My New Year’s Resolutions

Hearing first-hand about the challenges you face and the strategies you employ helps us make C&RB a more valuable resource.

We moved into a new office space over the holiday break, so I am starting the year off with a really clean slate. I wish I could lose a few of those holiday pounds as quickly as I shed tons of old documents, files, and other accumulated “stuff” during the course of the move.

By now most of us have at least thought about what we want to do new and different in 2011. The standard issue resolutions—exercise more, lose weight, quit smoking, etc.—may already be on hold, if not abandoned. Nice start to another New (?) Year.

This year, I came up with three new resolutions—a reasonable and manageable number, in my opinion—that I would like to achieve. I hope you have your own fresh list, too.

Get more adept at social media. I am typically tech-averse. However, the growing popularity and use of social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter aren’t going away. These channels have implications for our industry, and it’s time I plug in and engage in the conversation.

We know for certain you increasingly access C&RB content online. The print copy you’re reading isn’t going away, either—not now, not ever. Even so, www.clubandresortbusiness.com is sporting a new look with expanded content, more ways to connect with one another to share ideas, and professional resources geared to help you do your job better.

Additionally our Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter communities are growing daily. The peer-to-peer connections made in these spaces will benefit everyone as the industry moves into a new year.

When relating these networks to your club, consider how younger club members and prospects connect, as compared to your more senior members. One group is setting up a foursome on Facebook while the other is in the pub or Men’s Grill, with many members doing both. Are you involved in the conversation?

If you’re anything like me, you’re not. So, consider making my resolution one of yours, too. It’s a simple matter of heading to where so many of your “customers” already are.

Make more “Reader Calls.” We have a saying in our company: “All problems are solved on the road.” Bill Donohue and I travel a lot as part of our responsibilities for running this publication. Most of our time on the road is spent in meetings with suppliers—our advertisers and prospects.

But it’s the occasional visit we make with you, the club manager, where real learning takes place. Hearing first-hand about the challenges you face and the strategies you employ to drive member satisfaction while controlling costs is invaluable, to help us understand the industry better and make C&RB a more valuable resource.

I consider it my continuing education, and I need to do more of it.

Play more golf. Like the national average, my number of rounds played in the past few years is down. That’s more a function of time management than it is desire to play. I made the time to play some really fantastic courses last year, and I’ll do my best to do more of the same this year. Good for me. Good for the industry.

See you on the show floors (PGA, GIS, and CMAA) this month and next. Or maybe at your club or, perhaps, on a golf course somewhere.

Tags: Dan Ramella Facebook issue LinkedIn New Year's resolutions SOcial media Twitter