Club Management - March/April 2008 - (Page 30)

Your loyalty to your club is paramount. As a leader you have the power to change lives, to make a difference, to innovate and create, to fix what is broken, to mentor and inspire, to heal and nurture, to counsel and coach, to extend friendship, to be a bridge builder and to play your best every day. with competence, enthusiasm and pride. As a result, we will have superb men and women from Canadian and U.S. clubs doing the cooking and serving in the athlete villages for the games. They will have an experience so inspired it will change their lives forever. As a bonus, they will return to their clubs with experience they could not acquire in ﬁve lifetimes. What a way for clubs to invest in their best culinary personnel. This is a win-win. We would not have asked if we did not believe this represented an ideal solution for us. that are prerequisites in life, the only thing standing between you and potential greatness is the simple limitation of your own effort. Today, the man I turn to when I’m a bit unsure or lost is my board chair and friend, Jack Poole – an extraordinary success story in Canada. Jack has mastered the ability of taking an almost impossible situation and repackaging it to the point that anyone can tackle it. This is really to say that life is much simpler than we sometimes believe. With Jack I can be vulnerable, and it does not cost me. Q: You have five children and nine grandchildren. How do you balance work and family? A: I’m ashamed to say I do a poor job of it. However, I have a supportive family that said “yes” to this adventure because it matters so much to our country. They give as much as I do. I hope that years after I am gone, this will be a source of pride for my children and grandchildren, and that the legacies of our efforts will have survived. Q: In terms of security, how did your club management experience prepare you for stafﬁng/securing the Winter Games? A: To work for the Olympic Games, we require our employees to have talent and to pass a values test. We need to know they can be successful here and that they have the passion of a world-class athlete. Great men and women are all the same – they do not like ﬁnishing second. At the club, it was always about ﬁnding the very best in leaders and staff, treating and training them well, inspiring them and then setting them free to do great things in the club. It’s all about standards – being committed to ﬁnding really great people who belong on your team and who will never let you down. The Vancouver 2010 team is star-studded, experienced, and they understand what real teamwork is. That describes the men and women of the Arbutus Club too. Q: Who are your mentors, and what were some of the most important things you’ve learned from them? A: The best teacher I ever had was my dad, who taught me that beyond skills, education and the values and principles Q: What advice do you have for club managers who are always striving for more and wanting to be better at what they do? A: What separates the best from the rest, I think, is integrity of effort and humility. As a leader, it’s important to be the shining example in the organization. Members must know you are on guard no matter what. The club is really a thousand moving parts, and each one requires your care and attention. Accept nothing less than perfect from anyone on your team, and when it is perfect, try to inspire individuals to ﬁ nd one more inch one more time. Athletes are never satisﬁed, even when they win – the constant desire to be better is always there. This is also the standout quality in the best leaders. Once you have opted for a shortcut or are prepared to accept a mediocre result, you are on your way to ﬂatlining your career. In life, we can do anything. There are no limits to human achievement other than those we invent for ourselves. It is also important to remember there is a dramatic difference between a leader and a manager. Q: Do you have additional comments and/or tips for club managers? A: Yours is a noble profession diminished only by a lack of understanding of how challenging and rewarding it is. As a club CEO I never uttered a negative word about my club – ever – and I tried to live up to the promise I made to members at the beginning, which was to give it all I had every day. Your loyalty to your club is paramount. As a leader you have the power to change lives, to make a difference, to innovate and create, to ﬁ x what is broken, to mentor and inspire, to heal and nurture, to counsel and coach, to extend friendship, to be a bridge builder and to play your best every day. What could be better than this? None of us achieves success alone. Because winning in life is a team effort, we are quick to engage others in our challenges, but we also need to share our success. Humility will always be your most-attractive, best-admired attribute. In the words of a former Canadian prime minister, “Leadership can either elevate you or diminish you.” Of one thing I am certain: as the leader, it is up to you! ❚❘ 30 • CLUB MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Club Management - March/April 2008

Club Management - March/April 2008 Contents President’s Message Board Governance Technology Human & Professional Resources 2008 CMAA President Peter Homberg: A Profile in Courage, Perserverance Welcome, CMAA 2008 Board of Directors Club Events: Bring Magic to Your Members Club Adopts 'Dependent Parent' Membership Policy Paving a Path to Success Groundbreaking Project Measures Environmental Data for Golf Courses Paradise Preserved HFTP Insight New Directions Global Outreach Products and Services Marketplace Advertiser Index/Advertisers.com Club Wrap

Club Management - March/April 2008

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