I once saw a cow jump

A cow jumping is not graceful or a thing of beauty, it's impressive, but not in a athletic sense, more of a "how on earth did that huge thing get airbourne". A bit like when my kids at an airshow say "how does that huge plane get off the ground"? with me not being a pupil of aerospace engineering, I just drop my jaw like them and say "awesome".

But once I saw a cow jump, I was near Elvington Airfield (same place as Richard Hammond decided to test the airbag on his jet car)near York and I had just left a meeting of local CEO's and Entrepreneurs and was navigating my way home, when I glanced over the fence next to the road and saw a fully fattended black and white cow leaping and bucking like a bronco across the field! I was on the phone at the time, the person on the other end started laughing as I shouted, "THE COW JUMPED........the cow jumped.......I don't believe it.......it jumped! (Even now as I recall it, it's as though I was just there again.)

Now when was the last time you experienced something that made you shout about it, that actually made you feel good, that really was a head turning moment? In his book Purple Cow Seth Godin, talks about Purple Cows being exactly that: imagine you were walking past a field of cows and in amongst the herd was one purple on? I bet you would say "I saw a purple cow, not a usual Black & White/Brown one, A PURPLE ONE!" it really would stand out.

I travel around the UK and in getting to and from Health Clubs and meeting customers. I am a consumer of Hotels,Restaurants and plenty of coffee shops/cafes and I see lots of the same thing, rarely do I see or experience a Purple Cow moment within Health Club/ Gym/ Restaurant settings. I get some good service, I get lots of poor service but nothing to justify a Purple Cow (not to be confused with the US Forces Purple Heart, although maybe we should ask our members to award Purple Cows to our staff?). Now you may think that every business should be peppering us with these moments, perhaps, but first actually I would settle for some consistency, never mind excellence.

I will share my Purple Cow moment with you. I took up golf 5 years ago, in the unfolding years I have dedicated myself to getting the handicap down. My first milestone was to get to 18 handicap, duly reached,the reward was a new custom fitted set of PING G10 clubs (non golfers stick with me for a moment). Unfortunately after 6 months I had them stolen from my car, I was gutted. I walked into my Golf Club Academy Shop and my face must have given a clue as to my state of mind (especially as the morning I woke up to find them gone I should have been playing at a prestige course in Leeds). Within seconds of me explaining, the Assistant Golf Professional was on the phone to PING,as he dialled he asked his colleague to take me for a Driver & Fairway woods fitting session as my previous models were discontinued. Within 5 mins they had retrieved my original custom fit measurements from the manufacturer, placed the order for the replacements, put together a temporary bag complete with new driver & fairway woods tees/balls/towel etc and ordered replacement waterproofs (they were in the bag too). An hour after walking in, I was walking out smiling with a set to play the weekend competition and feeling pleased that at least my replacement clubs would be with me in a week. Now, the fact they arrived in 3 days, meant minimal disruption in my quest to lower my handicap and win some silverware at the club competitions.
It wasn't; the fact that all the equipment was replaced, it was the feeling that the staff were so in tune with my situation that they made me feel that they were actually doing it for themselves. The outcome of that (and consistent service year round already) is that I have remained loyal to them, I buy all my equipment from them and I recommend them and their tuition to everyone I now in the area (I am now down to 8 Handicap too!). So for me that was a real Purple Cow, must be I'm telling you aren't I - and it's 2 years ago!

So let's strive for some consistent delivery in our businesses, then maybe we create an environment where our staff have a chance to make a Purple Cow moment!

Are you sitting uncomfortably.....When is PT not PT?

Before you read on, do what I do, put your watch on the other wrist until you finish reading! Why? For me its a bit like the pre-match rituals I had in my rugby playing days, I use it to mentally trigger me to focus on the issue in front of me, it's a discipline I have that makes me block out external distractions. I often test people around a group meeting by asking them to change their watch wrists - the reaction can be quiet animated, but try it.

So first here is a description for you
".......... should be, at the least, educated and certified through a reputable fitness organization. This person's job is to assess your fitness level, set up a program for you and keep you motivated. He or she will push you past your comfort level-something difficult to do on your own. He should also provide:

•guidance on reaching your goals
•education about strength training, cardio and basic nutrition
•a reason to show up at the gym each week
•accountability
•ways to help track your progress

To me, all that says Fitness Instructor! Actually its of a Personal Trainer. Now depending on the business model within your facility (that you run or use as a customer) Staff will either be an integral part, or, as we now see with the rise of the budget gym, they will be peripheral in the gym environment merely there to handle admin and meet and greet (I have views on the budget gym vs traditional model that I will save for another blog)either way we often see Personal Trainers working within the gym, sometimes they are a seperate team, but can actually be the same people doing additional hours after shift as a PT. Is this healthy?

There is no hard and fast here, but the whole question of what constitutes PT is not clear to me. There is sometimes a mystique about the content of PT, and here is where I have issue, I still see most of what a PT does as the core role of a Fitness Instructor! It is common to see a market for PT developed as a result of Fitness Instructors not delivering 'Service' that should be in place and was promised at the point of sale. If a club is unable to service its customers beyond the initial sale, rather than bluff and muddle through this, watching member cancel in thier droves after their expectations are not met, why don't clubs and PT's work together to offer appropriate services, not merely PT but perhaps remote/online support in addition to face to face either by PT or Fitness Teams? With so many devices and applications the technology is probably ahead of Fitness Management innovative thinking, so there is no real excuse to take a step into technology.After all face to face contact has a capacity issue, limited by PT hours available and club opening hours/working hours.

Rarely is anything recorded/tracked by PT's, the stock response when tackled is "well every session is different its down to how the individual feel on the day". After looking them in the eye (with the Lee Van Cleef look, if your old enough to remember spaghetti westerns? or alternatively Clint Eastwoods squint)My view on what I have seen this should really be translated to "well I don't record it cos I don't really plan ahead and if I did the client might take it and dispense with my services. Also if I don't write it down the Gym Manager and Club Manager can't audit me or check what I deliver" (Don't throw things my way yet!) Surely tracking/monitoring should be an inherent factor in the output from PT sessions.

By comparison we see a huge effort in making Fitness Teams accountable/measurable and Quality checked (with varying degrees of conviction)Yet PT's are almost bombproof. So where is my thinking here? I firmly believe that as a Club Owner/Manager we must have a way of evaluating their service, not simply looking at the £££ generated and be far more demanding of PT's if we are to let them work with 'our' customer base. There are very professional and valuable PT's out there and they perform a valuable, if not essential provision to a percentage of our customers, unfortunately there is too much unregulated, low quality service masquerading as PT. Technical qualifications are no confirmation of quality, so Level 3 Instructors don't convince me by rite that they are quality as a PT. There is also another issue that has been associated with PT in clubs and that is the pathway to PT by qualified Fitness Instructors. There are diplomas etc that an individual can pursue, but a proactive Instructor will gain additional qualifications and enhance knowldege and experience over time, how long do they have to wait before they will be allowed to PT It would also appear harder to get some agreed standards when the PT's are all independant as opposed to a PT Company that has Brand standard and leadership to ensure quality and value.

As we start this year, I have seen several discussions about Service 'is the new black for this year' that this will be the saviour for all those Operators who are not winning the retention war. It is seen as the key differentiator against the rise of the budget gym model. Having PT in place is seen as a tool to improve retention, yet no data is produced and published to prove this. I would simply like to see PT's and clubs working to identify which members have had PT and how does the survival rate vary to this who have Fitnes team only support or increasingly prefer to support themselves.

This must be the year when we create the equivilant of customer charters that reflect our service plan, backed up with evidence. One last thought, what time is it? did you look at the wrong wrist?

Own the presentation!

It’s the time of year when we are (in theory ) refreshed after a break and the creative juices are flowing and you may be considering the big issue you know needs taking on to get the year going. If you are about to build or launch a project, doing so with conviction really does matter.
When you’re presenting your plan to your boss, or the team,own it. Do your homework, do the grunt work of putting it together, anticipate some questions and prepare answers. But then own it, 100%.
Speak clearly and slowly, Look them in the eye, smile. Take it seriously, but not too seriously. Present yourself as though you know you’ve got the game well in hand, and that you’ve every confidence you’re on the right track. Tom Landy, Dallas Cowboys Head Coach, once said “ Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control.” So expect the people around you to reflect what you outwardly display!
If you get questions you don’t know the answers to, say “I hadn’t thought of that. But you know what, I’ll be back to you with an answer within 24 hours.” Say that with confidence. Then, go find the best answer you’ve got. And deliver it. Sure,you may not nail it. (You may have that guy in the room that’s determined to throw water on every fire you light.) But your ideas are worth fighting for.
The ability to walk into a room, put your plan on the table, and let people throw rocks at it takes courage and some humility. Maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two. Quiet confidence and an articulate presentation are rare gems in a business world cluttered with mediocrity. That’s why they work so beautifully.
As you start this year delivering the plans you’ve worked so hard to build and shape in your head and on paper, practice. Own them and give them the presentation they deserve.