More Swag From Our Golden Age Of Television

The New Year is always a good time for reflection and taking stock of where we are and where we ultimately wish to be. About eighteen months ago I wrote a post inspired by the reality TV show Bar Rescue and how you can do your own business makeover or rescue program. I think that it’s time to draw from reality TV, and to look for lessons once again. Everything I propose here I intend to apply myself, so hopefully, it makes sense without sounding condescending. This time, I am thinking more of an introspective angle on how to avoid our inner psychological traps.

The Prophet Of Profit

CNBC’s The Profit is about saving business owners from themselves. The central figure is Marcus Lemonis, a successful entrepreneur who helps struggling small businesses, investing as an equity partner and then taking over. Along the way, he always seems to clash with the same people who invited him in, it’s a typical reality TV plot device but it serves a point here.

Lemonis is a man with a strong moral compass and a sense of integrity; he’s tactful but brutally honest in his dealings with his new partners. His direct approach either kills or cures the situation; he either turns the ship around, or he walks away at the end of the show, walking away happens as often as not on this program.

Taking The Drama Out Of Business

When he does give up it seems to be due to the personal drama arising from a small and consistent set of behaviors on the part of the business owners. I think it never hurts for all of us to have a little self-reflection and to censor ourselves better before we get to the point of needing to pitch a cry for help to shows like The Profit. Hopefully, there are a few things you can do to avoid such dire straights, like looking inward and avoiding the personal drama that seems to be the center of the trouble for so many reality TV rescue candidates.

No doubt CNBC and the producers of The Profit go through huge piles of desperate business owners who are genuinely worthy of help. Starting your own business is risky and very challenging. You can always make excuses but when you own the business the buck stops with you, so blaming others won’t last for long. But if you treat the stress and strain of business as a chance for self-reflection and a chance to develop yourself it can lead to answers that will pay off directly in your business.

The Profit and all of the other business-makeover TV shows tackle the personal issues of the owners first; this is the usual source of all the drama and probably what makes it good television. After that, it is a matter of taking them back to the basics of good business practices, and maybe giving them some shiny new equipment to go with the new attitude.

Three Golden Reality TV Take-Aways

The Profit is a great example of The Golden Rule: Do to others what you would have them do to you. All business owners need to keep this in mind in their business dealings and keep it in the back of their minds to do things that will keep them looking golden.

Three rules that cure the drama:

• Be kind
• Be truthful in your dealings with others
• Be honest with yourself

Be kind to people, relationships count at all times. That means to be kind to your employees as well as your customers. That never means to let people walk all over you but to be fair as well as firm in establishing boundaries in relationships. You don’t have to tip your hand but remember that your word is the greatest measure of your character. Finally, being able to reflect on yourself and see ways to improve your interactions with others is all about being honest with yourself.

The gym business is a people business and you have to be able to build positive relationships. When obstacles block your path or conflicts cause drama it will kill your gym quicker than anything else. It helps to view relationship challenges as loud and clear signals that you need to change if you are listening and willing to accept it. The results will be better relationships and ultimately a healthier bottom line. If you like reality TV makeovers and rescues and seeing this sort of change in action, The Profit is worth a viewing or two.

Bibliography

CNBC. The Profit. 2016. https://www.cnbc.com/marcus-lemonis-bio/ (accessed January 8, 2016).

Contributors, Wikipedia. Golden Rule. January 3, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule (accessed January 8, 2016).

Fagan, Lawrence. "Gym Rescue" Your Own Gym without Relying on Randy Couture. July 29, 2014. https://blog.gyminsight.com/1136-gym-rescue-your-own-gym-without-relying-on-randy-couture/ (accessed September 23, 2015).