PHILIP NEWMAN of RSM, the tax, audit and consulting firm known in clubs for perspicacity, expresses concern that many clubs are unprepared concerning data security. “Overall I don’t think most clubs do enough in this area—particularly in the area of employee training. Something we do as
EFFECTIVE COMMITTEES are made of compendious charters. Chartering board committees requires clarity of thought and mission. Clarity arises from specificity within the committee charter. When chartering committees there are two touchstones to reference. First, the club bylaws dictate certain mandatory committees that support effective governance. Second,
A FEW YEARS AGO, a leader in the private club industry said to me—in neither a good nor bad way, but in a matter of fact way—that he saw me as a dealmaker. Being a “dealmaker” may not have the positive connotation that it once did.
OCCAM’S RAZOR is the work of a Franciscan friar and theologian, William of Occam, who reasoned that it is better to keep things simple when attempting to understand complicated ideas. This is good advice for club directors and managers when trying to plan ahead. The confusion
EFFECTIVE BOARDS set goals and work to achieve them. The best, top-performing boards execute an annual self-assessment of their performance. This is the time of year to evaluate how your board performed in 2018. To conduct a proper self-assessment each board should take the following five
“QUI VIVE?” would be the call shouted by an alert sentry during the Middle Ages . . . and one must get the answer right for his life depended upon it. The sentry was asking “Long live who?” And the correct answer was, “Long live the
THOROUGH AND THOUGHTFUL board orientation ensures the effectiveness of private club boards in transition. Club leaders often struggle to sustain key strategic initiatives due to the lack of continuity from one board to the next. Board orientation is an important step to ensure the continuity and
CANARIES IN A COAL MINE were the early-warning system that saved miners’ lives before technologies for detecting noxious gases came along. Just as careful miners took caged canaries underground with them, club directors are wise to protect the club by implementing early warning tools—or Key Performance
There are typically three priorities that command the attention of private club boards: (1) developing and using sound strategy; (2) ensuring the financial security of the club; and (3) governing the club responsibly. However, in these days of over-supplied markets and the ongoing regeneration of
A bleary-eyed Keith Richards awoke with music in his head. He switched on the recorder and laid down the riff that everyone now knows to be the lead-in for “(Ain’t Got No) Satisfaction.” And, then, promptly fell back asleep. “When I woke up in the