I was fortunate enough to spend this weekend at EliteFTS for the Strong(er) Sports and Training Success Seminar (SSTSS for short?).
In the minivan with me was Curtis Miller- former client turned friend turned colleague. Curtis will be joining the team at Union Fitness this summer. Charles Jasper- Ceej, the wizard- a Todd Hamer intern turned RMU coach and now part time with our team at UF. And Connor Keenan and Cayt Neff- both recent hires and young go-getters. See my recent IG posts for their recap of the weekend.
Being in London, OH for three full, nonstop days was exhausting but I had my reasons- I love being around the team. I like meeting EliteFTS fans and supporters (you guys are great). I was looking forward to some bonding with my team. I haven't caught up with Dave in a good while. Etc, etc...
But I had one intention- one purpose- for this trip. I wanted to learn everything I could from Alwyn Cosgrove, founder of Results Fitness. He's an incredible individual that has created a fantastic business model for the fitness industry.
We've done well at Union Fitness in terms of creating a sustainable business while serving our clients with integrity and fostering a supportive, inclusive, and strong community. But listening to Alwyn this weekend made me realize how far we have left to go.
I was some combination of humbled and inspired.
Intake process. Answering the phone. Asking questions. Consistent programming. Customer flow. "A seamless customer experience"...if I had to give us a grade relative to Alwyn's process I don't think we would "pass." This whole weekend felt like a kick in the balls- "man why didn't I think of that" at every turn. And while there was a lump in my throat and a growing urge to run home and implement everything that I was learning, it was refreshing. It was refreshing to hear new ideas. It was refreshing to learn from an expert. And it's nice to know we've done really well but our ceiling is that much higher.
So my intention this weekend was to take everything I could from as much time as Alwyn would give me. And it was a success. To take that a step further, I dove into my intention at Union Fitness. Thinking about what we do, why we do it, and how we do it. Our values are Education-Passion-Integrity-Community. I can say with pride that we uphold those everyday. But I'm questioning our intention within each conversation we have with our clients. I'm not implying it's negative, but I am implying that we can better track, manage, and anticipate our clients' needs. We've done a good job positioning ourselves as friends and mentors, but I think we've forgotten that we are the experts and should be excited and empowered to share that with everyone that walks through the door.
I'll make this cheesy- I didn't know what my "intention" was in writing this. Sometimes I just throw words at a page to see what will stick. I've realized that I need to create a new system for Union Fitness that-
1) gives us more time with each client to uncover their goals and provide a framework for healthy habits
2) positions my staff as the experts that they are
3) empowers them, or unleashes them, to make our community stronger and healthier
Our goal is to impact lives, and we've done that. But we can be better and I intend to be better. My intention is to prepare my team to be the best that they can be, to impact more people, and to a far greater extent than we already have. Think bigger. Change lives.