Club Management - May/June 2008 - (Page 29)

Mission vs. Vision Statement: What is yours? A mission statement should be simple and direct. It should easily express your reason for being. Money? No. Money is a byproduct of what you offer and how you are rewarded. You can have a different mission for each department. For instance, the golf academy mission may be, “To help each guest realize his or her golﬁng potential through innovative teaching and training programs while earning a proﬁt.” Your restaurant’s mission may be, “To provide a casual dining experience where members can enjoy exceptional food, atmosphere and dining excellence.” Both of these objectives would support a club mission “to provide guests with experiences and memories that consistently surpass their needs, desires and expectations.” The vision is where you want to take the company. It is the destination that binds members of a team and gives them direction. Everyone needs to have the same expectation and the same understanding. Think of the vision in terms of what your customer’s expectations are in order to keep it real. Put another way, your expectations of the quality and price of a meal at McDonald’s versus a ﬁve-star restaurant should be quite different. Your job is to guide everyone to a common understanding of both the mission(s) and vision. Initiatives: Your initiative needs to support the mission, vision and integrity of every team member. Your culture and social architecture will guide these initiatives, and they need to come out of the woodwork. They need to grab everyone’s interest and attention. Initiatives must be large, broad and generic enough to have a major impact on the entire company and must be long term. These special initiatives will come from anywhere, growing out of ideas from across the company. They come from people’s dreams, vacations and guests themselves. So which initiatives do you employ? Use this test: Will the initiative add value to services and products that improve people and/ or the bottom line? Measurements for Success: What gets measured gets repeated; what gets rewarded gets repeated. The board of directors wants rounds played increased to 30,000, and that is exactly what they get. The problem is that a large number of those rounds are discounted or new member initiatives that get members playing more often. You had more rounds, but you went from $50 a round to $32 a round. You hit your goal, but no one is happy. The superintendant is working twice as hard, the tee sheet is full and you have less money to complete more. You need those goals, but they need to be clearly deﬁ ned and dynamic. They are the organization’s stretch assignment and need to be both attainable and measurable. Have Fun: Celebrate every success in some way. Remember that recognized actions get repeated. You don’t need to have employee of the month parking, fancy prizes or expensive giveaways. Often, a pat on the back and thank you is enough. You can hold cookouts or get local businesses involved with tickets to the theater, free car washes or dinner for two. Whatever it is, celebrate the person, goal or success in a manner that allows the success to set new standards and celebrate personal growth of the person, department and company. Surveys: Ask tough questions in a format that allows employees to answer anonymously. Do the actions taken by this company clearly show that the company is dedicated to quality? In your de- partment, is the boss or the customer more important? Do you feel you can contribute to the goals and direction of this company? Do you feel you are empowered to a point that you can shape the direction of your department, the company and your future? If you were the boss, what changes would you make? Conclusion Bill Gates said, “As we look ahead into the new century, leaders will be those who empower others.” Guided empowerment meets those challenges today. Guided empowerment is not so much a business plan for social structure and culture as it is a frame of mind for the organization. It allows people to contribute and achieve. It allows for failure without reprisal and rewards sharing ideas and working as a team. It is an environment void of ﬁnger pointing and full of camaraderie. In a sense, it is hundreds of self-managed employees driving toward a common goal with mutual support, respect and passion. ❚❘ About the author Carl Swanback has an extensive background in club, hospitality and international resort consulting and management. He is a former director of training who has twice been nominated to a leading industry management magazine’s list of future industry leaders. Swanback completed his graduate degree in golf course operations management through The Golf Management Institute of Canada, is currently the vice president of operations in Connecticut and is a freelance consultant with Links Consulting Group. Mr. Swanback may be contacted at cswanback@hotmail.com. It’s The Presentation That Sells! Single and Dual Free Stander Warmers The Hanson Chafer with attachable sneeze guard. Ship Round Carver Platter Unit Dual Lamp Mounted Warmers Chef’s Carver 2" & 4" Banquet Clamps Carving Displays Call or email us for our Free Full Line Color Product Catalog. Hanson Brass, Inc. • 7530 San Fernando Road • Sun Valley, CA 91352 • Toll Free (888) 841-3773 (818) 767-3501 • Fax (818) 767-7891 • sales@hansonbrass.com • www.hansonbrass.com MAY/JUNE 2008 • 29 http://www.hansonbrass.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Club Management - May/June 2008

Club Management - May/June 2008 Contents President’s Message Accounting & Financial Management Board Governance Wine Society Quenches Thirst for Knowledge, Camaraderie Building & Facilities Management Tennis Pro Education Increases Your Bottom Line Cover Story: BMI Golf Management Golf/Sports & Recreation Management Human & Professional Resources Relationship Building in the Internet Era The Ultimate Cellar Raid Products and Services Marketplace External & Government Influences HFTP Insight: HITEC 2008 Features Latest in Club Technology New Directions Global Outreach Advertiser Index/Advertisers.com Club Wrap

Club Management - May/June 2008

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