Building a Corporate Culture of Health

I know a guy who does everything he can to save costs at his company. He buys the oldest computers. He makes sure the building is dilapidated. The air conditioning and heat never work, and there are leaks coming in every time it rains. The computer systems are from the 1980s, and he insists he doesn’t want to get anything fixed. He’s all about saving costs, even though he knows that if he invests money now, it’ll save him down the road.

Now, I made up this situation. It’s not true. But people do act like this. They don’t learn from Avram Avinu in Parshas Lech Lecha, who was a mechanech and trained his people in the way they needed to be trained. And I’ve talked to business owners who, yes, invest in their systems, but don’t necessarily invest in what’s behind those systems and what actually makes their company work.

It is not AI. AI is a tool. AI is a super-duper computer. AI is not a brain. AI is not a person. AI does not have feelings, and it does not communicate with other people in a personal, meaningful way. I’m not saying AI isn’t important. I’m just saying it’s not a person, and that person is the real most important asset at any company.

So the fictitious person we talked about before may invest in all those things: the most amazing computer systems, buildings, high tech, security, etc. But does he invest in the people? Does he create a real corporate culture of health, where people are encouraged and incentivized to eat healthy, to exercise on their own, and to have friendly competitions so they push each other to lead healthier lives? I hope he does, because if the employees aren’t healthy, it doesn’t really matter that the machines are.

My blessing to all business owners is that they could be like Avram Avinu, and lead the way in making sure their employees, their biggest assets, are training themselves to lead healthy lives.