The Morning Routines of Top Club Operators
I’m more of a night owl than an early bird. And yes, I know about catching the worm and the benefits of early rising. My morning routine consists of waking up, getting a big cup of coffee, reviewing my critical items list from the day before, and handling the most critical time-sensitive items early in the day. I take and make my calls walking whenever possible. I tend to break my day into “chunks:” Morning set up/handling critical items; Connection/decision time mid/late day; Critical thinking, strategy, entrepreneur time and substantive project time in the mid and late evening when I have no or limited distractions.
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We all know that safety and security protocol is critical to our operations as a basic standard of care. If you have good systems, you are requiring all pertinent staff to be CPR and AED certified. You are most likely having all staff participate in an initial emergency response protocol training at time of hire. And you may have staff participate in refresher trainings on the club’s emergency protocols on a somewhat regular basis such as quarterly, or when you have an all-staff meeting. Even the most diligent of staff aren’t always prepared to be emergency first responders. It’s not their everyday job or even something they are trained on in real-life situations where panic, emotion, urgency, and action all come together.
I love listening to all of the discussion about "disruption" in our industry. In my opinion, much of it is conjecture, but I also believe there are many disruptive forces that are affecting our industry. We need to adopt new technologies to better serve our clients and remain a sustainable and viable option for our consumers. We must also be careful not to mistake change for growth. We all know the history of innovation creating obsolescence: the horse and buggy, travel agencies, video stores, pay phones and the list goes on and on.
I'm committed to people first. Without the people component of our fitness equation, nothing else matters. As technologies continue to emerge, develop, and disrupt, one thing that becomes more and more apparent to me to focus on is the dynamics that will not change in our industry.
Bill McBride is a health club industry veteran. He has worked in all aspects of sales, marketing, leadership, management, member experience and operations. He currently serves as the Co-Founder, President & CEO of Active Sports Clubs/Active Wellness. He also is the Founder, President & CEO of BMC3. He has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for IHRSA and MACMA (Mid-Atlantic Club Management Association), been a Board Member on ACE’s Industry Advisory Panel, Club Business Pro’s Advisory Panel, The Wellness Health Education Advisory Board and was a contributing faculty member of Club Success Magazine.
Bill is a great leader in the health club industry that possess experience, knowledge and wisdom in all areas of running a successful health club business. I have known Bill and worked with him for several years were he has served on the Club Solutions Advisory Board. Bill's insight and willingness to serve have been invaluable to me and my company.