PDF | Print |

Aug 18 |06:56 AM

Last Updated on Wednesday, 18 August 2010 07:23

I am many things. One of them is a Control Freak. So you, like I, are probably thinking how I must be a very good manager if I have a need to know what is going on at all times, right? Wrong.

As a manager at FitnessForce Club Management Software, I have been able to identify a very definite distinction between having things in your control, and making sure everything is in control. My Control Freak diagnosis was, unfortunately, of the former.

I have found that the key to good management is to be willing to let things go out of my personal control, while not losing control of them. Yes, that does sound like the definition of an oxymoron. However, there is a beautiful balance to be found within this rule. And I truly believe it is the key to awe-inspiring and efficient management.

As a manger, your main duty is to delegate. If as a manager, you are feeling overwhelmed, it is because you have not delegated what you need to be done in the most efficient manner. Allow me to give you an analogy.

You are the coach of a football team. And you have all of your players on the field you, and you have the plays you want to see in your head. You see what you want done, and your job is to explain the different roles to the respective players and their positions. So you give the offense their play, the midfield theirs, the defence, etc. Once you have explained all of the various aspects and timings, you go back to the bench and wait for the whistle to blow. As their leader, you control when your players enter the game, when they come out, when they need to take a break, or go home and work a little harder on some team strategies. You do whatever you need to do so that when the team plays, they are able to control their respective positions, dominate the field, and win the game.

And this is exactly how it can work in the office, at your spa, fitness club, gym, health center, dance studio, whatever. Come in prepared and know what it is you would like for everyone to accomplish on that day. Tell them what you think needs practice, where to work harder, and what needs to be done; so that by the end of the day, you can recline to the sweet success of organized accomplishments.

PDF | Print |

Aug 10 |12:48 PM

Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 August 2010 13:35

At the moment, those of us at FitnessForce Club Management Software are getting ready to prepare for a very big, very important event that is coming up this November. This is an event that is going to multiply our users by the thousands! (yay) So, of course we have to offer a little something to make sure everyone at the function remembers us beyond the event itself. Which has meant some in depth research into marketing resources on my part.

This is all another wa y of giving our company an unique edge over the others, we want to offer an object that reflects the image we wish to present. In other words fun, I must find an object that is simple yet clever, original yet useful, fun yet taken seriously by businesses, and stamp our logo on it. I'm not too worried about doing this, but I realize this is a wonderful opportunity for you all, at your various places of marketing, to amp up your business as well!

So, perhaps when someone enters your clinic, club, studio, spa, etc for the first time, you can offer them a tin of breath mints with your business logo on the cover. Or perhaps keep your front desk stocked with a bunch of pens with your logo and offer your clients to keep one when they first come in. Want to be a little more original? Customize a thermometer! (Okay, kinda kidding, but you can actually do this, and if you're in the medical field, it's actually quite a good idea…)

However I must insist, my most basic recommendation: don't do mugs. Maybe in 1985 people were excited to get a mug, but these days? Not so much. Impress your clients, be modern, follow the links below to your own source of clever yet simple, originally useful, and seriously fun objects of marketing!

Your Link to Increased Customer Loyalty

Your Second Link to Increased Customer Loyalty

PDF | Print |

Aug 05 |14:07 PM

Last Updated on Thursday, 05 August 2010 14:40

Today, I am going to let you all in on a little secret.

Have you ever noticed how you'll be watching TV, and a commercial comes on and there is this adorable black and white footage of a baby crawling to his mother, and then somehow it ends up being an ad for something completely unrelated, like a bank?

This is because the bank is wok ing to conduct their ad in such a way that it strikes you at your core values. In general, the reactions towards babies are the love of the innocence and the appreciation of the beauty of new life. Having triggered these sentiments in your subconscious, it indirectly arouses a sympathetic and therefore positive response to the advertisement. Which means the chances of you using that bank are decently higher.

This is also the reason why successful companies have such tag lines as:

Burger King - "Have it Your Way"™

L'Oreal - "Because You're Worth It"™

Microsoft - "Your Potential, Our Passion"™

Verizon Wireless - "We Never Stop Working for You"™

At&T - "Reach Out and Touch Someone"™

And if you go onto Apple.com and watch the new iPhone 4g video, you will discover it is all about "Connecting You to Those You Love."

The real question is, why aren't more people doing this? It's ridiculously effective.

I want you to be able to use this as your advantage. People appreciate being treated with sensitive attention to their individuality as a person. They also like to be helped by an actual person (how many of you hate those automated help-lines large corporations have? … I have definitely had a go at one more than once.) So, on your business website, for example, using, "Let Us Help Y O U" will receive a far better response than, "Click Here For Help."

I've taken the liberty to think of a couple tag lines your club or gym could maybe adapt that will work in a similar fashion;

Fitness Club or Gym Club

"Your Success is Our Profession"

"Always there to Raise Your Bar" (Haha, there's a pun hidden in there)

"Your Success is Our Satisfaction"

Health Center or Nutrition Center

"Reconnecting You to Your Health"

"Let Us Extend Your Happiness"

"Find Guilt-Free Love for Your Food"

Spas and Massage

"Allow Us to Gift You Bliss"

"Where Your Pleasure Enables Our Passion"

"Let Us Take You to Our Heaven on Earth"

PDF | Print |

Aug 02 |17:17 PM

Last Updated on Thursday, 05 August 2010 14:42

There is a growing general opinion that current managers are taught to focus only on sales targets and ignore ethical values. And perhaps, this is mildly true. As a result, there is a trend in the management industry to put more emphasis on ethical values. And I've found following this latest management fad as it works its way through the global economic market, and consequently the fitness industry, pretty fascinating.

More and more of the top universities in Business Management around the world are reworking their course structures to introduce new classes focused around ethics and values. To name a few; University of California, Berkley, Harvard School of Business, and the International School of Business in Hyderabad, India. They even want to implement a voluntary Oath of Ethics upon graduation!

And here is where my questions come in: Is social ethics in business management really something that is taught? Is it their aim to teach a student proper ethics? Or, is it to instill morality within the student? Are either of these even vaguely possible?

I am going to offer two definitions to aid us in our current debate.

eth-ic |ˈeθik|

a set of moral principles, esp. one's relating to or affirming a specified group, field, or form of conduct

and

mo-ral-i-ty |məˈralətē; mô-|

principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior

Having looked at these two definitions, I will draw my own conclusions. Teaching ethics would include teaching 'a set of moral principles.' So, our 'set of moral principles' will be; do not be greedy, properly distribute profits within the business, and be fair to those one works above.

We go into class, we learn these, and we find we agree; that they make sense. Eventually, we graduate believing we are going to practice our ethics of management in our favorite industry: health and fitness. We get a job managing a fitness club and are quite successful. However, business takes a turn and we are faced with a choice, we may either lay off a trainer or lower our own pay.

My argument is that while ethics are factual statements and able to remain unchanged, morality is something that is subject to reason. The very nature of morals lie within a person's perception of what is right and wrong, this perception or opinion constantly changes in accordance with the subject's current situation.

Therefore, I conclude: No, morality cannot be taught.

And before you call me a Negative Nancy, I also conclude that providing such classes does have a significant benefit, even if it's not the one intended. Increasing awareness of proper management ethics to students will result in a newly recognized business strategy. Because, I would also argue, it is possible to be driven towards profits while also watching the impact those choices will have on society. For example, choosing to use FitnessForce Club Management Software enables your business to go paperless, which saves you money AND saves the environment hundreds of thousands of trees a year. As always,