Monday, December 19, 2011

Rules to Serve By...

Leadership isn't just a buzzword.  It is a very powerful quality that not everyone has.  Leadership is one of the reasons I love attending the annual World Conference on Club Management.  One of the Club industries many great leaders is the GM/COO of Charlotte Country Club Damon DiOrio.  I always make a point to attend as many of his sessions as possible when given the opportunity.  He speaks with such passion and enthusiasm about life and his industry it makes everyone want to surround themselves with people just like him.  

Damons "20 Golden Rules for the Success of All Assistant Managers" is one of my favorite lists.  A fantastic piece all should read.  Please enjoy.


  • Your success or failure at the Club will not be determined by the General Manager. Your success or failure will be determined by the respect that you command from our staff, and your perceived value to our Club by the membership.
  • You have two ears and one mouth. All successful managers use them in this proportion. If you do not listen to your staff and stay in close contact with the needs of our staff and the desires of our membership, then you will never be successful.
  • As Managers we are a united team. We can disagree, debate, and have differing opinions about issues behind closed doors. To the staff, we are 100% supportive of one another, and never portray anything but a united vision for the staff and membership. We must be each other’s greatest supporters.
  • Your daily objective should be to make our members Raving Fans. If you are timid and avoid constant and continual contact with our members, you will not be successful. Successful managers are visible, energized, caring and want to please at all times.
  • Your daily attitude is the one thing that you control each and every day. As a leader of our staff, you must be upbeat, positive, fair and consistent. To accomplish this, you must be focused from the time that you arrive at work, until you leave. Our members and staff should not be subjected to, and do not care, if you are having a “bad day.”
  • You will never have a second chance at a first impression. Successful managers are well-groomed, well-dressed, polite and respectful. Foul language is never acceptable.
  • All tasks that are assigned to you must be done to the best of your ability, in a timely fashion, or not done at all. Second-rate work will never lead to success.
  • All successful managers take member complaints personally! All complaints are to be addressed with direct communication within 24 hours. Successful managers understand that complaining members can be converted to your best allies if they are handled properly. Never avoid a member who is a constant complainer.
  • Successful managers are honest, ethical, have a strong work ethic, and care deeply about the success of their Club. We can always teach skills, but we can never teach a caring work ethic and a sense of urgency.
  • Tenure at our Club is an honorable trait. Successful managers must always be open to new ideas, study their competition readily, stay educated on the latest trends, and make sure that apathy, complacency or taking any task for granted does not ever occur. Yesterday’s standard of excellence is not good today.
  • Praise your staff at least twice as much as you critique or criticize. Written notes of praise to staff members should be a weekly ritual.
  • Successful managers always realize that their position at the Club does not give them any preferential treatment that all other staff enjoys. We park our cars with the staff, enter the building through the same entrance, and understand that our titles may be different, but our ultimate goal is the same.
  • Never manage your staff by using fear or intimidation. Rules must be followed especially as they pertain to core values or safety. You can rule with an iron fist, but you must wear a velvet glove.
  • Communication, organization, time management, and interpersonal skills are crucial to your success. Successful managers answer all voice mail and e-mail prior to leaving work or starting work the next day. Written goals should be a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly part of your career.
  • Surround yourself with competent people, and give them all the credit for your Club’s success. As a leader, their successes reflect on your management ability. Always hire for attitude first and skills second.
  • You must consider yourself a teacher each and every day. Your directions, policies, education of your staff form the successful culture of the Club.
  • Terminating employees is the most difficult job of any manager. Before any termination takes place, you must ask yourself if you have done everything in your power to set this employee up for success. If the employee fails, then you must never be afraid to terminate. Poor-performing employees negatively impact your Club culture and your wonderful employees who do care to succeed.
  • Whenever possible, promote employees from within. By doing this you reduce turnover and create opportunities for success within your organization for your staff.
  • You will spend one-third of your active life working. Love your job with a passion, or seek a career path that makes you happy. One-third of your life is also spent sleeping–so don’t buy a cheap mattress!
  • Make time for your family and the people you love in your life. Travel the world, take all of your vacation time, be active with charitable organizations, and have a fulfilling life. No manager wants to retire a broken-down person who regrets that they have missed out on life. Money spent in the name of family, friends and a good time is never wasted.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Combat Zones to Club Thrones: Thank You Sarah

Great article from one of my good friends in the industry. Definitely something to think about. Enjoy

Combat Zones to Club Thrones: Thank You Sarah: A few weeks back I stopped in to a local Great Clips Hair Salon to get my haircut, which seems to be an every other week habit I can’t seem ...

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Preferred Divot Pattern

As many of you know, I have two degrees from Kansas State.  One in Hotel & Restaurant Management, the other in Golf Course Management.  While the main purpose of the blog is to promote Food and Beverage happenings at MCC, I thought I would take a time out and share a video from one of my mentors in the golf side of things, Dan Meersman.  Dan is the Director of Golf at Philadelphia Cricket Club and I learned a great deal from him in management of golf courses during my time at Victoria National Golf Club in Newberg, Indiana.  He, too, keeps a blog at http://philacricketgm.blogspot.com/ which is an excellent resource for all things golf maintenance.

I find the following video very relevant and one that more people should take to heart.  As a golf course guy, I totally understand how vital this can be to the overall conditioning of our practice tees.  This was also a huge topic of discussion during my greens section visits with the USGA.  Making divot patterns the correct way vastly improves how fast grass can grow and improves play-ability of our range sessions.  I hope you all enjoy this video as much as I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTRwmEexg6Y&feature=player_embedded

Monday, November 14, 2011

MCC Wine Expo

The Wine Expo held at Manhattan Country Club on November 13th was a huge success.  What a great way to bring people together to socialize. A big thank you goes out to the 40+ members in attendance that helped select some of the wines for our upcoming wine list.  There were a lot of opinions shared and the feedback was excellent.  Several wines were neck and neck in the blind scoring and many of them would fit nicely on our list. In the end, it was obvious that several wines were home runs with our membership.

I couldn't have asked for a smoother event.  Members got to sample 24 wines in total and experience at least 17 completely new options.  The cheese boards and cracker displays were also a big hit.  Perhaps my favorite aspect of the whole event was that membership got to play a role in developing our wine list.  This concept is something I have been working on for quite some time now with the assistance of Chad Bowmann from LDF Wine and Spirits LLC.  

I wanted to create a list that was both fun and unique to our members while also making our selections affordable and readily available.  The challenge was fighting personal preference and customer bias toward certain varietals.  I asked Chad to help me find a wide variety of wines not offered at other spots in town that would give Manhattan Country Club a one-of-a-kind mix.  We wanted members to take ownership in making the list one they would consistently drink and promote to friends and colleagues.  The blind tasting was a great way to get folks to try something new and I think many were pleasantly surprised by the wines they enjoyed.

Now that the expo is over, I can make some informed decisions regarding member taste.  I hope to have the list out and operational as soon as possible.  It will be really sleek in design and much more contemporary than our previous wine list.  I think everyone will enjoy it.  Until then, stay tuned and send me any suggestions you may have.  As always, feel free to swing by the office.  My door is always open.




Matt and Brandi 11/11/11

Veteran's Day 2011 was great.  Not only did  Manhattan Country Club participate in the local parade, we also played host to a lovely wedding reception for Matt and Brandi Crubel.  Check out a few pics from their party.  We wish you the best of luck in your new lives together and hope you always remember your anniversary.













Sunday, November 13, 2011

Tom and Ann Tie the Knot

Members Tom Kirk and Ann Nemachek tied the knot a few weeks back and celebrated with family and friends at MCC.  A big thanks to everyone who helped with the decor and setup of the event. 
Enjoy a few photos from their reception.