A Culture of Winning

Today marks the first day of the NCAA Men’s Division I basketball championship (AKA March Madness). It is arguably the most exciting of all sports tournaments in the world because of the single-elimination format. Powerhouse teams who have had an incredible regular season are at risk of getting knocked out by an underdog after just one poor showing. This really ups the ante and separates the talented and mentally strong teams from the highly skilled yet unprepared. It also produces opportunities for ‘Cinderella’ teams to advance and make a run deep into the tournament. Everyone loves a good underdog story.

But if you’re filling out a bracket and deciding on a team who you think will win this year my advice is to stay away from the compelling underdogs and go with a powerhouse. Universities with strong basketball programs always have and always will be in the upper echelon. Consider teams such as North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky and UCLA. These teams are perennially in the Top 25 and have a great shot at winning the national championship. I am going to attempt to explain why these teams are always the best and compare their programs to the institution that is Innovative Fitness.

The Top 3 Reasons why you should pick a powerhouse basketball program / Innovative Fitness to succeed:

1. The Best Systems

College Teams:
Their playbook is better than the rest and their style of play is proven to work. Be it a full court press or zone defence there is something that the team executes that others just can’t handle no matter how familiar they are with it. Great players don’t win championships, great teams do.

Innovative Fitness:
Destinations, little things, personal inventories, partner programs, culture, etc. etc. Nobody else executes these things and that makes all the difference.

2. The Best Leadership

College Teams:
Schools that have success are lead by the greatest minds in the sport. Would UCLA have won 10 championships throughout the 60’s and 70’s without John Wooden as coach? Not a chance. Great coaches find a way to create the best teams even if they aren’t the most talented.

Innovative Fitness:
The leaders at the top have the education, drive and experience to set the tone. This trickles down to facility managers, role players, veterans and training coaches and results in a culture of learning and personal and professional growth.

3. The Best Brand

College Teams:
The schools with storied franchises always get the best recruits and this creates a cyclical process. Duke University will always have a team in the top 25 just because of the name and the fact that the best blue chip prospects want to play there.

Innovative Fitness:
We have the exposure, influence and brand recognition that will bring continual success. Initiatives such as the Fitness Fantasy, Canuck Place Adventure Race and advertisements on the Team 1040 separate us from the rest. The name is known and this will attract the best prospective teammates in the future.

In this year’s tournament there may be a Cinderella story that gains much publicity and fanfare but don’t count on them winning the entire tournament. One of the teams with the established systems, the leadership and the reputation will win. Pick a top seed when filling out your bracket and pick Innovative Fitness when determining which health and fitness company will prevail.