PushPress Operating Tenet #5: Company-First Mindset
We prioritize team wins over individual wins.
Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes
TLDR: When individual goals overshadow company objectives, the entire business suffers - and ultimately so do customers. At PushPress, we prioritize collective success over personal success. We know when the company wins by serving our customers exceptionally well, we all win.
The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.
- John Wooden
Recap: We Dropped Core Values for Operating Tenets
At PushPress, we recently ditched Core Values because we needed principles that would guide real actions, not just feel-good statements. As we've grown from scrappy startup to serving hundreds of gyms, we needed a framework that would help us execute better.
Today's Tenant: Company First Mindset
What "Company-First Mindset" Really Means
Here's our definition:
"We prioritize the success of the company over individual wins. By collaborating, sharing knowledge, and supporting each other, we ensure PushPress operates at its highest level."
This isn't about erasing individual achievement. It's about understanding that true personal success happens when the company succeeds. We win as a team.
Why This Matters to Our Business
Walk into most companies and you'll notice the biggest personalities quick:
The marketing guru who guards their "secret sauce."
The sales hotshot who treats leads like personal property.
That one department who is culturally and constantly at odds with that other department.
It creates a mess of silos, information hoarding, and pointless turf wars.
I've seen departments treat each other like enemies rather than teammates. Engineering rolls their eyes at sales promises. Sales blames product for missed deadlines. Everyone forgets they're fighting for the same damn customers.
The only loser in this needless war? Those customers you claim to care about.
At PushPress, this behavior will be called out and terminated at its root.
Instead, we:
Align team success around customer impact and value
Evaluate success based on team outcomes, not individual heroics
Share information openly across departments
Make decisions based on what's best for the company (and by extension, the customer), not a single team
Celebrate collective wins rather than spotlighting individuals
What This Means for Your Gym
The most sustainable gyms we work with have team cultures where everyone understands a fundamental truth: truly putting members first requires putting the gym first. When the business thrives, it can better serve its members.
Here's what this integrated thinking looks like in successful gyms:
1. Coaches support the gym brand, not just their personal brand Great coaches send members to other coaches when appropriate and represent the gym consistently. They recognize that what's best for the member might not always involve them personally. When members receive the right coaching for their specific needs (regardless of who provides it), they get better results, and those results reflect well on the entire gym.
2. Staff share knowledge and resources There's open communication about what's working and what's not, with a focus on gym-wide improvement. When every coach has access to the best nutrition protocols, movement cues, and coaching techniques, every member gets the best possible experience—not just the members who happen to work with the "knowledge keeper."
3. Everyone understands the business fundamentals All staff recognize that member outcomes and business sustainability are inseparable. Without a profitable gym, member journeys get disrupted. Without excellent member experiences, there is no profitable gym. This creates a virtuous cycle where business decisions are made with both member experience and gym health in mind.
4. Good ideas come from anywhere Hierarchy doesn't determine whose input matters. The best idea wins, regardless of who suggested it. This ensures members benefit from the collective wisdom of your entire team, not just from a single perspective—because no single coach, no matter how talented, has all the answers for every member.
The Hard Truth
I watched a gym implode last month. Two coaches who both genuinely cared about members couldn't agree on the gym's approach.
It started with small disagreements. Then escalated.
Neither would budge. Both thought they were right. What began as professional differences turned into an ego battle.
Members noticed. Of course they did.
Soon the gym split into factions. Some members aligned with one coach. Others with the second coach.
The result? A total shit show.
Here's the kicker – both coaches thought they were fighting for what was best for members.
But they missed the bigger picture. By refusing to find alignment, they actually screwed over the very members they wanted to help.
This is what happens when "I know what's best" overrides "we're in this together." When individual vision trumps company alignment, everyone loses.
Look around. If you see:
Coaches treating members like personal clients, not gym members
Staff hoarding knowledge instead of sharing it
Team members putting their convenience above gym needs
People who only care about their little corner of the business
...your gym is headed for trouble. And your members will feel it first.
In case you were wondering - the coaches ultimately figured it out and got back on the same page. But they wasted a month of time with drama and sucked their members into it. Talk about creating headwinds for themselves and the business…
The Bottom Line
Here's what I've learned at PushPress over the years:
When everyone rows in the same direction, the boat moves fast. When people paddle their own way, we go in circles.
Company-first isn't about squashing individual talent. It's about channeling that talent toward a shared mission.
And here's the thing most gym owners miss: Members don't really care about your internal politics. They care about their value, results and experience.
When your team puts the gym first, they create something bigger than any individual could build alone. Members feel the difference – they connect with your gym, not just a single coach.
That consistency builds trust. That trust builds retention. That retention builds a sustainable business.
When a coach eventually leaves (and they will), members stay because they're loyal to the gym experience, not just one person's charisma.
That's the magic of company-first thinking: it makes your gym much stronger than the sum of its parts.
Build a culture where your team's first question isn't "what's best for me?" but "what's best for our gym and our members?" – and watch what happens.
Tomorrow: "Operating Tenet #6: Urgency & Impact-Driven"