Technology Tools That Are Changing The World - Why Twitter Rocks

Some thought has been put into my profile on Linkedin. When it says "helps organizations and professionals realize their full potential and solve their biggest challenges" well that's what I am trying to do. Hopefully it shows every now and again. When @StartracFitness invited me to share views on social selling, there came a few points during the presentation where I saw that look in people's eyes. I'll call it the look of WOW, wonderment, realization; a look I live for because it can mean you are making an impact. When you can get an audience to rethink what they are doing, how they are doing it and why they should maybe do it differently its a win. Its that aha moment. I saw a few of those looks last Thursday in Irvine California. (see the video below for an example of what spurred the look).

Hopefully you know my view: technology has created awesome potential for doing good for people, for customers for the world , if used correctly. Technology tools like Twitter are a good example, yet many still don't use the tool. With around 218 million active users you can use Twitter like Google and search to learn so much information as well as connect with many professionals and people that share your interests.The 2014 Fitness Industry Technology Council U.S. Health Club Survey Report showed, however, that only 27% of club leaders use twitter at all.

I use Twitter because its fantastically powerful. Health clubs, service and consulting organizations, like Star Trac Fitness, non-profits, and others can all use Twitter. Leaders in the health club business including @RobertjDyer , @ChuckRunyon, @SarahRobbOh, @SFable, @ECRetro , @GMelstrand , @CEOScott and many many others use the Twitter platform.

To learn more about why Twitter Rocks visit Twitter's Youtube Account. Do you use it ? Why or why not ? I'd love to hear what you have to say. And on a final note many thanks go out to the @StarTracFitness team and my team including Michael Bruno, Terry Woods, Vanessa Lee, Jeff Dilts, Sal Pellegrino, Eleanor Hisey, Robert Dyer, Maureen O'Rourke and so many others. Thanks to you all for the chance to do what I love to do.

An Important Secret About The Competitive Health Club And Fitness Industry

I know , please don't give me a hard time about it. I just keep trying to make sure you're paying attention to what is REALLY going on out there in this great big world of ours. Admittedly its hard, when our heads are down and we are slugging away at obstacles and opportunities everyday. But things have changed, really changed. So please think about this the next time you sit down to evaluate your business, your profession and our industry. You see the way we think has got to change if we are to remain relevant.

I've mentioned Rita Mcgrathbefore . As one of the leading thinkers in global innovation, Rita is now coming out with a new and compelling book titled, The End of Competitve Advantage, How To Keep Your Strategy Moving As Fast As Your Business. in this book lies some secrets for us to use when it comes to our future. Here's and excerpt from the book:

Are you at risk of being trapped in an uncompetitive business?

Chances are the strategies that worked well for you even a few years ago no longer deliver the results you need. Dramatic changes in business have unearthed a major gap between traditional approaches to strategy and the way the real world works now. In short, strategy is stuck. Most leaders are using frameworks that were designed for a different era of business and based on a single dominant idea—that the purpose of strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Once the premise on which all strategies were built, this idea is increasingly irrelevant.

As with other industries this is the predominant thinking embraced by leadership in the health club and fitness industry today . Failing to collaborate and the myopic view that competition is primarily derived from others within our space is flawed thinking. As with other industries, increasingly competition is going to come from other industries. We need to change how we think. Otherwise many will likely fail and be left to their demise in a wake of denial. Opening our eyes to Rita's view point is an excellent tonic for us to take as we examine the reality of many of our businesses today. I hope you will find this thinking helpful.

Check out Rita's brief video below as she explains the concepts behind the End of Competitive Advantage and please let me, Bryan O'Rourke, know what you think about her views.

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He works for Fitmarc, which delivers Les Mills programs to over 700 facilities in the US. He advises successful global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank and serves as CEO of the Fitness Industry Technology Council. To join FIT-C visit www.fit-c.org . To learn more contact Bryan here today .