Don’t Keep Ideas to Yourself... Exchange Them!

The most successful managers in this business today are the ones who not only know how to come up with great ideas and make them work, but also aren’t afraid to share them.

by Tom McIntyre (editor@clubandresortbusiness.com)
May 2007
 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., the famous Supreme Court Justice, once wrote in one of his legal opinions that “the ultimate good [comes from] free trade in ideas.” Somehow I seriously doubt that Justice Holmes was thinking of clubs and resorts when he wrote this. But since launching Club & Resort Business two years ago, it’s become clear to us that his words are right on the money, in capturing the real keys to success and leadership in our industry.

The most successful managers in this business today are the ones who know how to come up with great ideas and make them work—and aren’t afraid to share them. Rather than worry that others will “copy” or “steal” their brainstorms, or that they’ll somehow lose a competitive edge by revealing them, these managers are extremely open and eager about telling their colleagues what’s working for them. They know that when they share good ideas in this fashion, they’ll get paid back in spades. 

This spirit of sharing in our industry is why the annual Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) Idea Fair has become such a success, and also why the response to our magazine has been so strong and positive from the start. Our primary mission has always been to provide “ideas on every page,” and in every issue, for all of the major management functions within this industry.  Whether your main area of responsibility is general management, food and beverage, course and grounds, or golf operations and the pro shop, our goal is always the same each month: to provide you with concrete ideas for enhancing the member/guest experience, increasing operational efficiencies, and improving employee job satisfaction and performance.

But in this day and age of instant gratification, you shouldn’t have to wait a year to get new ideas from the CMAA Idea Fair, or even a month for the next batch from a new issue of C&RB. That’s why we’re now taking another step to make it even easier for you and your colleagues to give, and get, ideas that everyone can benefit from more frequently.
On our redesigned Web site (www.clubandresortbusiness.com ) and in our new electronic newsletters (CLICK HERE if you’re not getting it yet—it’s free), we have now set up an “Ideas Exchange.” This not only gives you a permanent place to tell us, and your colleagues, about new ideas that have worked at your property or in your career, but you can also use our Idea Exchange forum to post comments, ask questions online, and interact with other managers on a “peer-to-peer” basis.

With our new Idea Exchange, Club & Resort Business now offers you a daily “destination” where you can go to learn and grow, both by giving, and getting, the best and latest new ideas in all areas of club and resort management. And if you forget to make the trip once in a while, don’t worry. Each month here in the magazine, we’ll still share with you a “winning entry” that we’ve received on the Idea Exchange, plus a list of others that will help to keep your creative juices flowing.  

I encourage you to use our new Idea Exchange regularly to both post, and pick up, as many good new ideas as possible. Our industry already has a good thing going with how we all share great ideas, and we’re excited that this will make it even better. Even Justice Holmes might agree, in fact, that the Idea Exchange will help to get us all a lot closer to “the ultimate good.”