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Offer a Meal, Not A Menu

June 19, 2018 Gym Operations
by Oskar Johed Like everyone else that attended the TwoBrain Summit in Chicago a few weeks ago, my business partner Kalle’s and my mind were racing when we got home. The actionable ideas ready for implementation could definitely double any gym’s net profit. The participants’ wealth of wisdom, or knowledge by experience, was unprecedented.  But before implementing anything, we decided to pause, reflect and more importantly discuss with our mentor. “All great ideas are equal but some are more equal than others…” We now know where to start. However, the main thing I took away from the weekend was meeting all the caring, giving and passionate- with- a-purpose members of the TwoBrain family. The posts and discussions in our private Facebook group are pure gold, but conversations in real life tends to get more vivid and colorful.  One of the topics I have continued discussing online with a few “family members” relates to the brilliant presentation that John and Mateo gave. (Talk about caring, giving and passionate with a purpose!) They run TwoBrain Marketing, and in their presentation they showed two slides with the offerings of two burger restaurants. One had EVERYTHING on it while the other had about a handful of items, including sides and drinks. The latter is far more successful by most conventional standards.  John and Mateo offer personal training, nutrition and group CrossFit at their gyms. For marketing they pretty much run one continuous, successful offer. Their point is to “learn to crawl before you walk”. Master the basics first and do it really well. Master Affinity marketing before Facebook marketing.  Master FB marketing to women before FB marketing to everyone. Master FB marketing (of CrossFit) to everyone before FB marketing your other services. Being at Brian Alexander’s magnificent facility with his plethora of specialty programs, some saw their presentation as being in conflict with TwoBrain’s “The Stratified Model” and “The Prescriptive Model” or even building ...
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Episode 123: The Energy Audit

June 18, 2018 Personal Development Podcast
 
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Why I Bought Bikes For My Gym

June 12, 2018 Vision
CrossFit is more than cycling a barbell. A LOT more.   I first heard the word “CrossFit” in the pit area of a local triathlon. I was a bike marshal (aka tire-pumper) and one of the kids asked if I’d heard of CrossFit while he was putting his shoes on. I said, “What?” He made a little cross sign in front of his face. “You know–like a cross. Plus ‘Fit’. You might run a mile carrying a rope, then tie the rope to a tree and climb up ten times, and then run back.” I said–and I’ll never forget this–“That sounds like bullshit.” He ran away, laughing. That was 2006.   Ten years into being a CrossFit affiliate, I can now afford to broaden the definition of “fitness” for my clients. But even when I couldn’t buy more equipment, I was always drawn back to the bike. I used to ride MTB (and ride a roadie to train for the trails). On my first visit to HQ, Greg and Sevan showed up on bicycles. And Greg’s first speeches compared gymnasts, weightlifters and cyclists. The bike has ALWAYS been part of CrossFit.   For the last year, I’ve been thinking, “How do I get people outside more, and still keep them as members?”   When I visited HQ last fall, I asked some of Greg’s original clients about doing bike workouts. Sevan and Bruce shared a couple of them, and I asked Greg himself when I visited him at home in Portland. He described one workout something like this:   “I took a bunch of bikes and stashed them at the bottom of a big hill. Then I drive my dumbbells to the top in my truck. I told people to ride the bikes up the hill, do 50 thrusters or something, and then ride back down. I’m surprised no one crashed.”   We laughed, but really–you probably wouldn’t do that ...
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Episode 122: How To Map Your Client's Journey

June 11, 2018 Member Retention Podcast
 
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The Four Levels of Blame

June 8, 2018 Personal Development
You can tell a lot about a leader by what’s on his shoulders.   Leaders in the Founder Stage have a chip on theirs. And it serves them well–for awhile. Leaders in the Farmer Stage have the weight of the world on their shoulders. They’re trying to level up and do all the things, but they’re not seeing the fruits of their labors yet. Leaders in the Tinker Stage are willing to shoulder the blame.   The way you manage blame says a lot about your leadership. As your business improves, your leadership must also mature. The leader-to-business relationship is causative: better leaders will grow their business faster, and weak leaders will cause their business to stagnate.   Immature leader: “It’s their fault.” They don’t listen. They don’t understand common sense. They need to try harder.   Young leader: “It’s their fault, but it’s my responsibility.” I need them to follow my instructions better. I shouldn’t assume they know what I know. I need to outline the process more clearly.   Mature leader: “It’s our fault.” The team isn’t reaching our metrics. Our clients deserve better from us. Our common vision isn’t clear enough.   Leader: “It’s my fault.”   …even when it isn’t.   Because it’s always your fault. If they’re not using “common sense”, it’s your fault: there’s no such thing. If they’re not following instructions, it’s because they don’t know why. If they’re not following your vision, it’s because they don’t see it.   When you’re in the Founder Phase and doing everything yourself, go ahead and hand out all the blame you want: you’re the only one there! But as you enter the Farmer Phase and train yourself to reach Tinker, it’s critical to cultivate the leadership skills necessary to run a larger company.   The people who got you here probably aren’t the ones who will get you there.   That includes YOU, Leader.  
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Unpacking

June 7, 2018 Vision
270 people, all headed in one direction. That was the 2018 TwoBrain Summit for me.   For the first time, thanks to Mike and Joyce, I didn’t have to organize very much at all. Despite my frequent badgering (“A thousand bucks for PENS?!”) they carried off an amazing weekend that was 10x better than anything I’ve done before. That meant I got to watch, talk with and hug hundreds of people.   Dozens of great stories are percolating in my head right now. But these ones have stayed on top:   Oskar once wrote me an email titled “Thank You For 2012”. It was intensely personal, so I won’t share it verbatim, but he told me the story of moving to Zambia to adopt his daughter, Emma. He downloaded most of the Journal for his trip, and in the big stack was something I wrote about a client with MS. Oskar and his wife planned to stay in Zambia for 4 months; instead, they had to stay for 11. During that time, he decided that CrossFit would be his path to helping the world. I was intensely moved by his long email and think of it every time I see him.   But on Friday night, I met Emma. This beautiful kid came bouncing into the Wildwood Tavern with her mom, carrying stuff from the Disney store, and I immediately knew who she was: I was so excited to meet her that I forgot she doesn’t speak English (her parents are amazingly fluent). She said “My name is Emma” but then politely nodded while I jabbered on. The next morning, Oskar showed me a picture of his hotel bathroom: Emma, wearing her Flash cape, had tried to do a few pull-ups on the towel rack and ripped it out of the wall. How could I like this girl any more?!?   And she wasn’t the only kid at the Summit. ...
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