Facebook as a business tool

Facebook is banned in several organisations I know. However, facebook can be a great tool for improving your focus at work and being more productive.

A few (very few) of my friends aren’t on facebook, mainly because they say they don’t have time. There were 22 million people on facebook in the UK at the end of 2008, and 54% of them are over 35 years old. The way I use facebook means that I fear some of those friends may soon start to lose out. Here’s how to use facebook to be more productive…

The key is to manage your notification settings. Only set notifications for things that are really important to you. This is where you find it:



Most of the personal e-mails I get each day are created by me. No, I don’t e-mail myself, what I mean is that I e-mail different groups of friends about meeting up for a beer, dinner, game of golf, holiday, party, etc, and then they reply. When I initiate the message through facebook, they reply through facebook.
When I want to see who has replied, I open facebook. I no longer get e-mails every time someone pokes me, tags me, sends me a beer, or bites my zombie.

There is no doubt that facebook can eat up hours of time (as the internet in general can) and if that is a problem, then you probably need help defining what’s important in your life (or at work). LinkedIn is seen as being more of a business tool, and is therefore more accepted in work, but it can also fill up your inbox if you don’t manage the settings correctly.

Facebook is a great tool, particularly when is it used as a tool, rather than it using you like one.

Toby Beresford explains this in a different way

New Year's Revolutions

Lots of people set New Year resolutions, but it seems to me they are in decline. There are a couple of problems with resolutions – firstly, they are often resolutions rather than goals (I will give up/I will do less), and normally set out verbally over a glass or two of something fizzy during the celebrations.

So make your resolutions into goals and write them down. Only 3 percent of adults have clear, written goals, and these people achieve 5-10 times as much as people of equal or better education and ability who have not written down what they want.

Just because you’re reading this in February, or September, don’t let that be an excuse – write down a few positive things that you want to achieve by a certain date. Better still, share them with someone you know, or don’t know!
Here are some of my goals for 2009, in three groups of three (3 being the magic number)

Fitness

• I will run in six 10k events such as charity runs, fun runs, etc
• I will take more effort (including asking for advice) in order to prevent those silly little injuries that could scupper my fitness goals
• I will get an independent healthcheck to ensure that I am really fit and healthy

Business

• GG Fit will improve member retention in gyms and health clubs through life coaching, especially with respect to motivation of staff and management
• GG Fit will increase the return on investment that clubs get from Exercise Management Systems by enhancing reporting and understanding of the exercise data
• GG Fit will be an ethical, environmentally friendly business

Other

• I will take more time over, and put more effort into things I enjoy – reading, learning the guitar, and most importantly, spending time with friends
• I will campaign to raise more money for charity – not necessarily to donate more, but to persuade others to part with their cash for the causes I support
• I will buy a new car (conditions apply)

How to survive the crunch – focus less on sales

I was pleased to see the article on the credit crunch in December’s Health Club Management magazine, but disappointed to read so much about sales and so little about retention. I think it is a dull reflection of the industry that so many operators are focusing on new sales offers during the financial crisis.

While new joining offers will encourage more people into the gym and move towards Fred Turok’s vision of 1 million more people exercising, I think these credit crunch deals are really trying to win over members from other clubs, and the more this happens, the more the industry will suffer. When times are tight, it’s much easier (and cost effective) to cut back on gym membership than utility bills, so we must demonstrate value for money and really good service.

The only chain in the December article mentioning a strategy for existing members or soon to be ex-members is énergie. Hooray for them for thinking about existing members during the crunch.

Focus on your existing customers becomes as important as new sales in times like these (if not more so). Your clients should always be your best sales channel, and you should do everything you can to retain them. All staff must be involved in your retention policy, empowered to make decisions, and measured on results. This could easily lead to better job satisfaction or even better pay for fitness instructors, another big concern of mine.

2009 is going to be an evolutionary year in the fitness industry. Many of us will be watching the development of the budget club closely, and I think that membership trends could look very different. I look forward to the HCM retention features in April and July 09, and I believe that the successful clubs in 2009 will be those who channel as much into retention as they do into sales.

Letter to Health Club Management magazine 22/12/2008

Cold Winter Runnings

Boy, was it cold out there today! Max motivation needed, more than ever, I thought before I set off…

So first I mapped out a new route on googlemaps; a change is as good as a rest. No double loop around Highgate Woods today, but a new run along the disused railway track and up to Ali Pali park for some wonderful views of London. The distance looked like just over 5k, so next I needed a 30 minute playlist.

Here’s a very easy, and really motivating playlist for 30 mins. Muse – Black Holes & Revelations, but take out tracks 5, 6, 8 and 10. You’ll be left with an incredibly uplifting, shouty soundtrack which will keep you going uphill as long as you need, particularly at the end with Knights of Cydonia. Come on!

Howies NBL base layer on to keep me warm, chin up, and off I went. Felt great all the way round, grinning at passers by, particularly other runners, and soon had the sleeves rolled up. Started to struggle on the way back up towards Muswell Hill, but Bellamy’s guitar kept me going.

The combination of a new route and a 30 min playlist was a really good one… Best speed since August, and a new route to share next time I’m out with friends. Time for a hot bath now.

State of the Industry – Instructors

Many people in the fitness industry recognise that one of the major issues is the low remuneration and recognition of instructors. Yet only a few seem to be doing anything about it.

Sure, instructors need more money, but in a vocational profession, they also need more fulfilment, and to make a difference. And if they can prove that they are making a difference in people’s fitness and in their club’s member retention, more recognition and money will come along.

An Instructor’s Epiphany – Rob’s story
At the start of this year I resolved to take control of my own future and to really try to help more members at our club to be more active, more often.

After muddling through a couple of spreadsheets, I built a list of 100 members who I knew well, and noted their last visit date. I wanted to try to make sure 80% of them had always visited the club in the last three weeks. I would see how the numbers looked every 2 weeks, and get in touch with the people who were in my danger list. Every time I exceeded the 80%, I’d add a few more names to my spreadsheet, a mix of new joiners and other members that I knew. Before long I was keeping an eye on over 200 members.

The gym manager (who has worked here the longest) wasn’t too bothered about the numbers or the fact that I was making a real difference to members returning to the club. Being a naturally outgoing person, I find it easy to connect with the members; after all, they pay my (meagre) salary. If you always say “Hi” when you see people in the club, it’s easy to call them or e-mail when they’re not coming and ask what they’re doing, or when they’re coming next.

A couple of the other instructors saw what I was doing, and started copying me, which was great, because their members noticed and liked it too. And while my direct boss still wasn’t interested, the operations manager found out what I was doing, and now I’m being promoted to gym manager, and my old boss is looking for a new job.

Our club is more successful, members are fitter and more motivated, I have more responsibility, and I’m earning more. Which is nice all round, I think!


It may be that some instructors need a little coaching to get this model to work, and some gym managers will no doubt need a little help looking through the data, but these are relatively small hurdles in the grand scheme of things.

*More People, More Active, More Often – the FIA mantra

Cool Autumn Runnings

OK, up and running again… not been for a few weeks, as I’ve been away, and the last run was a bit of a beasting over the cliffs of Hastings.

Today was my first proper autumn run. Splashing through puddles and mud in the woods, half of the autumn leaves on the ground and half still on the trees. Cold, wet, and not very motivated when I set-off. This is the time that you sometimes need a little extra to keep you going. If you can keep going through the autumn, the winter seems easier somehow.



Feeling absolutely knackered, knees and achilles hurting after a couple of ks, and then just as I came up to the halfway “bottle” point (where the 2^nd loop starts), my iPod on random plays Bloc Party’s “I Still Remember”. Nice. No question about giving up halfway, off I went for another loop, and the full 5k.

We all know that music boosts exercise capacity but this really confirmed that I need to sort out my autumn running playlist and powersongs to keep me going through the difficult season.

No personal best today, but back in the groove, and looking forward to the next autumn run through the puddles, leaves, wind and rain. Bring it on!

Software Implementation – A how to guide…

Many software implementers have got it wrong.

Here’s a typical scenario:
Training follows installation, and for a number of days, the members of staff are expected to take in all the aspects of the new system. Management might attend the first hour or two (if they’re interested), but then go off to do more important ‘management’ things. The trainer leaves, and the staff continue to use the parts of the system that they like, or that they remember from the information overload.

This seems to be the same whether the system is being installed at a bank or a gym – an information assault on the staff followed by underuse of the system, and then management wonder why the system does not deliver as promised.

New scenario:
Consultant sits down with management and gives high level (1 hour max) overview of all the possibilities of the system. A coffee break follows, and then management spend another 30 mins with consultant deciding on key functionalities to deliver first, and timescales.

Staff are then trained in these key functions, and left for one week or so to learn how to use them, and get to ask more [intelligent] questions, before the next training session on the next part of the system.

Probably more time consuming, and expensive, but when you’ve spent all that money on buying that smart new system, why not spend a little more time learning how to get the most out of it?

Abdominal Credit Crunches

Gyms and health-clubs have hard times ahead. The credit crunch is going to impact on membership figures as people start to cut-back on non-essentials; anything with a monthly direct debit will suffer, starting with the £50+ per month gym fee, then down through the satellite TV subscription to the charity donations.

On top of this, new budget offerings from clubs like MiFit and FitSpace costing from £9.95 per month are going to look more and more attractive to the average person who wants to work out once or twice a week, and doesn’t want the frills. This will hit local authority and public clubs first, as there is less to differentiate them, and they often run short term contracts, or none at all.

So how do gyms survive in this brave new world? Some clubs plan to try to increase sales, which is the wrong answer. Increased sales means more focus on new joiners, and unless you are taking on more staff, this means less focus on the existing members, which will increase drop-out. Retention is going to become so very important over the next 6 -12 months; clubs without a retention policy are likely to be in big trouble. Some suggest that 50% of the club’s marketing budget should be spent on member retention, which is a good start!

Measuring monthly attrition (drop-out) rates and then setting a target to improve (or at the worst, maintain) that attrition rate should be a priority. All staff in the club should somehow be accountable for part of the picture, and everyone should pull in the same direction to ensure members are motivated and returning to the club on a regular basis.

The health club industry is facing some major changes. The combination of the credit crunch and budget gyms means many clubs will have to evolve to stay alive. Differentiation will be the key, and clubs must demonstrate value for money to their existing members whether it be a fluffy towel and sauna, or simply tracking improvement in the member’s fitness levels.

What did you expect?

When was the last time someone said “what did you expect” to you? Probably when something had gone wrong, or you had failed to achieve what you wanted. A negative, in other words.
When something positive happens, you are much more likely to be told (or to think) that you worked hard for it, or that it was down to good luck, rather than “what did you expect”.
Here’s the theory – expect more often. Not just more (although that’s good too), but more-often. Everyone has expectations, but they are often subconscious. Set-out, think through or even write down what you expect before you start, and it is more likely to happen. Whether it is a business meeting, a run/gym session, or a golf shot, tell yourself what you expect before you begin.

Take a look at your to-do or task list (if you’re one of the lucky ones who have one) at the start of the day and tell yourself (or someone else) how many of them you expect to complete today. Not how many you’d like to complete (all of them?), but how many you expect to complete. You will be more likely to succeed, and it will not because of luck, or because you worked harder. This is a very short term example. Here is a very long term example:

The father that expects his teenage daughter to be back from her night out by 10pm is more likely to be rewarded by seeing her home before curfew than the one who does not expect it. (Beware, and read this correctly, no-one is expecting their daughter to be late, one expects her to be on time, the other does not expect). This expectation would need to be built up over a lifetime of expectation and obedience; after all, if the daughter is habitually home late, expectation alone is unlikely to change the pattern.

So set your expectations, and expect more often. Feel free to just expect more too, it’s no bad thing. As Oddball (Donald Sutherland) said in Kelly’s Heroes, “Positive vibes, Man!”

Distance not Time, or the Olympic 10 second sprint

How do you set your exercise goals? It seems to me that most people will work out on certain equipment in the gym for a certain amount of time. Many instructors set member's programs with 10 minutes on this kit, 5 minutes on that, which is a strange way of working to me...

If you're watching the Olympics at the moment, are you looking forward to the 10 sec sprint, the 2 hour cycling race, or the 2 minute swimming finals? I know it sounds weird, and would be very hard in certain contests to see who got the furthest after an certain amount of time. It is also hard to remember the distance you cover in your allocated time. I bet most people know that the 100m world record is just under 10 sec (currently 9.72 by Usain Bolt of Jamaica).

My brain remembers times more easily than distances if I'm trying to improve my performance.
If you set a distance goal to run, cycle or row, and then try to beat your previous time is much more motivating than running for 10 minutes, and checking how far you've run.
Try it, and let me know...