Athletic Business Conference Presentation on Technology

Last week I presented at Athletic Business regarding technologies impact on the fitness and wellness industry. The bottom line is rapidly advancing technologies, a shift in values resulting from a maturing culture and traditional organizations failures to adopt collaboration as a key strategy, have contributed to the fitness and wellness industry largely failing to meet the opportunity of impacting obesity and promoting wellness. Look at the facts, thousands of new facilities and endeavors yet the same number of  people exercising and more prevalent obesity. Because of financial pressures related to soaring health care costs, new business models will emerge with many encompassing direct to consumer components that bypass traditional gym or fitness facilities. Some traditional facility competitors in the fitness business will use this as an opportunity to distiguish themselves based on the experience economy, providing more engaging and meaningful experiences through unique program solutions offered by strategic partners (an adoption of orchestration strategy). As with many industries designed around past paradigms, the fitness and wellness industry should prepare for an approaching upheaval that will leave many of its participants irrelevant to the future of wellness.