002: The Messy Art of Scheduling

Let me tell you a quick story.

A few years ago, we were way overstaffed. I mean, bleeding payroll.

We brought the numbers to a manager. Told her what was happening.

She took it seriously--and made a fast decision. Too fast.

She slashed hours overnight. No heads-up. No conversations.

Just boom--shifts gone. Team blindsided.

And just like that, we lost trust. Morale dropped. People quit.

It wasn’t the wrong math.

It was the wrong method.

Here’s What We Learned:

1. You can’t run a people business with spreadsheet logic.

   • Numbers matter -- but so does the story behind them.

2. If you don’t lead the narrative, someone else will.

   • Your team will write their own story if you don’t explain the “why.”

3. Scheduling is an art. But it still needs a system.

   
   

That’s What Monday Was About.

We held our quarterly Vision Meeting: checked the scoreboard, revisited the mission & goals (6,000 students impacted), and shared what’s working.

But this time, we added something new.A live training for our managers:

“Principles of Scheduling.”

We gave them a framework to make smart, sustainable decisions -- before they ever have to slash hours.

Here’s what we covered:

• How to forecast staffing needs by quarter, not gut.

• Why scheduling by grade instead of level creates flexibility.

• How to run a full iClass sweep across every facility.

• When to move kids. When to cut classes. When to consolidate.

• Most importantly, how to protect both payroll and people.
  

January through March? We’re slammed. April & May? Things start to dip.

June definitely takes the foot off the gas.

And if you don’t prepare, it gets expensive.

We’re not perfect at this yet. But we’re building systems to fix it.

And like anything else -- test, tweak, improve.

Let’s go.

Casey Wright Founder, Wright’s Gymnastics & NinjaZone 🎯 Real talk – Leading without planning is like being on the Titanic…with binoculars, but refusing to look up. 👀

Seasonal dips aren’t surprises.

If we see the trend coming and still don’t adjust, that’s on us.Plan early. Steer steady. Keep the crew calm.