Revival of the Fittest

by Joe Barks (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
December 2007
 

“They tell me a revival is only temporary. So is a bath, but it still does you good.”

That’s how the evangelist Billy Sunday responded to his critics in the early 20th century. It serves as a useful kickoff thought here, too, for this special issue we’ve built around a “Revival Stories” theme, to wrap up a year that brought an especially plentiful supply of dramatic and unusual turnaround tales.

It’s highly doubtful that any of the clubs or resorts featured in this issue are only going to gain temporary success from all the work and expense they’ve put in to reviving their properties. But Billy Sunday’s notion of approaching the need for revival with the same everyday attention we pay to personal cleanliness is a good reminder for everyone—even if you haven’t seen your club fall into terrible decay, or succumb to a sudden fire, or fall victim to major shifts in the economy or market demographics.

The thread of revival that runs through this issue is not just confined to our feature stories. Check out the profiles of this year’s winners of the McMahon Group/C&RB Excellence in Club Management Awards (pg. 8). All are from well-known, long-established clubs that, when viewed from afar, have been steady and solid performers. But in each case, the winner is being praised by his club President for directing major transformations that did make the difference between whether those properties continued to thrive, or perhaps wouldn’t have even survived.

As we head into a new year that doesn’t seem like it will be lacking for more challenges (take note, for example, of the “heads up” on soaring commodity costs on page 41), it might be a good idea to try to work in some time for regular “revival meetings” with your ownership, Board or staff. These meetings shouldn’t be geared to the practical; rather, they should start by generating an open discussion around a simple question: If we really wanted to bring this place alive again, what could we do?

After you get some ideas on the table, you can then start eliminating those that are too costly, or too likely to stir things up, or just too off-the-wall. Eventually you’ll be left with some really good ideas to chew on. What you do from this point is up to you.

More importantly, the benefits of the exercise will be longlasting—and, like a bath, will leave you looking and feeling good both short and longterm.