One of my biggest fears today is getting left behind. I believe the reason I’m always reading and striving for something new and greater is not always to just be first to develop a new idea, but to not be left behind when the herd shifts.
This is not a new sensation for me, but something I’ve been in tune to since I was about 23 years old. I remember at my first job out of college driving down Mauna Loa Hwy. in Molokai, Hawaii thinking I was glad that I was one of the first to leave my college town. I knew at that point that I wouldn’t be stuck, and I had to remember that sensation in every aspect of life — to be nimble, quick and adaptable.
About four months later, my team on Molokai had slowly moved on to different opportunities and I sat in a lonely house on Manako Lane. It was then that I realized that I was the last one out, and I told myself to remember that sensation. I never wanted to be behind the pack ever again.
Today, I don’t worry about physically being the first or last one at a company or city. However, I do worry about being behind the pack in terms of business and change. When I came onto Club Solutions Magazine in 2009 my first two ideas could be summed up in two words, Facebook and Twitter.
Lately I’ve been reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s book “The Thank You Economy.” If you didn’t know, Vaynerchuk will be a speaker at IHRSA in March. In the beginning of the book Vaynerchuk discusses the importance of social media and being open to new opportunities in business.
He describes companies that might have refused to branch out and how being engaged to the audience is vital to the success of any business. What has been great about social media has been the evening of the playing field it has presented.
Today every company has the ability to work hard at social media and connect with clients or customers. If you are a company like Anytime Fitness and you receive a franchise of the year award, you can let your employees, franchisees and customers aware all from a single post. On Twitter you can stay in touch with your customers in 140 characters and interact with them all day.
When new technology hits the market, you can be notified by tech blogs, Twitter feeds or Facebook updates. If you fall behind in customer engagement or business trends in 2014, you are severely unplugged.
I for one love all the social structures from LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, all the way to Pinterest. I find useful tools in each social media avenue and I use it to stay in tune to our industry, business in general and good ideas for what I should eat for dinner.
I no longer feel like I could be left behind. I strive to stay engaged and learn from our readers and others throughout business. It’s important that you strive to use social media for the same purposes, but as a club utilize your staff’s strengths to stay engaged with members. Staying in front for you will be to remain in contact with your members, either through blogs, Facebook posts or Twitter chats.
I strongly recommend Vaynerchuk’s book “The Thank You Economy.” Yes, he does push wine, but he is a great mind that can really motivate your business and help you adjust your strategy for new marketing.
Take some time and get more engaged, and lose the fear of ever being left behind.
Tyler Montgomery is the editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him attyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com.
