One of my favorite people, Bryan K. O’Rourke, often says “You can't put lipstick on a pig.” In context here, if you've got big problems in your organization, adding technology systems to solve for those problems is like adding gasoline to the fire.

With a tremendous amount of possibilities to consider and platforms to evaluate, how does one decide what technology enhancements are right for their business? I will tell you this, in many cases it doesn’t have to do with what you would think. 

If you want to realize what technology to add to your business you have to start with looking at the heart of your business and evaluate your vision and what you are solving for.

A fantastic starting place is answering the following questions: “Why are we here? What are we doing? Who are we serving?” Get the business plan in place (or revised) to then provide you with the content to which you want to add technology.  The goal is to use technology to enhance your purpose, not hinder your progress.

Just like in the fitness industry we are seeing clubs sell wearable devices like FitBit’s at their front desk. And while that's not a bad idea, without a plan as to why you're providing a FitBit and what part of your business objectives this fits into, the FitBit might as well just be batteries or gum. However in contrast, do you remember many years ago when 24 hour fitness launched the body bug, it was a part of their entire infrastructure, programming, and marketing strategy. It infiltrated the clubs and provided their trainers with a system to track their clients calorie burn, and food in-take. It was truly woven into the fabric of the entire operational plan; it wasn't just positioned at the front desk as a product add-on to membership. See the difference?

Creating a vision, a “why,” and a context to what it is that you want technology to accomplish for you, and then layering the system on top of that is truly the best way to garner the best results.  Like Mr Einstein says, We can not create new solutions from the same perspective that helped us create the mess, paraphrasing his message, and, if we really want to create change we have to get to the root of what the new thing is we want to create.

Ultimately, technology is a tool, not a one size fits all solution. When you have a plan in place, technology can and will propel your business forward. Business leaders must demonstrate the patience required to consider what they are wanting to use the technology for to truly know what to use. 

If you would like to talk on this topic, send me a note, I would be happy to go over your plan with you!

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Lindsey Rainwater, also known as Lindsey RainH2O, is a sought-after business consultant, leadership coach, writer and presenter to the fitness and wellness industry. For more information about Rainwater, follow her on Twitter@LindseyRainH2O

A little over a year ago I was on a flight returning to Denver, tenaciously typing out a 12 month, bi-weekly content calendar with the intention of posting four times a month in 2015. I remember thoughtfully planning what I wanted to cover, how I wanted the posts to flow and when I wanted to post.  I picked the Hashtag "#TotallyTrendyTuesday" to use as a way of categorizing all of the trends and topics to support leadership in the fitness and wellness space. And I created #WakeUpWednesday to bundle my posts focused on tools for leaders choosing to explore ways to be more emotionally intelligent and AWAKEN their lives.  Today I celebrate that completion. For the past twelve months I have followed that calendar, stayed consistent and published what I said I was going to! I want to thank two people specifically: Bryan O'Rourke for his inspiration for blogging in the first place. In 2011 he taught me to blog and I began writing; without him I never would have done this! And Amy Schmittauer: she helped me envision a content calendar and demonstrated that it is possible to stick to a plan and execute content week after week.  I feel excited about what 2016 has in store and the content I will be creating.  The new calendar is well under way - stay tuned! 

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Lindsey Rainwater is a consultant and coach to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o

Will you be at Club Industry?

I will be speaking Thursday Morning 8:15am 10/8 CLICK here to RSVP

The fitness industry is always changing, and the most glaring and recent changes are the impact technology has had on the way consumers interact in health clubs. As apps, wearables and other tech devices canvas the market, the question remains: how will integration happen? How can health club owners and equipment manufacturers co-create a new in-club experience that enhances the member experience? The average person who joins a health club now has access to health and fitness apps and devices outside of the club. That being the case, how can clubs work with the user experience, finding creative ways to enhance the human connection by using technology to do so? Tech does not rob us of the human connection; it actually enhances it. Attendees of this session will be empowered to enhance their club environment to meet and exceed member satisfaction through the use of technology enhancements, making it easier and more exciting than ever for their members to work out in a health club.

Please let me know if you plan to attend, I would love to meet you in person!

Cheers,

Lindsey 

Social, social social... if you stand still for too long the next trend will swoosh right past you! Is it not the truth? changes are happening at record speed, facebook, twitter, instagram, and now, live broadcast Check out my video below and click the links for more information about how to get broadcasting!

12 Ways to Use Periscope for Business  , Learn more About Periscope

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Lindsey Rainwater is a consultant and coach to the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o

Self absorbed or self aware, have we gone too far? 

Sitting at dinner with friends, looking down at your plate, mentally logging what you see “chicken, black beans, salsa, teaspoon or tablespoon, I don’t know, how much does that little ramekin hold, I ran this morning, that should add up”… while holding your phone logging your food into my fitness pal, looking at your Fitbit to see if you are still within your target for the day. Meanwhile your best friend asked you a question that you completely ignored, looking up you say, “what!? Sorry, I was logging my meal”…

We live in an era where information about our body is readily available via wearable devices and smart technology.  Fitness tests and analysis now reach far beyond the doctors office or the local gym. The modern day obsession with health is more mainstream than ever, at first glance this is wonderful, yes? or is risk involved with so much information?  Of course anything can be taken to extremes, it is more informative however, to evaluate how the information is stimulating self awareness or encouraging self obsession.

Lifestyle choices, habits and activity is obviously an individuals journey. Question being, at what point do the scales tip and we are over our head informed and not simply living in the moment. What is helpful, and what is noise?

“It is important sometimes to reflect on our thoughts and feelings, monitor them, and make sure they are taking us where we want to go. However, a constant state of monitoring will lead us to be too self-conscious. If we are always worried about “What am I thinking?” or “What am I feeling?” then we can never engage in our surroundings with full consciousness. This is when self-awareness becomes more than just self-awareness, it becomes self-absorption, and this can end up being very detrimental. Self-absorption is when we are too preoccupied with our inner world to appreciate our outer world. It is when we find ourselves chatting away in our heads and making petty judgments, instead of letting go and living presently with what surrounds us. -Self-Aware vs. Self-Absorbed-Steven Handel

Availability to data driven metrics used to evaluate our behavior has the potential to create a “constant state of monitoring”.  When aligning the ability of the device with our long term goals, do we see the trend being that our self awareness is stimulated or are we simply becoming more self absorbed? 

If logging food has become a higher priority than dinner company, is the enjoyment of human engagement getting lost in the muck of a noisy brain? 

How does one know if they are on the right track to learning more about themselves or are over stimulating their mind with data driving erratic routines and more self absorbed thinking. 

As Fitness professionals, is it more important to demonstrate self awareness stimulated by the desire to know oneself better, and data is a tool to accomplish the aim? or are we demonstrating self absorption stimulated by the need to gain external validation? this being stimulated by the desire for outward appraisal judging our lack of inner self awareness? 

Food for thought, what do you think? is the fitness industry demonstrating a sustainable model for personal growth? or self obsessed routines leading to narcissist behavior?

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Lindsey Rainwater is an experienced consultant and coachto the fitness and wellness industry.  She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions.  For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o