Have you ever truly reflected on this question: Have I mastered the basics yet?

By basics, I’m talking about:

• Delivering on your promises…every time
• Redefining eating habits for clients above pushing supplements and shakes
• Establishing better sleep patterns for your clients, your team and even yourself
• Improving clients lives through fitness
• Remaining friendly and inviting
• Building relationships
• Daily steps towards fulfilling your vision
• Taking care of our team to ensure they thrive in our environments
• Actually honoring the values you’ve established on your wall and in your employee manuals

The list of basics could go on and on.

But a lot of facilities focus on the next big thing to attract new clients and keep the regulars loyal. They attend conferences and trade shows to discover something hot and new. They chase rabbits trying to keep up with the latest trends and technology. They seek to create the wow factor and be as unique as possible.

As we focus on things that are constantly changing, we tend to lose sight of what matters most:

Meeting the basic needs of each and every client who walks through our doors. The ones who commit each month to invest their hard earned dollars in our services. The ones that sacrifice time out of their crazy busy day to spend 30-60 minutes at our facilities.

The core of our daily business should be built around old school principles that have withstood the test of time:

1. Personal responsibility

Great companies, the ones that transform peoples lives, always start with a deep sense of personal responsibility to help each and every client.

2. Be humble

This is about doing what’s expected of us: The basics. It’s not looking for a medal because we went above and beyond to fulfill these basics needs.

3. Work ethic

This is all about taking a deep sense of pride in the leadership roles our clients are looking for from us. Clients are not hiring personal trainers. They want a coach who's going to lead them to accomplish the mission that lays ahead.

4. Embrace challenge

We face an epidemic of poor health everyday our doors open. These mounting challenges will build the character and redefine the missions of almost every gym in the future. True success comes from overcoming great challenges.

5. Simplicity

If you aren't excelling at the basics, then no one cares about our complex rewards program, supplement routine or training program.

When it comes to mastering the basics, it’s not about the culture created from a mission statement, rules and employee manuals. Culture is a by-product of consistently taking action around the basics, not mere words.


TEAM CHALLENGE

Challenge your team with this question at your next meeting: Are we mastering the basics to meet our clients needs?

Allow 10 minutes for each teammate to reflect and write down their responses. Then allow everyone time to share their feedback and solutions.

After you walk through this meeting, I’d love to hear the insights you gained below.