Pop Quiz…
2 + 3 x (2^2 + (6 x 3 - 8)) x 2
Most people can do basic arithmetic and certainly the problems contained in this equation are not difficult to do on their own... but when you get a few to do the possibility for errors increases dramatically.
This is especially true when you don’t understand the rules… the order of operations. The order of operations states that parentheses are done first, exponents next, multiplication, division, addition and subtraction are then done in that order as they appear from left to right.
So here 6 x 3 is done first, - 8 is done next, 2^2 next… 4 + 10 next, 3 x 14 next, 42 x 2 next, and finally 84 + 2… giving us a final answer of 86.
Go to the top of the class if you were correct.
Here’s the point…
If you don’t understand the order of operations you could end up with any answer and not know why you were wrong… because you got all the individual computations right.
And if you make a single mistake at the start that mistake is carried all the way through… so once you begin wrong everything that comes after is wrong. Think about that… you get the wrong answer even though you got a lot right and you did just as much work as the person who got it right.
I think that this is where a lot of owners and managers (and even consultants) go wrong… individually they do a lot right but the final product is often woefully lacking.
For example, one industry marketing consultant made the claim that advertising doesn’t sell it merely begins the buying cycle… which is 90 days from need to purchase.
Here’s the problem I have with that… an advanced member with 20 years experience, who understands their needs, values, and expectations isn’t going to wait 3 months if their club closes down today.
They will have a new membership before their next scheduled workout tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that. They have budgeted for it, they know what they want to spend, they know who is their next best option, and they will not miss their next session.
Remember that beginner, intermediate, and advanced health club members are completely different and not treating them differently is a huge mistake that owners and managers often make and is carried throughout the entire business.
I see it with marketing, I see it with sales, I see it with staffing, I see it with physical organisation and design, I see it everywhere and I see it everyday… a lot of good, hard, work amounting to nothing.
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