How can a PGA Professional use his or her influence to grow the game amid such a difficult time
crunch climate? Sell fun and make sure families feel
welcome.
Many stressed-out club members and customers
are looking for a sanctuary in these times, a place to
escape the demands and rigors of the workplace, a
place to enjoy a little relaxation and recreation at an
affordable price, a place to be with friends and
especially a place to spend time with family.
“If you want to fill your tee sheets, fill your tour-
naments, fill your lesson book, and fill your clinics
and camps, begin by making it fun,” emphasizes
PGA Professional Brandon Bowling of Plumas
Pines Golf Resort in Blairsden, Calif. “If people
play your course and they don’t have any fun, they
won’t be coming back. If they do have fun, they will
tell their friends and family, the word will spread,
and pretty soon you have grown the game and grown
revenues at your facility. It’s really that simple.”
PGA Director of Golf Mike Harmon considers
himself the “director of fun” at Secession Golf Club
in Beaufort, S.C. He says other PGA Professionals
must follow suit.
“Americans are looking to get away from the
pressures of the workplace, and the golf course can
be an ideal place for exercise and relaxation,”
observes Harmon. “Our job at Secession Golf Club
is to make golf fun on a daily basis, and I believe we
achieve that month in and month out. We know
through experience what will be fun and enjoyable
for our members.”
PGA Director of Golf Jim Smith Jr. is supple-
menting his traditional events at the Philadelphia
(Pa.) Cricket Club with a series of fun activities to
motivate members to spend more time, and possi-
bly a few more dollars, at the venerable facility that
is more than
100 years old. Smith has discovered
that fun events before or after golf can be a magnet
for member participation.
years. It is defining our destination. It is also the step that
helps us determine “what” we need to do to get to that
destination. These are referred to as our Vital Few
Objectives (VFOs). It does not happen by accident, well it
might, but then that would be an accident.
3. Set Goals that Lead. Also important is a process to
determine and set goals that are measurable, allowing us a
way to develop clear targets and deadlines. Nothing loosey-goosey here – hard numbers, revenue dollars, margin
percentage, dates, units. Real goals have real outcomes by
which we can measure our progress. Also, this is where we
need to define the projects or initiatives that will help us get
to our goals. If our Vision (where) is to have “regional
geographic presence” and our VFO (what) is to “open five
offices in the next five years” then our initiative/project is
“how” to open the first “new office in 2010.” These
initiatives are intended to change the trajectory of the
business. We do many things to run the business but what
do we need to do to change the business? These are the
items that drive activities of “every person, every day.” Now
that I know “Where,” “What” and “How” the next is “Who”
will do the work.
4. Work the Plan. This is the execution phase of the
strategic plan. And this is the biggest failure point for
organizations. The execution phase is setting the stage for
“who” will do the work. This is where we must assign the
work that needs to be done to help the organization achieve
the goals to arrive at the destination. Set real tasks with real
deadlines and real outcomes.
To recap, strategic planning is not an annual event – it is
an ongoing process. While most organizations conduct
strategic planning annually, that’s not enough. It needs to
be revisited on a quarterly basis in order to measure
progress, align resources and implement necessary
adjustments. If you are not measuring, observing, and
adjusting, the likelihood for success decreases rapidly. Just
like driving a car on the highway, you need to pay attention
to the key dashboard indicators and look out the windshield.
You must continually adjust based on various internal and
external inputs like the speedometer, the roadway, traffic,
visibility, etc.
PGA Magazine: Based on your interactions at the three-day PGA
Magazine Merchandisers of the Year Conference, are PGA
Professionals as prepared as they should be? What advice
would you give them?
Kurjan: My time at the conference was great. I really
enjoyed meeting and listening to the challenges and
successes of the PGA Professionals. PGA Magazine Publisher
Kirk Pagenkopf said in his opening remarks to “take away
one nugget” from the conference. My hope is that the
nugget PGA Professionals would take away from my
keynote presentation is to set their “vision.” Vision is
defined as “where” do you want the business to be in the
next 5-10 years? In essence, what is the visual picture of
what the business looks like? Because once the picture is
set, or as I refer to it as “the destination,” now you can build
plans/strategy to get there. Without a clear picture of
“where” you are going, people tend to “work in the
business” and become totally swamped by the day-to-day
operations, reacting to the most obvious or visible issue
(firefighting) and very little time “working on the business.”
If we are clear about “where” we are headed, we can
actually use it as a filter to say “hey, that issue is really not
where I am trying to take the business.” By using that filter, I
can toss aside the unimportant but seemingly urgent time
wasters. Having a clear vision is very liberating for the PGA
Professional and their staff. They all know which way they
are going, pulling, traveling….
Vision
• Drive Sales Revenues to $750,000
• Increase Profit Margin to 22 percent
• Reduce Cost of Goods and Improve Inventory
Management
• Increase Member Satisfaction to 95 percent Highly
Satisfied
• Expand Sales Locations via Physical and Virtual Stores
• Increase Team Member Satisfaction and Retention to 95
percent Highly Satisfied
• Recognized Experts in Fitting – National Recognition
There are several critical steps including setting the
vision and then executing it. Four words are – where, what,
how and who. Where are we going, what will we do to get
there, how will we do it and who is responsible for the
various steps and actions? Those four basic tenets are the
key drivers of strategy formation and more importantly the
execution. At minimum, if the PGA Professional takes and
builds out the “Vision” nugget then they are well ahead of
the pack. In fact, only one out of 10 businesses actually
define their vision. They are in the minority who at least
know where they are going. It is challenging “thinking”
work but to be successful you need to start here.
