King Sports International

Beverly International announced as sponsors of the KSI 2008 Athlete Training Camp!

We are proud and excited to announce that Beverly International have supported our upcoming KSI 2008 Athlete Training Camp & Challenge by sponsoring the event!

This is great news for all involved, especially those who will be joining us in this event next month!

We are honored to associated with great people, great companies, and great products - such as Sandy and Roger from Beverly International with their incredible range of protein supplements!

Beverly International
1-800-781-3475
Fax: (859) 781-7590
www.bodybuildingworld.com

In August 2008 in the US we will be running a 3 day athlete training camp and challenge. During these three days successful applicants will be given the opportunity to be trained by KSI coaches, and participate in a challenge to determine the 'KSI Champion Athlete 2008'. This will be determined on a holistic assessment, not simply a physical one.

Who should attend? If you answer YES to all the below questions you will find this experience invaluable!

1. Do you use the KSI way in your training and as result of the great results you have achieved become a strong advocate of our approach?
2. Do you train seriously with a specific training and or competitive goal in mind?
3. Do you see the value of being exposed to the top KSI coaches in the world all together in the one place?

Applications are invited from current KSI clients who train seriously in any physical sport or endeavor. You must have a strong commitment to training and achieving your goals. If you would like to be sent out an application form email us with a request to have one sent out to you via email. In this email please outline your involvement with KSI and how you have been implementing the KSI way in your training. The camp will be held between Mon 25 and Wed 27 August 2008 inclusive.

Look forward to working with some of you at this event!

Ian King

Change - one of the great challenges we face

Change. I've learnt that at times change can be one of the hardest things for us humans to do. Homeostasis, the phenomenon of protecting the current status quo, can be a double aged sword. It can work for us and it can work against us. It can be our strength, but it can also be our weakness

During the last two and half decades I have learnt a lot about change in both athletes and coaches. Change is like maximal speed - it is capped when you stop accelerating. In athletes the absence of a desire to change, to do it better, is a sure sign of the peak and inevitable decline in the career. In coaches, the same. In physical preparation coaches in the KSI Coaching Program, it's the same. I can sense when the individual has said 'that's enough - I don't really want to change anymore'.

Rarely is it in the spoken word - more usual in the actions, often justified by rational reasons that are really just excuses.

The challenge is also knowing when to change and when to stay with what you are doing. The only judge is hindsight on the reality of the outcome. A judge not to fear, but to value, provided we are willing to objectively consider the feedback.

We ultimately decide which pain to choose - the pain of change or the pain of regret if we make a less than optimal decision. Sometimes you never know until you go! Until you try it out.

KSI is one of the longest existing, consistently serving the same focus, companies in the world of physical preparation. KSI is successful in serving up the same high quality service and products because we are willing to change. Change for improvement, not change for change sake. We train athletes and educate coaches. Trends come (and go) we don't jump on them for the sake of being part of the trend. We didn't blow our tops over swiss balls and we aren't going to hump the 'fat loss' guru trend. We are boring - at least that's the way it seems for few appear to be able to stay on the same path. We taught stuff in the 1980's when no-one could give a rat's arse about it, and we teach the same thing now despite some of these things not only become trendy to teach but begin taught in a totally f-up way.

Flexibility is a great example of this - but that's a discussion for another day!

The change we introduce to you today is the newsletter format. If you are currently a subscriber you may have noted the new format. If you are not currently receiving the KSI Between Sets Newsletter, you can register to receive it via the opt-in fields in the left margin.

The web site sucks!

Apparently the KSI web site sucks. Ok, that may be a bit strong, but I have no bones with that. I recently received an email that stated: "You have poor content and (a) poor website. over complicated ways to get the information - passwords etc.. Poor selling techniques and not good free information..."

Ok, so the web site and marketing sucks. He has got a point. I have no problems openly stating that when it comes to a comparison of web site and marketing techniques, ours could be at the lower end of the food chain.

But that's fine with me. I am first and foremost a physical preparation coach, and my primarily focus is to develop the most optimal physical training methods and then share them in clear, easy to understand words and images.

I am continually amazed at the fantastic web sites and marketing pieces I see around the broader physical training industry. Tragically, because I have been in the industry for nearly 30 years, I have seen enough to know who is who and who is capable of what. And many of these amazing web sites are owned by people whose real world experience could be summarized on the back of a postage stamp.

I know, that's harsh. but I want to be straight with you about what I think. There is no correlation between marketing ability and physical coaching competency. I've been closely exposed to some of the best self-marketers in the world, and their antics can take the wind out of my sails. Sometimes I do feel like going back into the gym and enjoying the solitude of the steel. Because I know the bullshit that is being passed off to the gullible masses.

It's got to the point where I have chosen not to contribute to some industry activities because firstly I don't want to be associated with the fraud being perpetuated, and secondly, on the surface I cannot compete with the bull-shit artists. I am willing to wave the white flag here. I back myself in the real world of coaching anytime, anywhere. But have no desire to play in the world of deception.

It's got to the point when I feel embarrassed to write about our 20 years company anniversary (1986-2006) because to most newcomers to the industry it probably sounds just like so many others - who one day were casually employed gym instructors and suddenly the next day, miraculously, they have 16 years of experience and are internationally renown....It's got to where I have to resist the urge to add a convincing line like 'It's true - really, we really are 20+ years old in business!" But why should have to?

So if you want to be impressed with flash and bullshit, and want heaps of instant gratification freebies - KSI may not be the place to meet your needs. But if you want the opportunity to learn the most effective training methods based on genuine, honest real world experiences under ideal real-world laboratory situations, then you may be in the right place.

Sorry, we do share more than training

During our 20+ years in business we have received a lot of customer feedback. From really excited and appreciative (such as Anthony who wrote: "I continue to be amazed and pleased with the amount of personal correspondence you give to people!"; or Mike who wrote: "The information in your book is really and truly fantastic!" or Joe who wrote: I find your service impeccable!") to well, not so pleasant (like young Brian who recently said "Thank you very much for your time. Now piss off, wankers.")

Whilst we invite, value and appreciate the feedback, we choose which ones we take note off. For example young Brian's suggestions, in response to our offer of a refund, were not taken with any regard except to wonder how he got that unhappy.

Or when young Grant told us that "You teach the squat like everyone else. Squatting should be performed the way Olympic lifters and powerlifters do it. Not like sissy spa members." (Guess I competed all those years in powerlifting like a sissy spa member!) You can guess we simply wondered what medication he may be taking.

One comment we give more attention to has been the occasional concern that some 'just want training information', and are not comfortable with our content that references other areas such as finance, business and spiritual development. Interestingly it's the financial education content that probably gets the most flak. This is worth addressing - our approach is holistic, and that is not going to change.

In fact, there will be a time in the future when more and more will attempt to imitate our approach, as they have done in the past. Those, like my friend Joey Williams, who have been around for a few decades in the industry, know who is copying who (and confirm our observations that people will criticize until they learn to imitate, then they suddenly claim originality!).

I know what it like to have training compromised by the need to go to work, to go to a second (and third job), to rush and miss meals due to work requirements, to eat crap because of time constraints, to compromise on quality of food and supplements because of lack of money.

To suggest that you train in isolation of your financial situation is simply to live in denial.

Those who develop mastery of what I teach create a life where they are able to do what is important first. For example, I know some of the coaches in the KSI Coaching program who train first and leisurely, then focus on work, as is my practice (and I am not talking about early morning workouts, which in many cases are a compromise).

It gives us great pleasure to help people create a life where they can focus on training without compromise, and without compromising their financial position.

There may never have been a more critical time to develop ones financial literacy as the sub-prime issues in the US financial sector drag the US economy down, and with it inevitably the rest of the world.

Already in the US from the sub-prime fallout, over 100,000 jobs have been lost, 246 (and growing daily) finance companies have ceased operations, losses from bad mortgage debt is expected to reach between 250-500 billion, and one in 4-5 families could be forced out of their house. And we haven't hit the bottom of this challenge yet...

Coincidentally, all this in a country that has turned weight loss into an industry. Gurus sprouting the secrets to weight loss, taking advantage of the gullibility and desire for instant gratification of the people to meet their needs of being important...whilst most nations struggle for food to eat, this country focuses on ways to counter the excess of food consumed, and the over-processing of the food. More on that another day....

So, sorry - some things are not going to change and that includes our holistic approach to training. We know at least one person appreciates that as Steffen who wrote: "It is your holism that I like best about your company!"

Cost vs value conscious buying

Three examples in the last 24hrs on this topic of cost vs value conscious buying inspired me to share this life and business philosophy.

US financial education writer Thomas Stanley (The Millionaire Next Door,'The Millionaire Mind) wrotes about this so well. You might buy a pair of shoes that are cheap (e.g. $100), but over say five years have to replace them three times. Or you could buy on quality not initial cost and say pay $200, but not have to replace them over five years. You have better value for money with the latter option. better quality product, and loose less time in re-purchasing.

So what does thsi have to do with physical training? EVerything. For example, KSI business philosophy is based on the search and implementation of excellence. Excellenence at a level defined by our recognition that not everyone shares.

We have made incredible long term effort to achieve what we developed in training philosophies. How much it cost was never an issue. My focus was on getting the best information so I could give the best value to the athletes I trained.

So when we provide our services the hourly rate and how that sits in the market place relative to 'others' is of no interest. Not everyone will drive a BMW or simiilary safe car. Many will  be happy to drive cheaper cars. Not everyone will take the best vitamins. Many will be happy to buy 'cheap' vitamins. Not everyone wants to invest in the best information/service for their training. We understand that. Here's an example of this that we see regularly - a person shows interest in using a KING Coach. He chats with our coach co-ordinator. This is the summary of the chat:

"He has moderate commitment to training and is more cost conscience than value conscience.  Once we moved in to value discussion and minimum costs  - he pulled back and we ended the conversation."

We see the same in products. Check out these two examples, which occured following a pre-production offer, in which (and the only time) we may offer discounts on new releases:

"I would of purchased the DVD at the discounted price but am not prepared to pay the full amount."

Or this one, who was interested until he realized he was not going to be given the pre-production bonus five days after the offer expired:

"So I guess there is no DVD free with the discount offer, I am having to rethink this now."

When I develop my approach to training no expense has been spared on obtaining the information. It should come of no surprise that our focus is on sharing our way of training with those who value what we have to offer. As to those who simply 'would buy if it was at a discount'...there is always Walmart...

Ian King

Half full or half empty? What a difference perspective makes!

I am intrigued by the impact of attitude and perception. In this example, I will use two contrasting attitudes or perspectives that I have witnessed during the last 24 hrs. Such a contrast!

As product and service providers we/KSI not only have a satisfaction guarantee, we state quiet clearly that if you are less than excited about doing business with us, we will give you a refund and help you move on to greener pastures.

http://www.kingsports.net/ksiandyou.htm#Your_Guarantee 

100% Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!

Our goal is to have totally excited clients! We want every person who invests in our products and services to obtain the benefit that we believe we put into them. We would rather have one totally excited client than a hundred neutral clients.

If for whatever reason, that doesn't describe you.

Upon receiving your products, if you are not satisfied with them, we offer a 100% money back guarantee...

If we messed up, we fix it. If the client has pain in life we can't resolve, we happily move on. If you have pain in life and what to share it with us through abusive emails, we chose not to do busienss with you. LIfe is to short to spend time with unhappy people, and we are very happy to say we can't solve everyone's problems or make everyone happy. (that's what prozac was designed for...)

Now here's the tale of two people.

Person A received his products and found some of them to be faulty.

"Hello Ian, I am sad to say the Get Buffed DVD workout I bought from you is faulty because I can't watch Stage 1 Workout D and it frozen several times in on my laptop and PC.  I even tried on Window Media Player as well as Power DVD software.

I am wonder if I can get a replacement? What do I have to do? Is it viable to send a faulty DVDs to you for a replacement?  Thank you."

We responded to Person A with:

"No problems to replace. Before we do, to make sure we are not going to get the same result with the replacement, can you try it on 1 or 2 other machines? Let us know the outcome. And what about the 2nd disc – was that oK?"

The outcome was they needed to be replaced, we replaced them including international shipping, our cost - and we received this response:

"Again, thank you very much for look after your customer well.  I am thoroughly enjoyed it, and I know I have a way lotta more to learn, about 99% of it to go!"

Isn't it great to do business with happy, grateful people!

Now in the same day we received the final response from person A we had the following exchange with Person B. Person B also had a challenge - their Fed Ex order was apparently delayed 1 day by Fed Ex at this end, for reason unknown to us.

Person B wrote:

"They are telling me that there was a 'Delivery Exception' b/c it arrived after the dispatch left.  That really sucks.  I am so excited about this book and I was under the impression that I paid $35 extra to expedite this delivery.  What exactly did the extra money for shipping get me.  I don't want to sound like a prick, but $35 is a lot of extra money to me."

To which we did what we promise to do - offer a refund to any customer who is less than excited about doing business with us. A summary of our response:

"If you not happy with our service/products, this is what I suggest you do -When you get the package  - don't open it - send it directly to the US address below. As soon as this book arrives at this address, we will refund you your money.  We don't want unhappy customers.... Look forward to refunding your money and allowing you to move on to other service providers."

To which Person B responded with (en extract!):

"...Here is some FREE advice - Maybe if you tire so easily of people complaining about your shipping costs, you might consider articulating the cost in more detail.  For example, during the checkout process (on the e-commerce portion of your Web site), instead of just putting $35 you could enumerate comparable shipping costs for your CUSTOMER to recognize its benefit.  I train about 15 people down here in xxx, xxx at a fairly large facility.  I look forward to recommending your great customer service and then allowing them to move on to other service providers."

[you mean something like the info provided:

..at the bottom of this page http://www.kingsports.net/products.htm

...at the top of this page http://www.kingsports.net/productsgb.htm

...at the top of this page http://www.kingsports.net/productsksi.htm

....at this page http://www.kingsports.net/FAQspostage.htm]

We asked for confirmation that a refund would be sought to which we received (an extract!):

"Recently a great deal of attention has been paid to another class of stupidity: stupid actions by those that are very educated and worldly - like yourself. It is an important subject as it is increasingly evident that powerful, and generally very intelligent, people sometimes do stupid things.

...I like this one - YOU should pay particular attention here:

"Otherwise intelligent individuals may also become stupid when their rational thought is derailed by strong opinions or rigid beliefs." In this case the victim falls into confirmation bias and begins selecting data: becoming intentionally blind and deaf to contrary evidence, while at the same time collecting evidence which supports the beliefs. Rather than being based on low intelligence or missing knowledge, this is the stupidity of closed-mindedness and willful ignorance. Note that modern science specifically evolved to combat this form of stupidity. During scientific thought we should constantly criticize our OWN beliefs and assumptions (attempt to disprove hypotheses), while also using HUMILITY and extreme self-honesty to reduce our ego-based biases.

I am not sure where you should start looking for your humility, but the sooner the better.  In conclusion, I never f$%^ing asked for a refund.  Once again, I simply asked for more details regarding the premium shipping cost of $35 - which I still have yet to receive.

Thank you very much for your time.  Now piss off, wankers."

Mmm. Abuse, threats, insults, rants.  Person A, Person B. Person B, Person A - tough choice - who would we want to do business with?

I have vivid memories of hearing the late internet marketing guur Corey Rudl live in seminar say the email phenomenon (in the early days at least) brought out the rude gene in people.  Except he was more colourful. Irrespective, I don't allow my team to be the wiping post for the worlds unhappy . As a team we work hard and that is not acceptable in our world.

Ok - so we have person A who received a large percentage of his order faulty and politely asked for remedy - which was happily and swiftly provided. And we have person B who received his order 24 hrs later via independent shipping issues over which we don't control.

Person A shared their gratitude with us and is a happy KSI client. Person B shared their 'interesting' thoughts with us and is not a KSI client.

Isn't that a interesting contrast of perception and attitude!

PS. And did we tell you - person A is deaf and can't understand what is being said on the DVDs.  He has to rely on his mother, who makes a transcript of what is being said.  Mum presses pause and rewinds often to make the transcript.  Isn't that interesting - half full or half empty?

KSI Forum

I want to thank the KSI Forum Community for their colloboration on the development of our blogs (and other things). Its very powerful to have access to this group, and their contribution is vital to shaping the developments within KSI.

Membership to the KSI Forum is given to anyone who has purchased a product or service from KSI. If you want to learn more about how you can join the KSI Forum, click here.

http://www.kingsports.net/forum.htm

Blog Development

For the 3rd night in a row I am leaving the office now, at 1.30am. This blog is shaping up, which is one of the many projects I am currently working on.

If you are opted in to our newsletter list you would have been brought up to date with some of the releases, and there are a few more things I have been working on behind the scenes.

I am highly driven to fufill the potential of KSI as a busines , something I have been working on for 21 years now.

During this time I have learnt so much about who is committed to the KSI way and who is simply kicking our tyres, someone who we may interact with briefly along the way, or someone who is looking to use an association with us to boost their percieved social ratings as (another) 'internationally recognized expert' with 515 years of experience.

I value the contribtuion of those who have shown the long term committment. I know as we continually improve we are going to achieve many great things, and some of you will be there and be part of that. As with any great achievements, there is an element of time and consistent, determined disciplined focused activity. So if you are with us for the future achievements you will have developed effective mastery of these qualities!