Mission Over Margin

This year was a challenging year as an operator. CPC went through many changes, a lot of growth, increased expectations and we certainly had our challenges. In no way, shape or form am I complaining about the last twelve months, but rather I am happy to reflect upon how much I learned. Every day. I think that way we handle or react to any situation is all about perception. If enter into something (situation, task, job or challenge) with a negative outlook then it will, in fact, turn out negative because it’s all you will see. If you enter it with the willingness to make it awesome and learn – you’ll do just that and win! I will not for a single second pretend that every time I conduct a session, program, meeting or phone call I am bringing a smile and the very best I could, I am human after all. I don’t LOOK for the negative, but there are times I get dragged down. However, I do think about what I can do to excel and be better the next time around. 

I carried that perspective with me this fall which was a wild ride! To say that a lot went on is a hell of an understatement. For those that are unfamiliar, we have built an amazing relationship with Western New England University over the last few years. We began handling the Strength & Conditioning for all nineteen Varsity athletic programs in the fall of 2014. The signing of this contract tripled the number of subscribers/athletes we were responsible for programming overnight. An undertaking of this magnitude was something all of us were incredibly excited about and learned a LOT from both scientifically and logistically over the last sixteen months.

The success of this relationship brought about the launch of a subsidiary brand under the CPC umbrella: CPC-EDGE. Last year marked the start of operating two businesses and the onboarding of more talent to make our dream a reality. But with the departure of our Director of Strength & Conditioning this summer, we were in a scramble and needed to make some adjustments. The subscribers that coach with us were unbelievably accommodating. The CPC staff never blinked an eye and took on whatever they were asked to do to keep this engine running. The fall of 2015 was the busiest I have ever been in my life and it was fantastic! From August 16 through December 12 I approached each day as if it were a game. I could get beat or I could make adjustments from what I learned to make it great and to win but never did I think about not stepping up. I only had three days off in those seventeen weeks and coached about 10,000 people but it was an awesome experience! I'm living the dream I had in college and would not dare to complain now that I’m doing it - so what's not to love!? 

So why did I name this blog Mission over Margin? Five years ago, CPC started from an idea in my brain into the business that it is. It started because I always believed that you could do it (make a living it fitness) with integrity and have people make informed choices and not spend money because they have to. At CPC no one is forced into a contract. You don't have to stay with a particular coach or come at certain days and times. It's all about what you want. Your coach should never hoard information from you but rather spend your session educating you and making YOU better. I believed you could have a group of professionals that work together every day to make each other better through support, training, encouragement and respect. Succeeding together and never back stabbing and under cutting one another. By creating this, the institution itself would foster an environment of learning and betterment and attract only those that are career oriented professionals in the field with a desire to be better. Complacency has no place in our sessions, our attitude or our programming. To maintain all of this as a startup has been HARD. This has been tough to manage, tough to budget and tough to stay on course. But we did. We stayed true to our mission no matter how hard the day, week, month or quarter - we accepted the challenges, rose above them and created solutions. I am proud to say that at no point have we made a single decision that compromised the integrity of our mission and NEVER in order to make a buck. Profits are important but the certainly aren’t everything.

As an example I, have been asked many times over the years what our Holidays card process is like? Is it expensive, time consuming or necessary? Do we really have to fill out each one or can we digitally sign a message and send them out? WHY? That’s not why they were started. In 2006 I started sending all my clients a holiday thank you card. Sending a hand written message and a thank you to allow you to know that your choice to work with me as your coach is appreciated and I am genuinely thankful for that. There IS a lot of time that goes into the creation of that card. Printing, mailing, addressing, etc. but it’s who we are because it’s not about checking off a box on my list of shit to do. It’s about taking a few moments to allow each person to know they impacted me this year. To let them know that this is a career for me and I love what I do. I take no client, no session and no day for granted and the moment you do you’re going to look around you and be alone. That’s why the Holiday card process is as much on an undertaking as it is and no matter how big we get it will remain that same, true to our mission.

We bring the best product we know how to our subscribers and allow them to make an informed decision to come back, refer a friend or add more to their plate. In five years we built a brand. CPC is its own "thing". Those that subscribe and have experienced CPC know what I mean. Those that follow us on social know what I mean. Those that hate on us know what I mean. We are a major player in the fitness world because we chose Mission over Margin. It's our fucking mission statement. 

-- GS