Friday 4 - Are You Focusing on What You Can Control? 4/24/20

Published: Fri, 04/24/20

Thanks for opening up this edition of the Friday Four. Let's get things started by sharing one of my more popular blog posts in recent years:

The Dangers of Aligning Your Gym With a Specific Team or Program - Most gym owners are going to be hunting for a quick revenue fix once doors reopen, and partnering with a local club team might seem compelling. This blog post will challenge you to reconsider that decision before diving into a formal relationship.

My Friday FOUR:

Four pieces of content I've consumed this past week that will influence my future blog material and challenge me to think differently about how I manage Cressey Sports Performance. As always, I'm looking to bring you some business-specific information from outside of the world of fitness. Enjoy:

Carta's Covid-19 Layoff - Some of you have laid off employees in recent weeks, and others will be doing so soon if a much-needed PPP payment doesn't come through. This Medium post is a wonderful illustration of how you can handle the process with transparency, extreme ownership, and humility.

A Former FBI Negotiator on How to Build Rapport Over Video - We've collectively spent the last several weeks working to convert existing clients into some form of an electronic support model. Online support isn't going away in the near future (or at all), and we'll soon begin pitching new business in this format if we intend to chase growth as opposed to just maintenance. This article shares a handful of useful approaches you can employ the next time you give the sales pitch to a potential client via Zoom, Skype or FaceTime.

On Predicting the Future - I'm guilty of this unproductive habit that Seth Godin points out. Every day it is the same...me speculating about the specific day I think my gym will be allowed to reopen...me speculating about exact restrictions on acceptable head-counts in a given space...and me speculating about things I have zero control over. This quintessential Godin quick-hitter blog post helped me to see how unproductive this habit is.

How I Built Resilience: Live With Guy and Simon Sinek - I've always enjoyed the way Simon Sinek's mind works, and I found it refreshing to see him share a an emotional moment in this quick conversation with Guy Raz. You may want to pick up a copy of his most recent book, Infinite Game, after giving this one a listen.

Make sure to let me know if you come across any material that you think I'd enjoy. More importantly, have a great weekend.

- Pete