Dori Nugent: Change can easily slap you in the face. I think we’ve all experienced that over the past couple of years. But my guest today is an expert at helping businesses work through change. My guest today is also the keynote speaker at this year’s IHRSA conference in San Diego. Get ready to be Enthused about change this week on the Fitness Business podcast. Do you have a favorite show? Why keep it to yourself?

Dori Nugent: Share it with the rest of the FBP family, post it on our Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn page. And finally, posting a review on itunes would be greatly appreciated. Hi, I’m your host, Dori Nugent, and with me today is the founder of Change Enthusiasm. Cassandra Worthy is here to preach about cultivating a mindset and shifting your perspective so you can ensure your organization has the tools to grow through change.

Dori Nugent: Our episode will start in less than two minutes. First, I’d like to thank Myzone for supporting our show. Myzone has pioneered unique wearables with Talking Point technology that makes the difference reach more members of your community and keep them engaged for longer through motivation and gamification wherever they choose to work out in the gym, at home or outdoors, we’re stronger together. Get in the [email protected].

Dori Nugent: Thank you, Myzone. Have you tried the Myzone switch? Oh, my God, I’m obsessed. Go check out all of their cool products at www.myzone.org. Get ready for sales week. Yes, Eric Tepper is coming to the. Show, and he confirms how the sale. Is all about the conversation. And he shares his expert knowledge on perfecting the sales call. After Cassandra’s interview, I’ll introduce you to sales guru Eric Tepper.

Dori Nugent: During our Quickfire Five segment healthcare, you.

ISSA: Work hard to ensure your members have the very best fitness experience, right? You need personal trainers who do the same. Become a preferred partner with Issa, and we’ll deliver the best trainers in the industry to your club in a matter of days, fully certified and ready to work. And we’ll help you keep those trainers by offering them exclusive discounted pricing on Issa certifications. Because when your trainers stay, so do your valued members.

ISSA: Becoming a preferred partner with Issa is absolutely free. Click above or visit https://ISSAonline.com/fitbiz to get trainers.

Dori Nugent: Now, let’s get started with this week’s episode. Cassandra Worthy. You made it to the Fitness Business podcast. You’re gonna be at IHRSA for 2023 as a keynote speaker. So we thought, let’s get you on here, kind of just get you out there to our FBP family, because so many of them do attend the IHRSA conference, but we just want to kind of get to know you a little bit better. So I’d love for you just to take a few minutes here and just talk about your journey and how you’ve gotten from point A to point B and maybe even where point C is going to be in the future.

Cassandra Worthy: Perfect. Well, first off, thank you so much for having me dory and what up to the IHRSA family, the community. I am so stoked to be joining you all in the upcoming conference. Dori let me know. She’s been going 1213 years running, so I can’t wait. This is going to be my first one, but hopefully not my last, so thank you so much. So, yeah, about me, it’s been an interesting journey, but one that I think every single step has been for a reason, and I’m grateful for everyone.

Cassandra Worthy: So I have a natural, insatiable curiosity. I always tell folks that math and science found me because I’m always curious to unveil the mysteries of life, right? And as a kid, you can ask my parents. I was the one asking all the questions, the what the whys, the wheres, the how comes, what for? And so science and math armed me with the tools to actually start answering some of those questions. And so that gravitated me into chemical engineering. So I went to Georgia Tech, got my degree in chemical engineering, and pursued that in corporate America. So I spent 15 years working in consumer packaged goods, predominantly apart from Gamble, which was amazing because it allowed me to travel the world, it allowed me to continue to solve problems, which is, as an engineer, that’s what you learn how to do, is to solve really complex problems.

Cassandra Worthy: So design a new shampoo formulation, scaling those formulations up. I worked in Blazing razors. I did battery chemistry work. It was a lot of fun. But throughout that career, it was riddled with dealing with a lot of really big change, really big disruption, notably in the acquisition space. So I have been a part of two major acquisitions in the CPG industry. One in which I joined a business that the parent company had recently acquired, and then another in which I was a part of the business that another company was acquiring. So I’ve seen both sides of the coin.

Cassandra Worthy: And during those experiences, I felt firsthand that pain, the frustration, the anger, the fear, the anxiety that we’re riddled with when we’re going through a lot of change and disruption, especially that kind of change that feels like it just slaps you across the face. You laying on the ground asking, Why? Why did this happen? I did not ask for this. And so it’s during those experiences that I began cultivating this mindset of change, enthusiasm. Of course, I didn’t call it that back then, but it was a matter of shifting my perspective and allowing those emotions that I was feeling to act as signals, bringing me into my greatest moment of opportunity to show up, to learn, to evolve, to become better by simply choosing.

Cassandra Worthy: So I assumed that position of choice, and I haven’t gotten up ever since. And it was through moving through those acquisitions, as well as hearing my own intuition, as well as what people were telling me around me as far as my unique value what I bring into a room when I walk into it, that started to paint a different picture than just leading organizations in corporate America and doing innovation.

Cassandra Worthy: And so following curiosity, again, talking about insatiable curiosity, I found myself on a stage talking about change, enthusiasm, something that I’m so passionate about that I practice each and every day. And I was lit up and I was able to embrace my purpose, I think, in this life experience and in this evolution to inspire the same light, this joy, this effervescence, this energy that I feel flowing through me, to invite that same light to spring forward from another.

Cassandra Worthy: And I’m able to experience that every time I get off a stage when I see that light beaming from somebody’s face to their eyes to their smiles. And that moment for me is magic. And I strongly feel that it’s my purpose. So now I’m doing this full time. I’ve got my consulting company where we bring change, enthusiasm, leadership training, leadership development, talking about the emotions of change, bringing the research, bringing the data, and the insights to help individuals grow through even their toughest change challenges.

Cassandra Worthy: One that I know folks in IHRSA and within the fitness and gym community have not been immune to. Right?Dori Nugent: So I don’t want to give too much away, of course, of what you’re going to speak about at IHRSA, but I always feel like positivity optimism, two words that usually for most people don’t go with the word change. Was talking to you here in the last couple of minutes that you Ooze, a lot of optimism and positivity. Did that take you a while to kind of get to that point during all these changes or were you kind of like a positive and optimistic child?

Cassandra Worthy: So I will say it was a positive, optimistic child. My mom tells me I have two older siblings and she tells me that of all her kids, I’m the one whose personality hasn’t really changed that much from when I was a kid asking all questions, bouncing around the house, which I think that makes sense. But no, I do have a great optimism about me. But this is what I’ll say about change enthusiasm because often it’s kind of a misnomer.

Cassandra Worthy: It’s not about blind or what I call toxic positivity. It’s not about always being optimistic when change hits. Rather, change enthusiasm meets you exactly where you are. The very first step of this mindset, which I’ll share, of course, during the conference, is what I call the signal or these really difficult emotions the fear, the frustration, the anger, the anxiety, the ones that you want to run away from or for me, that I want to suppress, that I want to ignore, pretend is not there. And that’s the watch out for me and why I’m one of the greatest students of this teaching.

Cassandra Worthy: It’s about embracing those emotions because they’re guideposts, they’re signals and it’s up to us to understand them, allow them to guide us and teach us kind of how we need to move forward so that then we can choose how to transform them. And that’s when the promise of change enthusiasm starts to come about. You’ll find that anticipation, that enthusiasm about a change, recognizing that if I’m feeling the signal emotion, I’m in my moment of opportunity and it’s up to me to choose how I move forward, how I grow, how I evolve, how I use this change, this disruption to work for me instead of against me.Cassandra Worthy: And so I think that it’s been for me a bit of a process to embrace the difficulty of change as opposed to just trying to numb it out, suppress it or ignore it and only being raw. Come on, we can do this optimistic because you lose a bit of richness and you can lose the gift and the opportunity that change can present.

Dori Nugent: Your topic is beyond relevant because obviously we all know whether you’re sitting here in the United States or in Canada or in Europe, that change has been blown up tenfold in the last two years, that people just have had to adapt over and over and over again to change. And I kind of am curious to see if you feel that people have gotten immune to change or has change just become even more burdensome and makes people more ridden with anxiety.

Cassandra Worthy: Here’s what I think has happened and I think partly the pandemic has helped to afford this. At least this is what I’m seeing in my working with my client base. I am seeing more often leaders, those who are running businesses, business owners, those who lead teams, embrace and accept the difficulty of change, to acknowledge those difficulty motions, to acknowledge and allow employees to emote, to grant avenues, platforms for that emotional energy to flow.

Cassandra Worthy: I think that we are beginning to move away from seeing our team members, seeing our workforce simply as human capital set off to deliver something to move the business forward. Rather, we are complex emotional beings and that emotion, it needs to be allowed in the door of business. We partner with a leading research institute called CGK to understand the status of change and emotion in the workplace.

Cassandra Worthy: And we have found that for employees, 72% feel that they can more aptly adapt to a change when they feel safe and comfortable sharing their truest emotions. And that includes the anticipation and excitement, but also those more difficult emotions. And so I think I’m starting to see leaders and clients really get on board with the power of that. And of course, that’s the red hot center of my work. Bringing this data, bringing these insights, bringing that awareness to the world so that more and more leaders in businesses and organizations and cultures are embracing that because these emotions are ones that can drive your attrition rates through the roof, or they can really help to engage your business and your employees and your culture moving through any change or any disruption.

Dori Nugent: So when you go out and speak at all of these different places, whether you’re a keynote or you’re just going in, maybe as a contractor helping different companies with change, or as a consultant, what do you feel is the number one question that you get asked over and over again?

Cassandra Worthy: Yeah, I think what I get asked most often is how do we make the change sustainable? How do we face the emotional landscape but still move forward with a change in a sustainable way and in an effective way? And of course, that’s when I have to really reiterate that this is a mindset and sometimes it requires a shift in belief and it requires practice. It’s about forming the habit. And then I also just advise them, although it’s probably not news that they necessarily want to hear, but that through any change, that emotional complexity is going to be there at any slice, any moment of time.

Cassandra Worthy: You’re going to have a wealth of different emotions throughout the organization. But it’s about creating that foundation, that mindset, those tools that as an individual, when I face the difficulty emotions, I know I’m in my moment of opportunity and I now am self actualized to grow through that change. So that’s really how you can make that resilient culture, that change ready culture, really exist so that any change, any disruption, any growth challenge that comes down the way, the organization and the individuals that comprise it are going to be ready for it.

Dori Nugent: So when you go and speak, such as, you’ll come to IHRSA this year and you’ll speak, do you get any really good stories, like follow up stories of people that have reached back out to you that said, hey. Oh, my gosh. This is what we were able to accomplish in our company or this is what I was able to accomplish personally after listening to you.

Cassandra Worthy: Yeah, for sure. Many of those, and they always make my day and I can never get too many of them. One of the ones that I kind of think back to is some work we did with a huge jewelry retailer in North America, one of the largest diamond retailers in the world. And we work with them from in a consulting capacity. And they were facing in their quarter four of 2021 a record kind of setting year from the prior year.

Cassandra Worthy: So quarter four of 2020 was an outstanding quarter. And so they’re approaching the following year wanting to match or even exceed that record. Our work started in Q three, q four. They ended up blowing their record out of the water. Some stores saw double digit growth, some stores saw 100% growth, meaning that they doubled the revenue that they had seen in the prior record quarter. And it was just a tremendous result.

Cassandra Worthy: So I got to learn that through of course, the president of global operations who share that data. But then a lot of other testimonials that came from the store managers, the store leaders, who my team and I got to work very closely with leading into that quarter. So, yes, it’s that type of feedback that keeps me waking up every day, Jazz, to do this work, to live on purpose, to share this mindset and these tools with as many people in the world as I can.

Dori Nugent: So no more chemical engineering in any capacity whatsoever?

Cassandra Worthy: Yes and no. So I’ll say I don’t do regular, like, as you would think, chemical engineering type of work. But again, with an engineering degree, I was taught how to think, how to solve complex problems. I’m still doing that each and every day as I work to grow the business, as I work to scale the business, and as I work with clients to understand their problems and how best that we can partner together to solve them.

Dori Nugent: So Georgia Tech has served you well then?

Cassandra Worthy: Very well. I am so grateful for my chemical engineering degree. And I’m also incredibly grateful for the tenure I had in corporate because it helped me to speak the language. It helped me to understand that speaking in front of teams, in front of organizations, inspiring individuals, is something that I actually really enjoy and have a natural kind of gift to do. And so often I’m asked, man, with the success that you’ve had in your consulting business, don’t you regret not leaving corporate sooner?

Dori Nugent: And I’m like, no, because if it.Cassandra Worthy: Wasn’T for those 15 years, I would not be as groomed and ready to take on this new realm as I, as I was. So I’m grateful for every day that I spent in corporate. And honestly, it was about four or five years before I left corporate that I really came into my own understanding, kind of my purpose and what really lights me up. And so I got to work in a way that I found more things to do on my work plan that was in tune with that purpose and lighting me up. So I was having a ball, but it was just the right next step for me to sunset my official working in corporate.

Cassandra Worthy: And now I work to support corporate.

Dori Nugent: We are such an inspiration for all of our listeners out there because we have so many entrepreneurs that left their corporate job and fitness was their passion. So they’re listening each week trying to figure out how to get their business started, make their business thrive, make their dream come true. So I think that right now, so many of our listeners are feeling so inspired by your journey and kind of shifting gears.

Dori Nugent: You said you still bring in some of your chemical engineering, your problem solving skills into your passion right now, and I love it. So I do have a question for you, though. Has it full circle yet that you have been able to go back and speak at Georgia Tech?

Cassandra Worthy: Yes. So it’s come full circle twice. So my very first paid engagement was actually back with Procter and Gamble. So I had left PNG as a part of that acquisition. The second one that I talked about, my first paid engagement was back with PNG, and then I’ve since gone back and also done an engagement with Delete Tech with their business school. So, yeah, I’ve been able to go back and contribute kind of the thing, this thing, I’ve created that’s in my lane.

Cassandra Worthy: And I will say for all the business owners, all the entrepreneurs that are listening, no matter where you are in your business, and I know from day to day, it can seem bleak, it can seem like you’re walking in the dark. You don’t know which way you’re going. I would say just keep stepping 1ft over the other, 1ft over the other, and just trust you’re walking on the path that you’re meant to be on. Because if you can get lit up, you can find joy and excitement and the work that you’re leading, the work that you’re striving to do, you’re on your path.

Cassandra Worthy: Trust that keeps that.

Dori Nugent: I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see Cassandra’s keynote at IHRSA 2023. She is going to wow everyone in attendance. Today’s episode was really just a glimpse into Cassandra’s topic for her keynote. So please, if you’re attending the IHRSA conference, stop by her session. She won’t disappoint. Now, what if attending IHRSA is not on your agenda this year, but you’d still like to connect with Cassandra or possibly continue a conversation with her?

Dori Nugent: Well, please head to our Show Notes to find her contact info. Show notes can be [email protected]. And if you haven’t subscribed to the show yet, hit that subscribe button so you don’t have to keep typing the web address into your Google bar. All right, get ready, because in 30 seconds, I’m going to introduce you to my super smart sales guest, eric Tepper. Looking for a gym wipe that is gentle on fitness equipment, but tough on eliminating germs?

Dori Nugent: Look no further. Vapor Fresh Gym Wipes are specifically designed to be safe on all gym equipment, and the fact that they are the only plant based disinfected wipe on the market makes them the top choice. Vaporfresh wipes come in two convenient sizes, the smaller canister is perfect for home gyms and boutique studios, and the jumbo refill roll fits perfectly into the dispensers. Vapor fresh wipes. 100% happiness guaranteed.

Cassandra Worthy: Quickfire five, sponsored by Hapana.

Dori Nugent: It’s time to get started with one of my favorite parts of the show, the Quickfire Five segment. Eric. Welcome to the quickfire five. We’re super excited to have you on the podcast next week, but first but first, we are going to get to learn a little bit about you. So welcome.

Eric Tepper: Thank you, Dorie. It’s great to be here.

Dori Nugent: Yeah, really excited to have you here, but more importantly, I’m kind of excited to hear what one of your bucket list items may be.

Eric Tepper: Well, one of my bucket list is to own a pit bull rescue farm. I’m a huge pit bull fan, have been for a long time. They’re the most amazing dogs, and I just envision this big farm where they are running around with tails wagon everywhere.

Dori Nugent: So all of our SVP family out there that absolutely loves dogs, they’re all.

Cassandra Worthy: Going, yeah.

Eric Tepper: If you don’t love dogs, you shouldn’t be listening.

Dori Nugent: Listen, I’m a golden retriever lover, so I would have, like, golden retrievers all running around with their long, pretty hair blowing in the wind.

Eric Tepper: Oh, they’re sweet. They’re super sweet.

Dori Nugent: All right, whose business brain would you like to pick?Eric Tepper: Tony Robbins. So here’s a guy who came he invented himself from nothing, this thing, this guy Tony Robbins and has been broke more times. Like, if you hear him talk, he’s been broke over and over and over, and he’s now worth, I think it’s like, $600 million. And he owns 100 companies generating 700 billion. And I just find him so interesting. And I’ve been to a couple of his things, and he’s got a huge heart on top of all of it.

Eric Tepper: So just an amazing guy.

Dori Nugent: It’s funny to say that just this past weekend, one of my coworkers went to see him. He was here in West Palm Beach, Florida, and went for, I think it’s like, four days that you go. And when we had our meeting on Monday, he was like, oh, my gosh, everybody needs to put that as a bucket list item to go see it. He said it was amazing.

Eric Tepper: Yes. I saw him in West Palm. I went to, like, a five day event there a few years back.

Dori Nugent: Yeah, it was probably, like, the same thing that my teammate was at.

Cassandra Worthy: All right, awesome.

Dori Nugent: So which is one of the most well read research reports that you’ve published?

Eric Tepper: Well, dori I’m a gym guy, so I don’t have a lot of published research, but if I did have one, I am working on writing a book about sales. Imagine that. And if I was going to publish a paper, it would probably be something in the world of neuroscience and how it relates to selling and buying, because I’m a big geek on neuro linguistics and how the brain reacts to certain conversations and influences the buying decision.

Eric Tepper: So it would definitely be in that world.

Dori Nugent: Perfect. All right, now, how about you recommend a book for all of our SBP family out there?

Eric Tepper: Have you ever read Never Split the Difference the Art of Negotiation by Chris Boss. Oh, my God. So, one, the storytelling, it is phenomenal because he was in charge of the FBI hostage negotiation training. But two, I love a book where you can actually take a skill and implement it in your life. And I did it with this book, and it worked, and it was so cool.

Dori Nugent: Wait, Eric, you’re supposed to be like this. My favorite book. Never.

Eric Tepper: Now you’re talking to me. Now you’re negotiating with me.

Dori Nugent: Dori if our family is wondering what the heck we are doing in the book, I just got done reading it. In the book, they talked about use your DJ voice. So you have to draw up your voice, and you have to speak slowly.

Eric Tepper: Your late night DJ voice going on.

Dori Nugent: Very nice.

Cassandra Worthy: All right.

Dori Nugent: Fantastic. Okay. And finally, what would be one moment. Of next week’s episode?

Eric Tepper: Well, the Opoot moment for next week is just how many of us are missing or strayed away from the basic fundamental sales skills and processes that take somebody from a no or thinking about it to a yes. Over the last few years, you’ve seen so many people get into this industry. Plus, the industry has shifted, and they’ve gotten so far away from the best practices of sales that actually work. And that’s actually why I created Sales Architect was, I had a guy who kept reaching out to me, saying, hey, can I pick your brain? And I was like, sure.

Eric Tepper: He’s like, I’m an accountant, and I bought this franchise. I’ll leave the name out, and I don’t know what the heck I’m doing, but I’m losing money every month. And I would have, like, these weekly calls with him. And I’m like, this is what people need. And I wanted to do it in a way where it would be super affordable for them, because if they’re barely paying their rent, they can’t afford a $10,000 a month consultant.

Eric Tepper: So I built Sales Architect, which is a virtual live and recorded coaching and consulting business specifically for the health, wellness, and fitness industry. And it focuses on revenue generating conversations and strategies. And I set it up where, for, like, a couple of month, somebody can get everything they need to be successful.

Dori Nugent: Well, I’m excited. It’s sales week next week. Hey, FBP family. Join myself and Eric Tepper next week when we talk about sales and making phone calls and everything that goes along with getting that person to join your gym. If you work in the sales side of the fitness business, then this episode is for you. Sales tactics are constantly changing, so in order for you to stay on top of your game, sales education is a must.

Dori Nugent: Allow the fitness business podcast to be your educational platform. Thanks for joining me today, and I’ll see you back here next week. Before we end our show, I’d like to say a few thank yous. Thank you to our founding partner, Active Management. Our partners keep me, Myzone, ISSA and Hapana, as well as our advertisers MX Metrics, REX Roundtables and Vapor Fresh. We believe what you leave behind is not what’s engraved in stone monuments, but woven into the lives of others.

END OF EPISODE