that go with them.

I was fully aware at the time that what Discovery offered its clients and what Caroline and I were taking from being members of their Medical Aid, were not aligned.  

We met him and he shared with us all the Vitality benefits we qualified for but were not taking advantage of.  The potential downside for us was that if we wanted to benefit, we would have to become more active.  The timing could not have been more perfect for us.  An imminent move back to the City, the resultant proximity to a gym and access to the Sea Point Promenade all added to the synergy.

What followed, relatively quickly after this meeting, was a tidying up of our policies and a trip to the Discovery Vitality store in Sea Point for a health and fitness assessment.

The road to discovery started. 

A clear and concise report of our current state of health.  All the critical vital signs and an expression of relative health and fitness, as gauged against best practices.

I loved the clarity it gave me in terms of my starting point even though some of the numbers were unpleasant to own.

The road to discovery continued. 

Small weekly goals. Daily and weekly measurement. Daily and weekly dashboards.  Weekly rewards.  

The road to discovery gained momentum.   (Getting my insurers mixed up 😉)

Slightly higher goals. Discovery Vitality doing everything in their power to make healthy choices my choices.

From Discovery to me. 

The crucial step where I took over the goal setting.  Where do I want to get to?  How do I want to live?  What is my ideal when it comes to personal health?  And so, the road gained even more momentum.

The journey needs accountability. 

You can ignore the nagging accountability that comes with stepping onto the road.  See the accountability as your friend and you have the ticket to reaching your destination.  Add in personal accountability and the probability of success increases.  The bathroom scale, the awareness of levels of stamina, heart rate movements and the general feel-good ratio all came into play.

One year was set as the first finish line. 

A follow-up objective assessment allowing for direct comparison between the starting point and the new reality.

My BMI (Body Mass Index) for one, down by 2,5%.   

The next step on the road was knowing and owning the inputs behind the measurements.  Knowing how BMI is calculated as an example allows me to own how to change it.  If I don’t change the inputs, I cannot change the output.  My height stays the same, so the only thing I can do to improve by BMI or to align with the standards is to manage my weight.

Driving a change in business best practice is the same

What Discovery has done for my health is no different to what driving a change in any aspect of business requires:

• Know your starting point.
• Be accountable and be held accountable.
• Align personal and organisational goals.
• Drive long-term outcomes through short-term milestones.
• Celebrate success.
• Remove excuses.
• Tie into a support system.
• Set the initial finish line.
• Use objective analysis for measuring improvement.
• Set new goals.
• Repeat the recipe for success.

If you have a team and you pay them monthly – are they adding the value you need them to add? 

The Ripple Effect sells a version of the road to discovery; a version that (like any other that aligns with known best practices) works.

You just have to step onto the road with us.