THE VALUE OF A TRUE
GENERAL MANAGER
By Norm Spitzig
I recently got a call from
the President of a fine club
in Florida where, the year
before, I had completed
an operational overview.
In his words, a few of the
club’s “ornery and cheap
members” were pressing
him as to why the “General
Manager” approach to private
club management–where
one person is vested with
the complete authority and
responsibility to successfully
manage the club in a
manner compatible with
the club’s history, traditions,
established policies, member
expectations and available
financial resources–was
best. He wanted some
“solid reasons” to defend
an operating paradigm and
business management model
that, in his heart and his mind,
he knew was right.
The “General Manager
question” is one that
continues to resurface in
the world of private clubs
year after year, decade after
decade. Part of this, I suspect,
is the constantly changing
make-up of a typical club
the Board of Directors, and
the resulting never-ending
professional education and
leadership training that is
required. Part of this, sadly, is
the not insignificant number
of “business card” General
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I GOLF MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA
Managers–people in the
private club business who,
in name only, are “General
Managers” but really don’t
have the professional skills,
relevant experience and
personal attributes to be
successful in the job. (My
experience placing General
Managers at the “right” club
tells me that the number
of such people seems to be
decreasing–thankfully!)
Looked at from a different
perspective, maybe these
“ornery and cheap members”–
the President’s words, not
mine!–somehow think they
can “save some money” by
not hiring a General Manager.
Or maybe they fundamentally
misunderstand the concept,
erroneously deducing
that an incoming General
Manager will immediately and
irrationally “clean house”.
Perhaps they are afraid to
give up “control” of their
committee mini-fiefdoms
where they essentially are
free do what they want. Or
maybe it is simply a matter of
inertia, a basic unwillingness
on their part to deal with the
issue head on. While I think
I’ve heard just about every
reason there is not to hire a
General Manager, the good
news is that I have yet to hear
a valid one.
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WINTER EDITION 2017
From one perspective, my
professional club industry
career, spanning significant
time as a General Manager,
executive recruiter, club
consultant, and educator/
speaker can easily be viewed
as an ongoing attempt to
answer, by my actions, spoken
words and written articles,
this most important question.
In summary, here’s the gist of
what I told my inquisitive Club
President friend:
• With a true General
Manager, the club will
have a more satisfied and
active membership. Why?
Because the entire staff
will be on the same page
with regard to the mission
of the club, its history,
customs, traditions and
values, and the genuine
wants and needs of the
membership.
• With a true General
Manager, the club will
have better financial
controls and more
consistently applied
policies, rules, regulations
and procedures. Not
only will the club have
a reasonable chance of
actually saving money
because of increased
operating efficiencies and
better interdepartmental
cooperation, but one