At first glance, a Pilates class and Product Development might not have much in common, but they are, in fact, incredibly similar.

Classical/Authentic Pilates pedagogy is based on the idea that you teach the person in front of you. Some fitness modalities create classes for the masses and you’re free to join in or not. Classical Pilates is different – it is individualized and customized. Just as in business, what works for one organization is not necessarily going to work at another.

In Classical Pilates, there is a set Order of Exercises. Yes, that’s a capital “O” and a capital “E.” Joseph Pilates created both the Exercises and the Order of the sequence. There’s a reason for that specific order as each Exercise warms up your muscles for the next one. In Classical Pilates, there is an Intention behind each Exercise and the specific placement in the Order. As a Classical Pilates teacher, you must use Joseph Pilates’ original Order.

In a business organization, you’re generally limited by a certain type of product, an industry and/or a brand when developing products. Like Pilates, there’s a reason behind the product development design – thinking about what the customer needs.

In a Classical Pilates class, there are advanced exercises that can be added in to the Order, but it’s the student’s individual muscle strength that determines when and if that happens, not the teacher. A Classical Pilates teacher does not plan a class in advance. It isn’t about what the teacher thinks a student should want; it’s about what the student actually needs.

Now ultimately, the teacher is the one to introduce the new exercise when it is appropriate to do so, but the decision is based on observations (imbalances, muscle strength or weakness, proper alignment and execution on preparatory exercises), knowledge of the student’s ability (history of working with them and collected data), active listening (by asking the student questions and listening to the answers relating to current injuries or conditions) and paying attention to current needs (asking a student how their week was – things such as stress can show up in the physical body). 

This is similar to CX and product development – decisions regarding product development must come from observations, depth and breadth of knowledge of your customers including their needs and wants, passive and active listening utilizing multiple methods to collect this information. 

But in the world of business, there’s unfortunately a tendency to create products that an organization thinks a customer shouldwant rather than what they actually need. This mentality doesn’t do anyone any good – not the customers who aren’t interested in your products and not your organization, which will lose revenue. 

During a Classical Pilates class, all of these determinations are made in real time using the feedback resulting from the observations, prior knowledge and active listening. In a business organization, decisions must be made with customer feedback driving the conversation rather than senior leadership making decisions in a vacuum.  In each and every Classical Pilates class, the student’s body will tell a teacher at what level it is working at that day. In a business organization, the customers themselves will tell you what they need, if you listen. And the front-line employees are an invaluable resource to obtain feedback from as they are familiar with, not only the customers, but also the organization – what it is capable of providing as well as the future direction of the business.

In both a business organization and a Classical Pilates class, you must analyze your results. Were our decisions correct? Did we have the right data to make those decisions? Even though I’ve been teaching Classical Pilates for over 14 years, I still occasionally make a mistake and give a student an exercise before they are ready for it. But each and every time I give a student a new exercise, I monitor his/her execution to give me feedback on that decision. If the student wasn’t quite ready for the new exercise, then I know that I must help them to build the muscle strength to accomplish the exercise successfully by utilizing preparatory exercises.

A business organization must be agile enough to be able to pivot quickly when making a bad call. It’s ok to be wrong and make mistakes, but if the ship is heading for the iceberg, change course. Digging your heels into the ground because your organization believes that your customers shouldwant what you are giving them isn’t going to make your customers start buying. Customers will buy when it’s a product they want and need.

Teach a Pilates class to and for the person in front of you. Create products, not for yourself, but for your customers.