PwC devises survival route for top management

The man lying next to me on the floor had evidently absorbed the message that hard-driving management consultants need to ease up if they are to avoid heart disease or burnout.

No sooner had the seductive French tones of Ms Juliette Chauvin-McGannon, nutritionist and physiologist, begun talking us into deep relaxation mode than he started to snore. The low-calorie lunch and brisk 15-minute "metabolic walk" round the streets of south London had failed to do the trick in keeping everyone alert. Perhaps it was the 8.45 a.m. start to the "Consultant Survival Clinic" at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the world's largest professional services firm, that did it. PwC consultants out in the regions had either to spend Sunday night away from home or leave their sleeping families at the crack of dawn to get to London on time.

Or was it simply an accumulation of late nights and early starts? Unpredictable work patterns, separation from their loved ones, jetlag, heavy hotel dinners and a sedentary lifestyle are all "hazards that come with the territory", said Mr Dick Watkin, partner responsible for recruitment in PwC's management consulting services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Introducing the day-long course, he said the demands of the firm, clients and technology were often unrelenting. An increasing number of consultants were becoming ill from information overload. On top of that were huge changes sweeping the business - the latest being the planned break-up of PwC into separate businesses.

Survival clinics started more than three years ago for PwC partners. I attended with 35 consultants at project manager level. "We're going to give you practical advice on how to protect your core assets, your health and your sanity," said Dr Michael McGannon, American co-founder, with his wife Juliette, of the McGannon Institute of Proactive Health, author of The Urban Warrior's Book of Solutions, and tutor to 25,000 managers. The 15-minute metabolic walk was a central feature. Taken immediately after the heaviest meal of the day, it increases one's metabolic rate for 45 minutes, thus eating up body fat. "This is the lazy person's programme. Walking has such pivotal and leveraged benefits that 15 minutes is enough," said Dr McGannon, who clearly understands the language consultants speak.

What about all that advice about not taking exercise immediately after a meal? Low-grade stuff like walking was fine, said Dr McGannon. It is the livelier exercise like swimming or running that shunt blood away from the stomach to the muscles, causing intestinal pain and bloating. This struck a chord with one consultant, who privately admitted to finding most exercise deeply boring. Would he take his clients with him on the post-prandial walk? "I'm sure they would appreciate it. Most of them are terribly unfit." Of course, there was a little more to it than just taking walks. On the diet side, we were told about high and low "glycemic" foods. The high (bad) ones, including beer, French fries, white sugar and baked potatoes, cause insulin levels to surge, which leads to the storage of body fat. The low (good) ones include lentils, peanuts, oatmeal, apples, rye bread and, surprisingly, dairy products.

Snacking on fruit and nuts and drinking plenty of water between meals is good. Drinking lots of water with meals is bad because it dilutes the digestive juices. After an in-depth discussion of the different types of cholesterol - HDL (good), LDL and VLDL (bad) - I felt in sore need of a cup of coffee. Or not, since coffee is a diuretic (bad). Our "energy break" consisted of juice, water and a bowl of fruit. The coffee and biscuits on the next table were for delegates on another (less healthy) training course. On to stress management, deep breathing and an exercise in meditation. According to Ms Chauvin McGannon, an increasing number of executives can be spotted meditating in airports or hotels around the world. "Allow yourself to switch off your main computer, which is your mind. You want to find your inner peace, this little secret place. Only you have the key to switch off when you want. That's power, that's real freedom," she said.

One male consultant explained that he had a four-year-old and a two-year-old whom he saw only briefly in the morning and evening. "I defy anybody to do meditation when they're jumping on your head," he said. Ms Chauvin McGannon was not to be put off: she has three children herself. You could always find time for deep breathing while waiting for a plane or sitting at traffic lights, she said. To encourage the consultants to take their advice seriously, the McGannons used shock tactics. Each consultant had been asked to give a blood sample and complete a detailed lifestyle questionnaire beforehand. The confidential results showed their percentage of body fat, blood pressure, cholesterol ratings and "health age" - something of a blow to the ego if it turns out to be greater than one's real age.

The consultants appeared to enjoy the advice, although some had difficulty obeying Mr Watkin's plea to put their mobile phones away for the day. One said work pressures prevented even a simple fitness regime: "This idea of planning your life and having a routine just isn't reality." At the end of the day, each had to draw up a "health action plan", with targets to achieve in three to six months. Among the ways they could choose to manage stress included never skipping vacations, banning television from the bedroom, "learning how to pray sincerely" and "practising random acts of kindness".

PwC's emphasis on health management is closely linked to the war for talent, exacerbated by the lure of the dot.coms. "There's a hot employment market out there," said Mr Watkin. "I know how difficult it is to find talented people." About 440 partners and 250 consultants have been through the clinic. "The company culture is dictated by the way the partners behave and that's why we started with them," said Mr Watkin.

One senior partner, Mr Ed Smith, had cut his working hours by a third. That took him down from 90 to 60 hours a week: "At least he's moving in the right direction."