A lot of business books I’ve read starts by determining your core values and the core values you want your business to have. When we opened the Defy Functional Fitness, Michelle and I put some of these together, it seemed like a pointless exercise – just words on a piece of paper.
I knew I had to get them out there somehow. Painted on the wall, in a blog post like this or tell people about them. When they are out there though, people can judge you on them. I also wanted to make sure we picked the right ones.
That is exactly why I’m putting them out there. I want to be judged by them. I want my members to judge my coaches by them and our business by them. If we aren’t holding the standard then we should be called out.
If they are out there, maybe our members can adopt some of them too. I can already see that a culture is being built around them, even though this is the first time I’ve put them out there!
So what are they?
Consistency
We want to deliver a consistently high service across all of our classes and all of our Private Coaching. It doesn’t matter which coach you work with, the standards will be consistent.
This also means being consistent with other things such as the level of cleanliness, towel service and not offering new members discounts to entice them in. (I just saw my phone company is offering my deal at half price to newbies, why?)
Humility
Be humble in success. It doesn’t matter who is the fittest or fastest in the gym. The quality of the team is more important.
Friendly competition increases motivation which is always encouraged but everyone is here to get better at life in their own way.
Integrity
This can be tough to see in action but our take on this is to “just do the right thing, no matter the consequence.”
Being honest, staying true to your word and delivering on the things we say we will (like smashing windows to make sure a class is on haha)
Determination
We are determined to create a great environment for our members. We are determined to be role models for health and fitness. We want to instill determination into everyone so they achieve the goals that will ultimately make them happier.
We are not perfect as a business and we never will be but when in doubt I personally try to fall back to these core values to guide the direction.
I’m interested to know if anyone else tries to stand by their core values too?