What You Don't Know [#InTheTrenches ft. Josh Price]

#InTheTrenches catches up with Josh Price, owner of Loco CrossFit and Senior Mentor at Two Brain Business to discuss leadership, principles, values, planning, staff development, and a "before, during, and after" look at "readiness and resiliency" through this crisis.

***
If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts/Itunes. It takes less than 60 seconds, and it helps get our message out to those who need it. We appreciate it!

To watch this episode on YouTube, click HERE.
For links and a full transcript of the episode, click HERE.
 
Follow PushPress:
Twitter: twitter.com/pushpressapp 
Instagram: instagram.com/pushpress
Facebook: facebook.com/pushpress

Support the show (https://www.pushpress.com)

Transcript

spk_0:   0:04
Welcome to In the Trenches, a weekly podcast series dedicated to entrepreneurial leadership, the principles and values that define and develop it, as well as actionable steps that you can take to immediately lead your team to victory. Good afternoon. This is Eric LeClair with Push Press, and I am so happy and honored toe have Josh Price with us today. Um, former or essay should assertive former owner of local crossing her crystal current owner.

spk_1:   0:38
So current owner local France look

spk_0:   0:41
fantastic. We have a Siri's titled in the trenches, and it's a kind of portrait and leadership through chaos and each one of the affiliate owners that were reaching out to have a substantial kind of pedigree in leadership and or building systems, building processes, developing staff and being able to help reduce risk or mitigate risk through trying times. Um And so, Josh, thank you so much for the time that we're going to spend here today. Um, for those that are watching and you may not know, Josh feel like to do a little intro on yourself and maybe your affiliate

spk_1:   1:17
as well. Yeah, absolutely. Uh, first off, thank you for having me. This is really uh, a lot of fun. I haven't done a lot of podcasts, but I'm getting more opportunity. So it's fun. A my own look across that which is in Leesburg, Virginia. That's outside of Washington, D. C um, kind of ah, fun fact. Though I live in a little bitty town called Pass Christian Mississippi, 1600 miles away from my gym, it's actually run it from afar. Said Wow, incredible thing. And then I'm also on the lead mentor for two brain business. I'm the mentor that trains and teaches all the other venters how we do business and to break awesome. How

spk_0:   2:01
did how did that come up? Did you did you use to brain initially with loco and then you kind of turned into tell me, Tell me about

spk_1:   2:10
Yeah. So, um, my story of a tube to bring started 321 go days. You know what? Chris was still with them and everything. I did the original online course that they had for the business incubator, and, um, it's goodness gracious. It doubled my business in, like, two months and then it up triple in my business at around the four month mark. It's huge um, you know, Chris went with two brain, because he, uh he really wanted more mentorship and all that. I wanted the same. Like I wanted to have the accountability and I wanted to have, you know, the the sounding board, uh, the bounce ideas off of. So I went that direction with him, and I think I was still client for another almost two years and then being chris for having a conversation. And it was probably march timeframe of whatever year that waas. And just whatever I said, he goes, you need 2% at the summit this year. So I got up I presented at the summit when we're still smaller. So let, um, across with illumined Brian's Jim. And afterwards he came up to me and actually think he called me and was like, because I think it was at the airport in O Hare. He was like, You need to be a mentor for me, So Yep. So I became a mentor, and just over my time there, um, kind of what we're talking about today leadership because of my leadership and just kind of the guy that I am, I hit it up rising through the ranks and becoming the elite mentor.

spk_0:   3:55
Outstanding. Now, how did that challenge you from that gym owners role when you started to wear both hats? How did you develop your staff?

spk_1:   4:04
Yeah, great. Great question. Um, so my time in the military and everything. So I was in the Army for, like, 13 years as a staff sergeant. Um, actually, did get toe, uh, lead the mission in Iraq as a platoon sergeant. Does I got that little bit of that e seven? Um uh, experience. Yeah, Well, yeah. And the big thing that it made me realize is that you have set up your organization in that way. So basically, for every five people or so you've got to have some type of leadership put in. So we had already started doing that with my head coach on rgm and them kind of our department leads that we had already and then it just made me look at it in my GM. It Sam was really my administrative assistant. And when I looked at her, it was like, OK, you got to be the GM now. I need somebody looking at this. Um, so we just look at all of the roles and tasks in the business units, One of things that to brain teaches. And I realized I was like, Okay, a lot of this is gonna come down to leadership, okay? And in leadership, there's kind of this, this model that I use and, um, it's kind of a training model into a leadership, which is first. It's like, task oriented. You have to be able to do a task to the standard. Okay, when you prove that you movinto level to which is responsibility Alright. Responsibility has earned over time. So the first thing that kind of happens is, um, you have daily responsibility. Somebody's watching you basically over your shoulder. When they see that you could do it daily moves out toe weekly. Then it moves out to monthly and then finally, quarterly. But just like in the military, you know, with your in seo ers or anything like that, we are going to, uh, of you ever view. Yeah, uh, at least quarterly when you hit that, we move into the third level, which is decision making. This is where we build leaders the decision making level and the most important thing with this Is that you, as a leader, as the owner have to understand how you make decisions so that you can then teach your cheap all how to make decisions the way you do. And, um, with that I do it in a way I call thought projects. And you can ask any of my people about this because they hate thought projects. I'm like it would do a thought project, and they're like, No, but basically, um, I asked my mom like, show me how you would increase our profitability by 10%. Show me how you would cut expenses. Show me how you would start a new program and we do this before there's any money on the line before there's anything it could actually hurt. Conceptual first. Yeah, and then they go through it, show me their steps, and then I show them, you know, like Okay, well, this is what I think of this and this and this so that moves them through that level. This is exactly what we did with my advent to bring her all the way up to the G enroll where she understands exactly how I make decisions and now makes those decisions at loco and toe. Let everybody know this wasn't a day 18 months to get Donald Lutz to get this toe where it, uh, to where I ultimately movement but at the time just handed off, right? Okay, just to be able to do more for two Brand,

spk_0:   7:42
right? I love it. It's It's methodical. It's got purpose. There's intention behind it. She saw the big picture, obviously. And then you trusted. As you assessed her capabilities, you felt more trust. So you gave him where he rolls, right? More tasks. I dig it. So bring us full speed to today. Um, we were talking on earlier call about kind of definitions of leadership or operational definitions of leadership. How did you impress upon your staff that there are values or principles at play that helped to mould leaders? Have Did you have any discussions with them about that?

spk_1:   8:22
Yeah, absolutely. So the way that I kind of break um, everything down is so there's two parts sand of your questions. Of the first part is, there's a hierarchy of kind of need or leadership direction. And that is, uh, all of my clients. Hopefully they'll listen to this will be like up Here goes. It's vision, mission, goals, objectives, strategy and tactics. So, vision, what is the overall legacy? We may never obtain this Ever, ever, ever, ever. But this is the direction that work going. And then in the why, right? Mission is, uh, think Jim Collins or whatever we call it the big, hairy, audacious goal. Right? Right. We're actually going to define what we're trying to hit in a 3 to 5 year timeline goals, then break down into yearly like, oh, objectives are gonna be quarterly. Um, they get smaller and smaller, but they actually spread and scope because now we have marketing objectives with cells, objectives with operational objectives, and we have the business objectives. Right? And then So basically, those air managed by the department bleeds over those departments, right? And then we have strategy. Strategy is going to be our plan. Right? So that could be, um, Facebook. Marketing strategy, social media strategy, right, Affinity, marketing, which we teach in two brain, basically, how to create more organic leads. That's a strategy, right? How you teach your classes. That's a strategy that ultimately needs to go all the way up to the vision has to align. I teach my classes this way because it alliance with division, right? And in front of the tactics. And those were the individual war. You're testing girls, right? Right, That you have to do so. Like, how did he just thought that's a tactic. How Toe teach the press. How to, uh You,

spk_0:   10:31
Gail. Things change a tax? Yeah, I love it. I love it, man. If folks Onley watched to this moment, they can run away with those right there and immediately employed.

spk_1:   10:43
So let's The second part was values, right? So the initial business was built off from my values, and I will actually say they were probably not the best values because I'm extremely competitive person. So we have this, like, hard core competitive line and everything in our business, and I would get in the early days. I'm this is training and you got to be on time and that as time went on, I softened on that and I was like, men like, I really got to put the customer first. Like one of the values is that I say is like, What? Don't I know? That's a value, right. And the context around it is if I'm frustrated if I'm angry, If I'm irritated at a client or at a person in my life, the first question I have to ask them is, Hey, what don't I know about the situation? Yeah, right. And then immediately opens up. And then I'm like, Okay, now I can help you. That is ingrained at loco. What don't I know? Let me find out from my client so we can take care of them first. Right? Mixing on. So, what's cool? Teoh kind of expand on this when I left, right? Or when I kind of handed up to the GM. At first, my values could not propel. Looking forward, it had to be the values of our essential staff. People that were in there in the trenches today. They? Yep. So we had to have the conversation. Now, what are your values, right? All of them. What a your war, that is. What do you hold dear? What's important to you. And then we started looking for the common elements and we started saying, Oh, man, working hard. That's one consistency. That's one. You know this that X Y Z and then that became the corporate values. Excellent look still uses today, right? And the funny part is is like, I don't really see myself. Besides, maybe what don't I know? Even in that anymore. But that's OK, right? I know that it will push us on for 10 years. 15 years, you know, Right? Of course, In the future.

spk_0:   12:56
So to wrap this into the crisis mode because, really, the dialogue today with so many gym owners is there pulling their hair out because they didn't have things like this in place. Um, and this is not a loaded question. Do you believe all that work up Has prepared your staff to handle what's going on today?

spk_1:   13:14
Yes. Yes, We've got six clients leave. We're not super. Your family probably got ah, 120 group members. Probably another 30 or so P t. And then a message. It's you know, they're going for 50 kids in the program, right? We had six total leave. Um, and, uh, that was because they lost their jobs, right? No way around it. And everybody else. One of the big things. They said, um, to us. Uh, you know, we called everybody let him know what's happening. They actually did. Um, zooms. I think we did to a day for three days in a row where they come on and ask questions. Everything. The biggest threat that we kept saying it was I will never leave this place. I will never leave this place. Why? Because of my head coach, his number one value is relationships. Outstanding. Keep. Sager takes care of people better than anybody I've ever seen. And he let them all know that way we love you. We're gonna take care of you. You've entrusted your fitness to us, and because of those relationships, we have a plan. We're going to make sure that this one area of your life you are not gonna have to lead it yourself. You have to figure it out. We've got

spk_0:   14:39
we have the solution for you. Yeah, It's like you knew the very next question, right? I was going to just figure like that's what so many gym owners need to. Here is the clear, consistent communication. Yes, up the chain and down the chain of command after the clients that we have one. We care. Two, we've got your solution and It's easy. Yes. Just go up on the computer. Right. You've got financial hardships. You've got family hardships. You've got ill. I mean, all the bad things. Let's just had fitness on top. Folks are gonna become depressed. Frustrated gunship. Yep. Right, man, I love it. We only have about nine more minutes, but I think one of the most are the strongest components here. Is is there anything you share? Um, that would be poignant or specific to a struggling gym owner today? Um, they're they're lacking faith in themselves. They might be lacking this staff to facilitate delegation. That might be using clients Any any parting words for the struggling gym owner,

spk_1:   15:48
Uh, shameless blood seek mentorship that will help you always massively, massively on bond. And that comes from other areas besides to brain that comes through affiliate sport groups. Anything like that? Um, number one, I would say to them is, and I do this fairly often. I will go, um, eso side and just look off into the distance and reconnect with my y. Reconnect with my vision. Why did they do this in the first place? And then I immediately will tell whomever if it's gonna be to stop the clients that whatever this is, why we're here. This is what we're doing, right? And when you do that, you immediately assert yourself as the leader and people want to be led. And I cannot harp on that. Enough. People want to be a let when they're confused. They don't know what to do. They react. Ah, a emotionally, uh, you know, out of fear. And the thing is, when you lead, you show them abundance. You show them where they can go there, you show them what can actually be. And if you just do that, I'm telling you, your staff who follow you, your people will follow you. And most of your problems will go away like I know. And I know it's it's so scary to lead. But I can't tell you enough. Just do it. Just say, you know, this is a lie to say. Follow me.

spk_0:   17:23
Yep. Yeah, A man. Powerful, absolutely powerful. You've provided, um, clarity. You provided action steps. You provided organizational structure that this is gonna be great for a lot of folks to tune in. I really appreciate your time