Expanding your professional network and fully using all of the resources at your disposal is critical to achieving success in any club-management role.
Fifty years ago, Walt Disney introduced his iconic ride, “it’s a small world” (not using capital letters was intentional) at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. After receiving 10 million visits, the now-famous attraction—and the even more (in)famous tune—were transported to Disneyland. During its golden jubilee celebration, it’s easy to see how the spirit embodied by this ride applies to our own profession’s “small world.”
An incredibly high percentage of the golf and club industry does not have any formal resources “above the course level.” Unlike many industries or large corporations, where multiple specialists exist in every area of the business, small businesses like our clubs require a deep horizontal skill set for success. This need for building broad-based skills is why the sharing of best practices consistently rates highest in industry polling.
Whether you are a course superintendent, golf professional, controller, chef, general manager, or hold some other leadership position at your club, you are typically the last line of defense when issues arise—and they will.
Unfortunately, these matters are rarely in our first area of expertise, and most of us haven’t used the resources already at our disposal to develop our secondary skills.
The main culprit for our professional world’s small size is that it’s easy to only seek answers from those you work with daily—they “feel your pain.” But having all of your feedback spring from the same fountain will eventually shrink your perspective, and diminish your skills. When you sense that an outsider can’t relate or assist, and stop seeking their council, it blinds your outlook and can eventually lead to pessimism.
Even with the excellence that we can bring to our respective positions, we all need to consistently expand our skill set and credibility. Here are some ideas on how to venture out into a “bigger world” to help expand your perspective:
- Industry Experts: There are tremendous experts within the club industry who can help you with hiring/firing, strategic planning, long-range planning, human resources, accounting, agronomy, sales and marketing, etc. Sometimes, just being the hosting party for an expert in one of these disciplines improves your credibility within the organization.
- Professional Associations: The PGA of America, GCSAA, ACF, HFTP, CMAA, NCA, NGF and many other organizations are great bastions of knowledge. Most of them also have local sections or chapters with lots of smart people who can translate that knowledge into true wisdom—you just have to ask.
- Current Business Relationships: Sure, some of you may be saying—industry experts and professional associations work fine for courses with lots of resources, but we are watching every penny. For clubs facing financial challenges, there are still numerous resources at your disposal. Look at who you are already working with and see if they can help educate your constituents. Bring in your auditors to make a financial presentation directly to the Board, have your insurance broker outline new legislation to your owner, or have your lawyer help draft a letter.
- Members and Customers: In the club industry, we are constantly surrounded by the best people. Because they are omnipresent, it is easy to forget they have all enjoyed incredible success. Prior to leaving a previous post, I set out to interview the top CEOs who were members of the club. Not one of them said no when I asked, and I still refer to those notes today when I get into a tough situation.
- Books, Magazines and Other Media: These are the great equalizers! As President Harry Truman stated, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” I always joke that if you want to know my weaknesses, just look at what I am reading. If you have an aversion to reading (which most likely you don’t, if you have gotten this far in the article) I would suggest using YouTube more effectively. Once a week our chef finds a video on service, quality, or leadership and uses it in one of his pre-service meetings, to help develop his team’s skills.
- Experts Outside the Industry: Best practices come from many sources, and while most of them are still found within the club industry, our world is relatively small. Did you know there are almost as many Starbucks as there are golf courses? Or that there are over 100 churches in America for every private club? What can we learn from the best practices that exist in the restaurant world, the hotel industry, churches, even elderly care centers? Do you have friends or contacts in these fields you can ask for assistance?
In Bellerive Country Club’s quest to host two future golf majors, we assembled a dynamic team to put our proposal together. With most of the team coming from outside the industry, we were able to get a broader perspective. These outsiders had enough distance from the subject to provide exceptional insight, ask questions we never would have asked ourselves, and helped to create a stronger vision that secured both events.
So whether you’re preparing a presentation for major golf championships or a simple monthly variance report, use these lyrics as a mnemonic device (I know, they’re hard to forget), to keep thinking bigger and expanding your horizons:
“It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears. It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears. There’s so much that we share, that it’s time we’re aware…it’s a small world after all…”
Thanks for reading.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.