GreatLIFE Community,
LEGACY AND IMPACT! Just over 11 years ago, I found myself in a meeting with a guy in an effort to try to talk him into adding racquetball courts back into the old Woodlake gym as a favor for my dad. Little did I know, less than a month later, I would be putting my house on the market to move my wife and I back to Sioux Falls in order to be part of this new golf and fitness company. With a bold mission of “enriching the lives of families and individuals through golf, fitness and health lifestyles”, we set out to change the world. We were focused on mega-growth and expansion of new facilities, hiring quality Team Members and finding creative ways to add value for our Members. 5 years ago last month, our world was faced with a harsh reality when we lost control of so many areas of our lives. Fear, anxiety, depression and loneliness spread rampant as we looked for some sort of normalcy and sense of control in any area of our lives. With many companies shutting down, the stark reality that we were going to “change the world” might not ever happen was in serious question. That event proved to be a tipping point for many people and organizations. For us, we took that time to ask a few major questions that have proven integral to our journey in the years since. One of those questions was “what if GreatLIFE closed our doors tomorrow?”, followed by “in a year, would anyone care?” My answer was of course “yes” BUT it wasn’t mine to answer. What really mattered was what the Team, the Members and the communities we were in thought. Since then, I’ve been blessed to have heard countless stories about how people are living their GreatLIFE and the positive IMPACT we’ve had on their lives. Because of your stories, we set off to find the best way for us to ensure we’re able to ensure GreatLIFE is rooted in the communities for many generations to come. Fast forward to earlier this month when we officially made the transition into becoming a Team Member Owned company. This move was a HUGE step for us to take in order to ensure we will be able to continue to make local decisions based on the need of each individual community we are involved in and allow us to continue to press forward with a culture of developing Team Members both personally and professionally… LEGACY.
4 Lessons Learned while going through this transition:
- Missions Matter- With a strong mission statement, in work or your personal life, it makes those decisions when you’re at a fork in the road. It may not always lead you in the right direction but it has certainly help give me peace no matter the end result.
- Change is Hard- I have prided myself on embracing and accepting change. As this transition started to become a reality, the uncertainty of how this would truly affect the day-to-day became a certainty and I had a “holy cannoli” moment! Fortunately, I have a great group of people who were able to listen and work through the uncertainty and get it turned back into excitement!
- Focus on Impact– There are countless amazing local organizations that have stepped in to make a huge difference with many of needs that we face in our community. I WANT to help every one of them. However, I know that focused effort will make a much bigger impact on a specific group rather than trying to help everyone. Because of this approach, we’ve been able to stay focused on impacting our youth through the PLAYEverything Program, TeamMates Mentoring program and various camps, clinics and programs designed specifically for our youth.
- Lasting Legacy– Building something from nothing is challenging, however, finding ways to ensure it lasts far beyond your time can be a bit of a challenge. Our hope is that by making our ownership change now, we are able to have a successful “handoff” and clear path for what successful leadership transitions can look like.
BOOK CLUB:
This month’s book was called Five Generations at Work by Patrick Dunne. Over the past year, I have really gotten into learning more about the generational differences as it can come in handy when hanging around multiple generations at home or in the workplace. This book helped challenge me to lead with intention, create space for every voice and build legacies that outlive us which is very fitting with our recent transition. Here are my top 3 takeaways from Five Generations at Work:
- Lead with Generational wisdom- I am blessed to be surrounded by multiple generations on both sides of me, so using both traditional Mentoring and Reverse Mentoring are vital to have sustained growth.
- Plan for Seven Generations- This means to keep in mind at how your decisions TODAY will impact the next 7 generations. Long story short, be sure you aren’t making short-term decisions that will negatively impact long-term growth.
- We’re better together- Competition is one of my top 5 strengths, so I can tend to do what it takes to win. However, I have to be mindful to not let it get in the way of collaboration and teamwork so we can share, support and grow together.
NEXT MONTH’S BOOK:
Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo
POSITIVE THOUGHT:
“Great leaders make decisions with the next generations in mind. Let’s be those leaders.”