Paul Wright: Building Management Structure

By Bud on October 18, 2007 Comments (4)

Paul Wright discusses how he is evolving his management structure to meet planned growth.

Filed under: Ann Arbor, MI | Finding Gaps | Gold's Gym | Managing Growth | Paul Wright

In this four and a half minute segment (download iPod compatible, 22MB), Paul Wright of Gold's Gym, Ann Arbor, discusses how he will evolve his management structure to accommodate planned growth. A major consideration is selecting new managers. He is looking for personable people with creative minds who are not stuck in the small club mind set. Potential managers do not need to be from the industry as that can handicap them with old ideas about how a club should operate, although the familiarity with the basic components of a club would be a plus.

An important consideration for Paul is how to maintain his competitive edge of a friendly, non-intimidating atmosphere as he expands management beyond the current core group. To this end, he is currently documenting all of his processes.

4 Comments

Julie Rutkowske on November 18, 2008 5:48 PM
Paul Wright, of Gold’s Gym, is trying to expand his team of managers and facility without losing anything he has already got going on. He has created a great environment for his employees and customers. It seems like he has come up with some winning strategies to be growing so much that he can expand his business. Personally, I don’t go to the gym because it can be intimidating and doesn’t always feel like the average person can fit right in. I feel like Paul’s gym doesn’t give off those vibes. He said that him and his crew have come up with their own ways of doing things and plan to take those ideas to his newest location in Novi. I think if you have something that’s working you need to run with and that’s what he is doing. Hopefully, he can keep the same vibes going at the new location. He knows who he wants and I think if he looks hard enough he will find his ideal crew. I would like to ask Paul if he plans to write a new training manual or something like that for Gold’s Gym with all of his ideas that he has implemented?
Kenny Crabtree on June 14, 2010 9:31 AM
Paul seems to have the right idea when it comes to looking for a management team to run the different gyms he own. Paul knows when owning all those gyms he cannot be at all of them at the same time, so finding the right person for the job is really important. Hiring a manager that he can trust will make Paul's life a lot easier, he will not have to worry about how the other gym doing on a daily basis, Paul can focus on trying to improve and expand other areas of his businesses. What I thought was kind of interesting was when he said it might not always be a good idea to hire in a manager that has been in the industry because that person might have a set way of doing things and might not be open to change. Working in fitness industry you have to find managers who are open to new trends and can bring positive energy to the work place. Kenneth Crabtree EMU Student
Will Austin on November 24, 2010 2:23 AM
A company of almost any size usually needs a good manager to help run the business. I have great reservations when the day comes when I will hire my manager. One of my deepest fears is to hire a poor manager that will cause me to do more work or one that might harm the company. This is why I chose to watch Paul Wright’s interview on building management structure. He operates various gold gym franchisees in which he can not be in every club during all working hours so he needs to have managers to aid in producing the furthering of his vision and mission for his company. He does describe certain qualities he likes to see in his managers but does not go into much detail. The interviewer that interviewed him, should have taken a more aggressive rold like an interviewer that would hire a potential employee. They should have been prepared to ask questions that would provide more meaningful answers surrounding the topic of his management team, what levels of management do you employ in your company? What type of safeguards do you exploit a potential candidate for the job? What are some good examples that you had during your hiring practices? What negative examples should an entrepreneur be weary of? Do you check references and background checks? What are the leadership qualities you see in a good manager? A good interviewer is one aspect of the hiring process that would have made this a better example of an entrepreneurs’ experience with hiring a management team. Instead he talked more about his locations and expansions. Unfortunately, this was a very disappointing interview.
Tom Pallisco on November 24, 2010 2:50 AM
Paul Wright seems to have discussed how to pick a management team just as well as anyone else would go about picking a management team. Pick the team to fit the business. He is after people that will make all customers feel comfortable in the atmosphere. Since his businesses are gym and fitness centers, he needs to find people who are interested in feeling good about themselves and helping others feel good about themselves. He needs people that can intrigue and motivate people to do well for themselves both mentally and physically. He predicts to have around 1000 workouts a day in Novi, which is a lot of movement in my opinion. He has given a significant amount of thought into the management structure. He cannot be at each facility everyday, all day long. He wants a great manager in every location. He understands that it will cost to have a good management structure in the beginning but feels that it will be well worth it in the end. In my opinion, you cannot put a price on quality management. Business should want quality management no matter what. Management will not cost the world, but it could cost your business. I believe that if Paul Wright wants people who are dedicated to living happy healthy lives and he can connect with his prospective interviewees on a business level, he will have the management structure that he had his mind set on. With this type of management structure, I feel that his chain of gym and fitness centers will be extremely profitable, have many satisfied customers, and an overall great reputation. I may even apply somewhere down the line. I love the gym and fitness center atmosphere, and would love nothing more than to help people achieve their lifetime wellness and fitness goals.

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