Founder Joe Cirulli shares keys to success for Gainesville Health and Fitness Center

Being surrounded by the right people — who uplift, inspire and share the same values — is crucial to success. This is something Gainesville Health and Fitness Founder Joe Cirulli believes to his core.

Cirulli has always had a fire for health and fitness and an eagerness to share it with the people around him.

“My mom was a nurse, and I remember as a little kid, I’m telling you 7 years old, my mother would say to me, ‘Just remember, as long as you’ve got your health, you got everything. She told me that 100 times,” Cirulli said.

His mother’s words inspired Cirulli to begin working out from a very young age. He showed his friends how to lift weights when he was only 9 years old, using his set of mighty mouse weights in his home basement. By the time he reached high school, Cirulli was captain of the football team and teaching the entire team how to lift weights and work out.

Leadership is simply part of who Cirulli is. Combining that natural leadership with a burning desire to bring health and wellness to the Greater Gainesville community, Gainesville Health and Fitness was born in 1978. It has become so much more than just a gym, but rather a community of disciplined individuals who value lifting each other up and helping others achieve their goals. GHF has earned national recognition as one of the best small businesses and is one of Greater Gainesville’s top workplaces.

There is one crucial element to GHF’s success, according to Cirulli, that cannot be understated: Building a strong team.

Build a Team

One of the most important factors behind GHFCS success is hiring the right people and motivating them to go above and beyond every day.

Perhaps one of the most important qualities GHF employees should have is to be eager to help in any situation, regardless of if it is in the job description or not. Exceeding expectations is the standard.

To find job candidates with these qualities, GHF takes applicants through a rigorous interview process.

First, they fill out an application. The team looks for candidates who fill out every question in detail. They ask questions such as, “What is your code of honor?” and, “What makes you, you?” Only those who thoroughly answer every question advance to the next round.

Then, candidates come into the gym for an interview. The interviewer outlines the basics, such as working hours, compensation and key details they are looking for in a new hire. This way, only candidates who are happy with those terms move forward.

The next phase is a group interview with usually two interviewers and about eight interviewees. They have candidates do tasks as a team and observe how they interact as a group and perform individually.

From here, the next interview is more detailed, asking questions to determine if the candidates’ core values align with the company’s core values. This ensures candidates will fit in with the whole team.

The last step is a mental and physical challenge. GHF staff take candidates through a high-intensity workout which most people will not be able to complete.

The purpose of the workout is not to assess how physically fit candidates are. It does not matter if candidates complete it or not. The purpose is to evaluate effort, attitude and heart. It is only in the most challenging, miserable and strenuous moments, Cirulli believes, that a person’s true character is revealed.

“A long time ago, I realized, you can’t find out what a person is really made of if everything is going really well,” Cirulli said. “When you find out what a person is made out of is when things get kind of miserable, and the purpose of that workout is to make it miserable. You learn a lot about people.”

GHF’s effort to separate the curious from the serious also applies to searching for job candidates.

Cirulli noticed over the past couple of years, so many businesses in town hung “help wanted” signs on their front doors. GHF was posting the same kind of signs on their door. Cirulli noticed however that out of numerous applications, only a few were serious candidates. Cirulli knew they had to hcnage their strategy.

So, instead, they hung a big sign out front that said, “Not hiring…just anybody.”

“People started realizing we’re not just looking for people to fill in spaces. We’re looking for people who believe in the things that we believe in, and have a strong sense of, ‘I’m the kind of person whose life is dedicated to helping other people,’” Cirulli said. “That changed everything in our hiring.”

Cirulli emphasizes creating the right atmosphere all begins with the people on his team. Discipline is critical. Each member of the staff understands and values it.

“That even means when things are a little quieter, that they find other things to do and are helpful,” Cirulli said. “We do instill discipline, but if you hire the right people, they want discipline in their life.”

Inspire Greatness

Every member of the GHF team has the same three responsibilities. The first is to be responsible for the success of the entire business. That means everything is the employee’s responsibility, regardless of job title. The second responsibility is to help all the other departments when they need it. The third responsibility is to simply do their job.

“If people can remember those three things, that it makes it really easy,” Cirulli said. “Having those people who take ownership of each area is what makes all the makes all the difference in the world in the company.”

While Cirulli has always been self-motivated, he realized that others were not always the same. Being recognized for hard work is extremely motivating for others.

“I started thinking about, how do you recognize people? Because when people get recognized for what they do, they usually want to do more of it,” Cirulli said.

So, Cirulli emailed all GHF members a letter. He said a lot of companies have employees of the month, but many staff members to exceptional things all the time that management never sees. He asked GHF members to write in when they notice employees going above and beyond.

Hundreds of comments poured in every month. Cirulli would take anywhere from 10 to 20 employees to dinner each month and read all those comments out loud. Afterward, staff who were recognized would call the members and thank them for sharing their comments.

A lot of those comments were pointing out employees simply doing their job, but Cirulli believed he could set the bar higher for his employees. He wanted to recognize employees truly going above and beyond what their day-to-day job demanded.

So, he came up with a bigger reward program. In this one, supervisors recognize employees and take them out on dinners twice each month. He makes sure department leaders take responsibility for encouraging the best from each of their teams.

Snowballing Success

Since starting GHF in 1978, Cirulli and his team have continuously set the bar higher regardless of their achievements. Rather than reflecting upon each and every win or milestone, they always keep chasing the future, looking forward to bigger and better.

Around eight years ago, Cirulli knew Forbes Magazine would soon release a report ranking GHF in the top 25 small businesses in America and the only one in Florida to make it on the list. He told his staff this and asked them what this means for their gym. One employee who worked there for a long time said, “Yup, that means we’ve got to get better.”

“One of the things I always pressed with them, is no matter what accolades we get, that was for the past, and people really don’t care about the past. They care about who we are in the future,” Cirulli said.

Cirulli and his team appreciate these accomplishments, but they do not take time to revel in them or develop an ego because of them. They are always moving forward.

“I don’t look back at what we’ve done. I’m always looking at the future about, ‘What can we do?’” Cirulli said. “I remember all the sayings, you know, ‘When you’re green, you’re growing, and when you’re ripe, you’re ripe.’ So, the goal was don’t get ripe. Stay green and think about the next thing.”

Cirulli has faith that no matter the obstacle before him, his team will figure it out and rise above, as they have always done.

The desire to help as many people as possible win and achieve their own success is another motivator for the GHFC team. Rather than focusing on what individuals can do for themselves, they focus on what they can do for others who they are in a position to help.

“I’m always full steam ahead because one of the things that I will say over and over to myself, is I am so lucky,” he said. “I’m so fortunate in my life, in all parts of my life, whether it be with the business, whether it be with my friends or with my family.”

By Jewell Tomazin.