The introduction of something NEW, now there's a novel idea. When I read the WSJ article by Leslie Kwoh, "You Call That Innovation ? Companies Love to Say They Innovate, But the Term Has Begun to Lose Meaning"; it struck a cord. As she says, "innovation is in danger of becoming a cliche', if it isn't one already." Her article made me think because a successfull Linkedin Group I created and manage is titled, "Fitness and Wellness Innovation"; Now I'm considering a name change.

Innovation, based in the Latin term innovatus, meaning renewal or change, has become divorced from its essence in many of today's popular organizational pursuits. Many leaders use the term to describe activities which are hardly innovative at all. I know of one CEO in particular who has used the term incessantly during talks over the past two years while their organization hardly innovated anything at all; it's embarrassing. Why ?

The efforts of many in industries and organizations have more to do with self preservation than addressing a future that isn't kind to past abilities or thinking. I guess if people say the term innovation enough they might believe they're actually innovating. While any change could be technically termed innovation, the reality is that real innovation is much more - its disruptive and disruption is rarely born from parents of the status quo. Why is this important ? Industries are changing and very quickly, so if you're not on top of that change you are likely going to become extinct. Don't believe me ? Check this out.

Like many, the fitness and wellness industries reflect a culture steeped in protecting the past. As I wrote in an article in 2011, How Does The Fitness Industry Change Its Mindset ? , :

...while the fitness and wellness industry has grown over the past quarter century, obesity and health quality in the developed world have not improved.  Many argue they've gotten worse. The fitness industry still serves about 15% of the adult population while failing to broaden its appeal to the not yet fit. Something is broken because things have not improved and I fear the industry is failing to reach its promise and as a result, things need to change - but how ?

Innovation; as Vijay Govindarajan, Professor at the Tucks School of Business at Dartmouth and co-author of 10 Rules for Strategic Innovators , is about 2 major things. First, leaders must accept things ARE changing and figure out how to adapt accordingly. Second, leaders must understand change is NOT a technical problem its a MINDSET problem. Therefore to enable a business or even an industry to adapt one must introduce NEW mindsets.

Dr. Govindarajan is right and the problem for leaders in any industry when it comes to "Innovation" is that it is often white wash because really innovating means people at the top might have to admit they don't know the answer and even that they might be or have been WRONG. As Kwoh points out when quoting Harvard professor and author Clayton Christensen,

"Most companies say they're innovative in the hope they can somehow con investors into thinking there is growth when there isn't." WOW, but SO true.

If the fitness, health club and wellness industries and organizations participating within these industries want to innovate, they must do 2 things: admit things are REALLY changing and accept enduring the change requires changing their MINDSETS. That requires opening the door to new voices and new leadership.

So the next time you hear someone use the term "Innovate" listen up and question if it is really innovation at all. Are you being "conned" as Christensen says, or are they part of a new order of things ?

What do you think about the term innovation ? Please share your thoughts with me, Bryan O'Rourke and thanks for reading the post.

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several  companies. He consults with numerous global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank, is President of the Fitness Industry Technology Council, Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee and a partner in the Flywheel Group, Integerus, Fitsomo and Fitmarc. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

As Kodak works its way out of Chapter 11, it’s obvious that the company held onto traditional photography as the centerpiece of its business for, perhaps, a little too long. Yes, it was one of the first to introduce a digital camera, but Kodak and its customers seemed to believe traditional film photography would never die. Too bad Kodak couldn’t have seen as far ahead as Eastman once was. Maybe it could’ve come up with the idea of Instagram and today Facebook would be buying it, instead.

So what does the Instagram - Facebook deal mean to the Health Club and Fitness Business ? It means that times are really changing and fast. With Kodak in bankruptcy and the Instagram founders looking towards a billion dollar payday the future is clearly digital, mobile and innovative. No matter the industry, if you aren't accepting these dynamics as fact, you're going to clearly miss the boat. Many traditional fitness, wellness and health club business models aren't keeping up. Some people might think that like Kodak, they are failing to see the future.

So tell me Bryan O'Rourke, do you think the Instagram - Facebook deal has any lesson to teach the health club and fitness industry ? I'd love your opinion.

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, and shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He consults with numerous global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank is Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee and a partner in the Flywheel Group. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

In January of 2012, with the help of trendwatching's research, I released a FREE report, 12 Interesting Trends Health Club and Fitness Leaders and Brands Should Keep Their Eyes On . Today, I'm sharing a follow on 20 page report titled, Point, Know & Buy 2012, An Important Trend Health Club And Fitness Industry Trend. This report addresses how Smartphone technology, applications and changing consumers are converging to impact how brands interact and how commerce can be conducted in a new world of possibilities. Point, Know and Buy is one of the 12 trends I shared in my prior report. Here is an excerpt:

Health clubs & fitness brands are not immune from these trends. Some will have the vision to seize the opportunities provided while others will ignore them at their own peril. The possibilities are only limited by one’s imagination, and there are no clear cut answers.

In addition to great examples of emerging technologies the report also includes several videos of those technologies. You'll think some of it is science fiction, and its not. The Point, Know and Buy trend is a tremendous sea change that leaders need to pay close attention to. I'm working with several brands and startups who are targeting this opportunity with new applications and potential business models. It is very interesting and exciting. Many thanks to my colleague and friend Michael Scott Scudder for his quote in the introduction of the report. He continues to help me learn and understand the business and industry and I am grateful for that.

So tell me Bryan O'Rourke, what can you imagine will emerge in the health club and fitness industry to respond to the Point, Know and Buy trend ? I'd love to hear your thoughts about the overview and videos.

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, and shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He advises numerous global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank is Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee and a partner in the Flywheel Group, Fitmarc and Integerus. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

You heard the news last week of course, Best Buy is shuttering 50 locations. Conventional thinking says that bricks and mortar retailers, like Best Buy or Sears (here is a long nostalgic list of failed retailers to prove the point) are becoming dinosaurs. Online competitors, like Amazon, are the future because they don't have to invest in physical locations and offer better pricing and selection. Retailers argue that Amazon's competition is unfair because people don't pay sales tax and customers can come to their retail locations, obtain the information they need, and buy online. While the challenges faced by many retailers can be described as such, the real reasons they are failing, isn't about Amazon's unfair advantages. The key problem is that these retailers failed to understand that its about the customer and not about them. These competitors did not see what was coming as the result of technology and evolving customers. Therein lies a great lesson for the health club industry to learn.

The internet and technology in general is as daunting for retailers as it has been for health clubs. Have you been to a technologically advanced health club lately ? Enough said. The point is that while technology has been revolutionary for the retail industry, to consumers it has been mearly evolutionary. Before the Internet there were many alternative buying channels like cataolgues or infomericals. Online commerce was simply the next step in a logical progression; yet many bricks and mortar competitors didn't understand that and as a result they lost their chance to do something about it; this is the lesson the health club industry needs to make note of.

Moving online demands new thinking, new strategies and the integration of the digital and bricks and mortar experience around the customer. It takes new mindsets. But many bricks and mortar competitors, like Best Buy, squandered their ability to create a new distribution and customer service aparatus. Remember last Christmas and the debacle Best Buy created for its customers, as they missed many thousands of orders that were purchased online ? Amazon didn't have such problems. As @LarryDownes recently wrote in his Forbes article, "Why Best Buy Is Going Out Of Business....Gradually":

Amazon neither invented nor appropriated its basic strategies from Best Buy or anyone else.  It simply does what consumers want.  Best Buy does what would be most convenient for the company for consumers to want but don’t, then crosses its fingers and prays.  That’s not a strategy–or not a winning strategy, in any case, now that retail consumers aren’t stuck with the store closest to home.....(Larry goes on to say)...Best Buy is living in the corporate equivalent of what psychologists call a state of denial.  In business, that’s usually the first step in a failure that ends with a spectacular collapse.

Larry's right; doing what customers want is key and in a world of increasingly influential millennial consumers , more technology oriented buyers, consumers with expansive choices demanding better service; many many retailers simply don't get it. So what can this teach the health club industry ? To be successful brands must rethink the framework of bricks and mortar delivery and start understanding what the customer really wants and give it to them: namely seemless integration of the physical and digital experience. How? Check out this book, Unleashing the Killer App; Digital Strategies For Market Dominance, and check out these reports Change Or Die, 9 Things Fitness Industry Brands And Leaders Must Do as well as Industry Trends Health Club Leaders Should Be Watching. There is a bright future for those who can accept things are and will be radically different. For those who don't, they'll be going the way of Circuit City, Best Buy and others. There is no escaping the future; Digital Darwinism will catch them all.

So tell me Bryan O'Rourke, do you think the fitness and health club industry needs to change its mindset ? How do you think that will happen and what do you believe the bricks and mortar retail industry can teach us ?

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, and shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He consults with numerous global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank is Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee and a partner in the Flywheel Group. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

Wow, last week was quite an IHRSA event. I just penned a note of thanks to several IHRSA leaders because I thought this years convention in Los Angeles was really great. There were so many highlights I can't get to them all, but thought I'd share a few for those who might have been unable to attend.

First, Simon Sinek and Guy Kawasaki were super keynote speakers. A little tip for those who did not know is this; when you contribute to the IHRSA Industry Defense Fund, you get very special access to these speakers, literally almost one on one. So consider making a contribution today before IHRSA 2013.

Second, a roundtable conducted by the people from Virtual Fitness Planner and InTouch featured a panel of 5 of the leading club operators in North America. It was exceptional and the room was packed. Thankfully I got to participate along with super stars like Patch Evans, Rich Drengberg, Mark Miller and Jamie Nelson. Daron Allen and his team created an interesting exchange centered around my recent research, The 2012 Trend Report - 12 Interesting Trends That Health Club & Fitness Leaders Should Keep An Eye On - hit the link and you can get a free copy. The tools that Virtual Fitness Planner and InTouch introduced are pretty cool. Check it out.

I really enjoyed attending a wonderful dinner Thursday night, hosted by Michael Bruno, owner of Land America, Star Trac Fitness, Core Health and Fitness and StairMaster - Schwinn, among others. Michael and his wife Lin Qing are the most gracious hosts one could ever meet. Attending were the who's who of the health club and fitness industry at one of the most touted Italian restaurants in North America. My partner, Robert Dyer, was there along with the Lynne and Victor Brick, Mark Smith, Tony de Leede, Patch Evans, John Baudhuin, Ed Trainer, Sal Pelegrino and many many others.

What IHRSA would not be complete without visiting with our Gold's Gym Friends and the GGFA team. It was good to see CEO Jim Snow, our friend Tim Keightley and others. Another great GGFA event hosted by Ginger Collins. Thanks to the Gold's Franchise community.

Finally, I can't forget to mention my visit with Bud Rockhill, CEO of Spectrum Athletic Clubs, one of the best operators I've met as well as Phillip Mills CEO of Les Mills, who always has something engaging to discuss.

Well that was only a taste of the fun filled and educational convention that IHRSA 2012 was. My thanks go out to Joe Moore, Pam O'Donnell and Meredith Poppler, to name a few, and all of the IHRSA staff for their hard work in making this a memorable event. Please attend next year and let me, Bryan O'Rourke, know, what did you think about IHRSA 2012 ? I'd love to know if it you thought it was as great an event as I did.

About the author

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, and shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He consults with numerous global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank, is Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee and a partner in the Flywheel Group. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

Its always a pleasure and privledge to attend IHRSA's annual conference, and this year is no exception. Its a full week meeting with everyone from Michael Bruno, fitness manufacturing icon and legend, my partner and health club guru Robert Dyer, our Fitmarc team, the Les Mills team and many other leaders in the fitness and health club industry like Brent Hallo, Lisa and Nigel Champion, Lauretta Stace , Sal Pellegrino, Ginger Collins and many many others.

Make sure you stop by the Star Trac booth (they've got some pretty cool stuff there this year) and the Les Mills booth to see the latest in group fitness. Please consider attending The Next New Thing, Wednesday from 2:00 - 3:30 pm where I'm on a panel with Patch Evans and others discussing key trends. You should also check out the Fit-C group on Wednesday afternoon (room 301 A) to learn why technology standards are so important to future growth in the business. The list of opportunities to learn and participate at IHRSA 2012 goes on and on.

I hope you are able to attend IHRSA this year and if so please feel free to reach out to me Bryan@fitmarc.com or via social media @bryankorourke and tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what do you or did you think about IHRSA 2012 ? If you can't attend let me know what it is I  can learn for you and I'll share it during or after the show !

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, and shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He consults with numerous global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank, is Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee and a partner in the Flywheel Group. To learn more contact Bryan here today .