Why would a world-class sports academy invest in a student center, rather than more coaches, fancy equipment, or dorms?

IMG Academy, a Florida boarding school, turns out some of the most successful college and professional athletes around. Its president, Tim Pernetti, led a massive cultural shift toward customer loyalty.

Tim says IMG Academy used to be highly focused on coaching and sports operations. To be clear, that emphasis on athletic excellence helped produce a large number of highly successful athletes. But Tim and the leadership team saw the potential to add something on top of this: a focus on serving a more comprehensive set of student-athlete needs. Today, IMG Academy leverages student-athlete input to refine its program and operations. New initiatives range from enhancing dining experiences to introducing flexible communal spaces.

Tim shares how an emphasis on employee recognition combines regular student and parent feedback to instill deep, enduring culture change.

Guest: Tim Pernetti, President, IMG Academy

Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company

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Time-stamped list of topics covered:

[00:09:17] Global influence and expansion
[00:14:25] Culture shift toward experience
[00:19:57] Response to student feedback
[00:25:32] Investment in campus experience
[00:30:01] Recognition's impact on staff
[00:35:23] Challenges in universal buy-in
[00:37:09] Commitment to improving IMG Academy

Time-stamped list of notable quotes:

[00:04:43] “Really, [our early] focus was on intense physical training, like total immersion in tennis. And the result was ten world number ones [were trained here].”
[00:07:23] “This is an environment where you're bringing people in from all over the world. You want to have good people in the environment. We put a lot of weight into that, like getting to know kids, and getting to know their parents.”
[00:23:17] “We went into meetings with data and said, ‘Here’s what the customer is saying.’”
[00:29:16] “[At] a place like IMG Academy, we have everything from coaches, people that serve food every day, and our transportation drivers, [and people] who cut the grass at five o'clock in the morning. And I've shadowed all of them."
[00:30:12] “We [recognized a tram driver] with a financial bonus and a gift card to take his wife out to dinner. This guy now is known as the friendliest, nicest, most outgoing person on campus.”
[00:30:35] "The biggest tool you have in your toolkit right now is your personal and other leaders' acknowledgment and recognition when people do the right things.”

Guest and Host Bio Links:

Ep. 230: Tim Pernetti | A New Playbook: Reinventing the IMG Academy Experience

Customer Confidential: Untold Stories of Earned Growth