By: Karen Woodard-Chavez Core values; what do they mean


to your staff? If they do not have meaning to your staff, then they are not being used as the powerful tools they could be. Core values are the values that your organization has de ned as the elements that support the integrity, vision, mission and promise of your organization. Ideally, there are 3 - 5 core values (any more than that will be diluted and too dif cult to remember, let alone deliver) that guide the actions and intentions of every single staff person and decision in your organization that point toward achieving your purpose. Sometimes, they are referred to as your “true north.”


An example of core values might


be the following: Mutuality, Authenticity, Sus-


tainability, Not for Self and Respect for the Individual: These core values are actual client core values, and I must say, some of the best that I have seen. Others


include: Do the Right


Thing, Have a Positive Impact Every Day and Live the Three-Thirds Lifestyle I could cite numerous examples, but that is not the point of this article. The point of this article is you may (or heaven forbid, may not) have created a set of core values for your organization. If you have, that’s very good. If you have not, then it is time to make a commitment to values that speak to and for your organization. However, that is STILL not the


point. The point is... regardless of WHAT your core values are, does your staff know exactly how to deliver them? They may be able to recite them, but if they do not know how to deliver them, then it makes NO difference whether you have them or not. Finally, the point of this article:


An Exercise On How To Deliver Your Core Values


To make sure your staff does know how to deliver your core values, I encourage you to do the following exercise in your next management meeting:


1. Take one piece of  ip chart paper (preferably the sticky note kind) per core value. You will write one core value at the top of the paper and post it on the wall. If you have  ve core values, then you will have  ve  ip chart papers up and around your meeting room.


2. If you have ten managers split, them up into groups of two. Regardless of the number of managers you have, you will


want to have 2 - 3 people in each group. Place each group of two or more by a piece of  ip chart paper on the wall with one core value.


3. Give each group two minutes to come up with three behaviors that deliver that core value. Very speci cally, you are looking for behaviors, not attitudes or platitudes. You want speci c behaviors that any staff person can do to successfully deliver that core value.


4. When the two minutes are up, each group of two will rotate to the next core value and repeat the same exercise. However, they cannot repeat anything that has already been written on the  ip chart paper for that core value.


5. When each group of two has been to all  ve stations (roughly 10 minutes), you should have 15 very speci c behaviors that deliver the core values of your organization.


6. After all groups have gone through the initial stage of this exercise, you will open it up to discussion. In your discussion, you will want to be clear about what has been written that is or is not a behavior. Be forewarned that some of the “behaviors” that have been written will not actually be behaviors, but instead, ideals or attitudes. It is critical that you boil this exercise down to behaviors that will deliver your core values. If you are unclear about this, I invite you to reach out to me to discuss this further.


Discussion questions might in- continued from page 22


of Governors decides to raise or lower the prime rate. The most recent .25% rate increase implemented at the end of last year raised the SBA loan payments on a $150K loan by about $18 per month. The repayment term is 10 years, and there is no pre-payment penalty. So, if the  tness center is extremely pro table, the loan can be prepaid to save interest expense.


Conclusion


The purpose of using SBA loans and equipment leases is to access other people’s money (OPM) and preserve the club owner’s capital. The goal is to borrow the money at a cost that is less than the


clude the following:


•How hard was it to articulate simple, speci c behaviors to deliver these core values?


•Had you thought about these prior to this exercise?


•Are these intuitive to you? •What about for your staff? •Would this be helpful for your staff? •If we were all behaving in the ways stated, would we be able to meet/exceed our mission?


7. Once the discussion has been completed, you will then assign the managers to do this exercise in their departments or do it in an all staff meetings. Simply follow the same steps.


The 3 Bs. These Core Values Must Be: Believed, Bought Into and Behaved


By doing this exercise, you will bring form to the function of having core values. If staff does not know how to deliver the core values through simple, speci c behaviors, then it is likely that they are not delivering the core values of your organization. If they are not delivering the core values, then they are meaningless. As stated in the beginning of this article, it is not enough to be able to recite the values. They must be believed, bought into and behaved, the 3 Bs. When the 3 Bs happen consistently, your core values become a very powerful tool. Without them, they are simply words on a page.


This article is an excerpt from my new management and leadership manual


business pro t percentage. For example, if a $100,000 equipment lease provides a 12% return to the lessor and an $150,000 SBA working capital loan has a 6.25% interest rate, the business owners will be borrowing $250,000 at an 8.6% blended interest rate. Assuming the  tness center operates at a 15% pro t margin, the club owner is using OPM at a cost that is almost half of the anticipated return on capital. In conclusion, equipment leases


and SBA Express loans are complementary products that will enable an entrepreneur with good personal credit to  nance the opening and expansion of a  tness center. The best part about this  nancing combination of a SBA Express Loan and equipment lease is that the collateral are the business asset, not a home... just the


business assets.


(Paul Bosley is the Managing Member of HealthClubExperts.com D/B/A Business Finance Deport, and he can be reached toll free at 800-788-3884, by cell phone at 561-702-5505 or email at paul@ healthclubexperts.com. Also, check out www.business nancedepot.com)


Karen Woodard-Chavez


More Meaningful Meetings. This is a terri c resource with over 100 pages of activities you can utilize to engage your staff in your organization’s purpose, support your meeting’s message and drive the essence of your meetings for longer impact on staff behavior. You will no longer have boring, useless meetings.


(Karen is President of Premium Performance Training in Boulder, Colorado and Ixtapa, Mexico. She has owned and operated clubs since 1985 and now consults with and trains staff throughout the world. She provides her services on-site, online, by phone and through her books, CDs, DVDs and manuals. She can be contacted at 303-417- 0653 or karen@karenwoodard.com)


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