Picture this. You are walking through a department store (yes, they still have those!) and you shuffle past a table taking donations in order to provide coats to underprivileged children.
The organization has a legitimate logo. The people running the table seem fine and upstanding. They have all the proper documentation that proves they are, indeed, a real organization.
You’re feeling generous in the moment and you decide to write a check for $500.
The representatives are thrilled. They shake your hand, thank you and tell you that this donation will allow them to purchase coats for ten children.
You, rightfully so, walk away feeling great about your generosity.
Now, picture something else. It’s early December and you notice that, every day at school drop off, there is a Mom and daughter standing, shivering, waiting to be let into class and neither of them have coats.
You’ve spoken to this Mom a couple of times and you realize she is struggling. Pride won’t let her tell you that directly but you read between the lines.
So after this latest drop-off you decided that you are going to go to that same department store and buy a coat for the little girl, knowing that the Mom is going to appreciate it but be resistant to the help.
You concoct a story of how you just bought your daughter a new jacket and they offered a buy one get one free and she doesn’t need another jacket and are wondering if her daughter would want it instead.
The mother hesitantly agrees and the next day you see the mom and daughter, a little less distraught and a lot less cold at the school drop off.
No doubt, in either case, you are a fucking hero. Seriously. We need more people like you in the world.
But that being said, which gesture feels better to you?
It’s not an easy question to answer.
In the first scenario, you are, to the best of the information you have available, helping ten children get coats. And while that is wonderful, these are all nameless and faceless children. You have no idea how much of your money is going to administrative fees, that table set up in the department store and all the other costs that go into running a charity.
In the second case, you are only helping one child but you directly get to see the results of your generosity. You’ve helped someone in need in your community. And that is what humanity is all about.
That same dynamic shows up in fitness all the time. The tradeoff between impact and reach. Between helping one person deeply, or thousands shallowly.
When I worked as a personal trainer in a very high profile facility, word got out that The Biggest Loser, a controversial weight loss reality show, was looking for the next crop of trainers. It seemed like every trainer in the gym submitted a tape hoping that the exposure would vault their career.
But I didn’t.
One of my colleagues asked why. I thought for a second and told him the truth.
The first is that I didn’t think I’d be very good at it. The second is that I wanted to be in front of the people I was helping.
He countered. Arguing that the platform would scale the ability to help. Bring more of myself to more people through broadcast.
He had a point. Just like in the coat scenario you had two options: bring helpful fitness information to the unwashed masses or help a single person who is right in front of you.
(Yes, I am ignoring that no good information ultimately came out of The Biggest Loser. But these blogs aren’t the easiest things to write every week so give me some slack here.)
The past couple of weeks I shared some business lessons I’ve experienced in our first ten years of The Fort and the reception was, well, mediocre. I mean, seriously people, is it that hard to hit the reply button and say something nice???? Jk, jk.
But a similar issue exists in business as it does in charity coat drives and Biggest Loser audition tapes. How do you balance the issue of scale (which everyone seems to value and claims is important) and having impact on a personal level (which is just about my favorite thing)?
And, listen, I’m going to let you down easy here. I don’t have an answer.
I know, I know. The greying beard and deep-thought posts have led you to believe that I am some sort of meat head sage, sitting in a small temple on a mountain top in Nepal dispensing unquestionable wisdom to all who take the brutal three day trek and are brave enough to ask the deepest questions.
But while I don’t have the exact equation I can tell you this - working on the balance is important.
Because growth is somewhat critical for success. Not only does it allow us to help more people, it also gives our staff an upward trajectory in their career and lives and gives us the ability to do bigger and more impactful things.
But none of this can come at the sacrifice of the training and the personal interactions. Fitness is not a factory. And us knowing your kids names or asking how your ailing parents are doing or remembering that you have the trip-of-a-lifetime to Greece in a month is something that we will work on never losing.
Running a fitness (or any!) business is hard. Getting to know you along the way is what makes it special and keeps us going.
So take my five hundred bucks and go buy ten coats. But that little girl outside the school, she gets one, too.