All Posts by Ann Tardy

[Flash] 5 OrangeTheory Strategies to Revitalize Meetings and Boost Programs

I was registered for an OrangeTheory Fitness class this morning, but I didn’t want to go – I was so tired. However, I was too late to cancel without a penalty… And I’m so glad I didn’t – class was rejuvenating!

OrangeTheory Fitness (OTF) is a group fitness interval class incorporating rowers, treadmills, and weights. Since its launch in 2010, it has amassed a cult-like following.

Why? Because OTF uses 5 influencing strategies that we can exploit to make our own gatherings more irresistible and successful:

1. Commitment
At OTF each class is limited in size, and classes fill up quickly. So we register far in advance to reserve a spot. This forces us to plan and prioritize.

Commitments elevate the importance of events, and the added influence of scarcity drives people to take action.

2. Consequences
At OTF canceling within 8 hours of class results in a monetary charge.

With consequences, people tend to rise to their commitments instead of fall to their feelings (“I’m tired.” “I’m stressed.” “I’m busy.”)

3. Clarity
At OTF there are no surprises. The rules are clear, the room setup is consistent, and coaches demonstrate exercises, vigilantly track our time, and manage the flow between intervals.

People crave clear expectations in experiences and relationships.

4. Control
At OTF we wear heart-rate monitors to measure our effort throughout class. And flat screens around the room continuously display our heart rate zone, provoking us to work harder.

People just want to win, and they’ll exert the effort when success is in their control and measurable. 

5. Congratulations
When we arrive at OTF, coaches applaud us. And at the end of class, we each get a woo-hoo! email with our specific results.

People are emboldened by recognition.

Ensure participants in your meetings and programs…

• Make commitments
• Face consequences
• Receive clear expectations
• Control and measure their success
• Hear cheers for participating and congratulations for results!

[Flash] Are Questions Our Superpower?

Over the past month, I have:

• gone to the wrong gate at the airport
• disembarked a train at the wrong stop
• driven to the wrong address for a hotel
• and left my cell phone on top of the car as I drove onto the freeway

When I realized I had stopped paying attention, I knew it was time to go on vacation!

While my week away was refreshing, I did wonder… how had I become so scattered? So I did some research.

John Medina, author of the book Brain Rules, explains, “We are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously.” In other words, we cannot multitask – our brains can only focus on one idea at a time.

And then my research revealed a Focus Superpower: Questions!

Questions momentarily hijack our thought process. When our brain hears a question, it automatically triggers a mental reflex which contemplates the answer. And when that happens, the brain cannot think about anything else. It’s focused solely on the question.

So I practiced my Focus Superpower on vacation:

• Why are there so many butterflies?
• What is it like for people who live here year round?
• When should I bike around the lake?

Just by asking myself a question, I forced myself to focus.

I also discovered that this Focus Superpower works on others – I can get anyone to momentarily focus by simply asking them a question (ex: What do you think of the butterflies?)

So now that I’m back in the real world, I’m exercising my Focus Superpower to be more purposeful:

• Am I going to the right address?
• What can I get done in the next hour?
• Why am I putting my cell phone on top of the car?

It seems obvious and yet the implications of an intentional pause are profound.

What do you think?

[Flash] Does Change Happen To Us or For Us?

In the past 18 months, I lost three long-term team members. One died unexpectedly of a heart attack, and two left for different careers.

Each loss was deflating… why did this happen to me?

As I transitioned unknowingly through Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief (shock and denial, anger, despair, possibility, and acceptance), here’s what I discovered:

Change doesn’t just happen to us; Change happens for us.

Admittedly, I had become inattentive with my team, because everyone masterfully owned their own lane. The problem? No one entered anyone else’s lane.

I had failed to cross-functionally train myself and others. So when I lost these key people, chaos and uncertainty ensued.

Eventually I took responsibility:

I learned everyone’s job – I got into each lane!

I then eliminated the lanes – now, no one owns just one area

We started documenting all of our processes in job aides, quick guides, and videos

I launched a cross-training initiative, replete with shadowing and mentoring

And then I reinvented our structure: everyone on the team will know how to do any role to support a client and each other at any time.

The result? More connection, collaboration, and confidence within my team!

When change happens to us:

• We become victims
• We are at the mercy of circumstances
• We feel disempowered
• We get stuck, longing for how it used to be

When we allow change to happen for us:

• We can reinvent
• We learn and discover
• We feel empowered
• We aren’t stuck; we’re growing

People say they hate change. Perhaps we just need to embrace the opportunities that change offers us.

As John Lennon said, “Everything will be OK in the end. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.”

[Flash] Positivity is a Game Changer at Work and in Life

Every morning my dogs wake me at 5:00am by licking my face energetically. We then walk one mile before the chaos of the day begins. To me, it’s joyful.

But does joy matter to our success?

According to Professor Barbara Fredrickson, a leading positive psychology scholar and researcher, it does.

Her Broaden and Build Theory argues that experiencing positive emotions (joy, interest, contentment, pride, and love):

• Broadens our perspective, allowing us to see possibilities
• Builds our resources and resilience needed to handle future challenges

Conversely, when we experience negative emotions (anxiety, sadness, anger, despair), our focus narrows, potential darkens, and we resort to habitual thinking, acting, judging, criticizing, and blaming.

Makes sense. If we’re worried or upset, we’re not looking for what’s possible. We’re shutting down, focused entirely on surviving the moment.

But when we’re feeling positive, we’re eager to learn, explore, and expand.

• From joy, we play, push the limits, act creatively, innovate
• From interest, we inquire, discuss, seek new information and experiences, grow and develop, collaborate
• From contentment, we appreciate life’s circumstances, incorporating them into our world-view
• From pride, we share about our achievements and then envision future achievements
• From love, we seek social connections

But it’s not about being positive or thinking positively. It’s about intentionally cultivating positive emotions in order to flourish at work and in life.

How? By doing that which brings us joy, interest, contentment, pride, and love

• for Joy: hobbies, games, adventures, sports, music, animals
• for Interest: books, classes, museums, travel, volunteering, mentoring
• for Contentment: a gratitude journal, meditation, yoga
• for Pride: talk about achievements, awards, and future plans
• for Love: spend time with family, friends, colleagues doing any of the above

Ultimately, positivity is a strength, a skill we can develop and prioritize, like a leadership competency.

[Flash] My Fiction Filter (and Book Recommendations for your Holiday Weekend)

My favorite part of long holiday weekends is the freedom to relish a good book.

According to research, even short sessions of reading fiction improve our understanding of other human beings (which makes us better leaders!)

But I find weeding through the massive selection of books available to be a daunting exercise.

So I established my Fiction Filter – my own set of rules to identify fiction books that are worth my time and attention:

• 4.5-5 stars on Amazon rated by thousands of readers (I trust the tribe that reads before me)
• No books where animals are hurt or killed (enough said)
• No WWII books (I’ve reached my lifetime capacity for reading about that war)
• No lazy editing (no meandering, verbosity, predictability, or inconsistencies)
• Feel-good, uplifting, soul-filling (I get great satisfaction from a happy ending!)
• Perspective-shifting, introducing different cultures or eras (one reason I read)
• Strong recommendations from other voracious readers (like my mom!)

I actually find great success in using filters to weed through many of life’s overwhelming choices: movies, TV shows, activities, food, websites, and even conversations. Not everything deserves our limited time and attention!

So if you want to sink your teeth into delicious fiction this holiday, I offer you my list of recent favorites:

1. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (by Gail Honeyman)
2. Where’d You Go Bernadette? (by Maria Semple)
3. The Storyteller’s Secret (by Sejal Banani)
4. Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell (by Robert Dugoni)
5. This is How it Always Is (by Laurie Frankel)
6. The Last Mrs. Parrish (by Liz Constantine)
7. The Alice Network (by Kate Quinn)
8. The Sense of an Ending (by Julian Barnes)
9. The Silent Patient (by Alex Michaelides)
10. The Invention of Wings (by Sue Monk Kidd)

Happy Reading and Happy 4th of July!

ps. I’m always looking for entertaining fiction, thought-provoking non-fiction, or inspirational memoirs, so send me your recommendations!

[Flash] Overcoming Fear by Riding Roller Coasters

I was with my nephew Parker when we discovered the Fahrenheit, a level 5 roller coaster with a 97-degree drop followed by 6 inversions.

We were at Hershey Park. And fear swiftly convinced me to skip this ride – there was no way…

But my intrepid, almost-12-year-old nephew never hesitated. He was determined to ride. So I agreed to stand in line with him, but that was it.

As we shuffled among the fearless, I quickly realized that I wanted to share this experience with Parker. I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to be Cool Aunt Ann. I declared, “I’m going with you!” His face flooded with delight and awe.

The line was short – no time to ruminate or reconsider. Suddenly we were strapped into our seats and the coaster was ascending vertically – all I could see was blue sky. Fear could not protect me now!

And then we crested the top, plunging straight down, rolling right into upside down loops.

We laughed and screamed with joy! It was our favorite ride at the park. I can’t believe I almost missed it…

In psychology, there is a concept called Habituation: the more we face something that triggers an emotional response (like public speaking or talking to strangers), the more our emotional response diminishes.

Interestingly, the nervous system’s arousal actually decreases as we expose ourselves to the feared situation. Eventually we become accustomed to it – we habituate. And the fear loses its power over us.

Conversely, when we avoid that which causes us fear, we prevent our nervous system from habituating. So avoidance actually maintains and magnifies the fear!

While exposure is a proven way to overcome fear, I believe the real secret is to care about something more than the fear – like creating an experience with one of your favorite nephews!