PushPress Operating Tenet #9 Embrace Adaptability & Agility

Businesses that adapt faster than their competition develop a stronger right to win

TLDR: At PushPress, we've made adaptability a core operating tenet because winning companies adapt faster than their competition. Our development cycles, decision-making processes, and team structure are all designed for quick pivots when market conditions change. This approach proved critical during COVID when we rebuilt our entire direction in days to support gym owners through unprecedented challenges. For gym businesses, the lesson is clear: the ability to adapt isn't just nice-to-have—it's survival.

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.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."
- Mike Tyson

What "Embrace Adaptability & Agility" Really Means

Here's our definition:

Adaptability doesn't just ensure survival — it drives winners. Every well-laid plan requires adjustment, and we embrace change, using real-time data to refine our path and create better outcomes.

This isn't corporate jargon for us. It's how we've survived and thrived through industry shifts, economic downturns, and a global pandemic.

How We Stay Adaptable as a Company

We don't just preach this stuff - we've built our entire operation around it:

1. Push for daily code deployments - While we're not there yet, our goal is daily code shipping. When we hit this milestone, we'll adapt to market changes in real-time while competitors are still planning quarterly releases.

2. Monitor market signals relentlessly - We watch how users interact with every feature and lean toward or away from initiatives based on real signals, not hunches. No emotional attachments to ideas that aren't working.

3. Balance data with frontline insights - Pure data is backward-looking. We collect anecdotes from customer support conversations, sales calls, and direct user feedback to spot trends before they show up in the numbers.

4. Favor "two-way door" decisions - Whenever possible, we make decisions that can be reversed if needed. This lets us move faster, test more ideas, and adapt based on real market feedback instead of getting paralyzed by "perfect" planning.

5. Build teams that embrace change - We hire people who get excited by new challenges, not threatened by them. Adaptability starts with having the right people who don't freak out when priorities shift.

The Dance of Adaptability and Focus

I’m already reading the mind of the control-freak: “Adaptability is code word for chaos”.

Adaptability without meaning or direction is chaos. Changing directions without a reason is just changing directions.

Here's how we strive to maintain the balance:

1. Clear priorities - While we adapt daily, we set firm annual and 90-day objectives that only change for truly exceptional reasons.

2. Long-term vision, flexible execution - Our long-term vision stays consistent, but the path to get there evolves as we learn.

3. Build and refine planning cycles - We run regular planning sessions that account for what we've learned. Plans aren't sacred texts - they're working documents that get better with real-world feedback.

4. Honest evaluation and post-mortems - We regularly evaluate progress against our plans and have blunt conversations about where we planned wrong or what we missed. After major projects, we analyze successes and failures without blame - just clear lessons that improve our next adaptation.

5. Say no to distractions - Being adaptable doesn't mean chasing every opportunity. It means responding thoughtfully to the right ones.

My Personal Weak Link

As you’ll often hear me say - one’s superpower is always their Achilles Heel. Adaptability is a superpower of mine, and it’s also something that’s crippled this company in the past.

As a founder, I want everything for our product and customers. Yesterday, if possible.

But I've had to face the harsh reality that you can't focus on everything at once. Trying to do so means you end up accomplishing nothing well.

Further, it’s confusing AF for the teams when this week the priority is X and next month it’s Y. You can’t expect people to row in the same direction if you’re changing direction faster than oars hit water.

This is something I'm actively working on. I've purposely surrounded myself with people who keep me in check - team members who aren't afraid to say, "Dan, we need to finish X before starting Y."

I know I’ve personally gotten better, but until I’m great at it, I’ll rely on my team to keep me in check.

Building a team that complements your weaknesses is just as important as hiring for strengths. For me, that meant finding people who excel at maintaining focus while I push for adaptation and innovation.

The dance between adaptability and focus isn't just organizational - it's deeply personal. And sometimes the hardest part is recognizing your own tendencies that might throw the balance off.

The Bottom Line

Adaptability isn't a nice-to-have anymore. It's the difference between thriving and dying when disruption hits your industry.

Building the adaptability muscle during normal market micro-shifts is critical. This daily practice is what enabled us to accelerate rapidly during a major market disruption like COVID.

This operating tenet directly aligns with our customer obsession. Markets change constantly. If we can't adapt quickly, we simply can't serve our customers properly. The most customer-obsessed companies are often the most adaptable ones.

At PushPress, it's how we've managed to stay ahead in a crowded market. For your gym, it might be the deciding factor in whether you survive the next industry shift.

And trust me - that shift is coming. It always does.

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Tomorrow's post: "Disagree & Commit" - Why alignment matters more than agreement.