In our industry, we face constant pressures from valuable stakeholders who often want “what we want” but they often lack the context, specific industry experience and “inputs” needed to be strategic leaders and make truly lasting “legacy-level impacts.”
Recently, I was on a flight from the PNW to Dallas-Fort Worth and then to Frisco, TX to see the new PGA Headquarters. (When you have the chance, you should definitely go…very cool facility and member-centric as well.) On that flight, I had downloaded a documentary called, “In Search of Greatness.” It featured sports “greats” (e.g. Gretzky, Rice and others) and talked about why they turned out to be great, versus their peers (who often had superior talent and seemed destined for greatness “on paper”). The show was fascinating to me and I would highly recommend it (I watched it on Amazon Prime).
As we are all in the midst of a very busy golf season (the third one in a row), some inspiration may be valuable. Some of my favorite takeaways from the show that I would like to apply to our current industry include:
Wayne Gretzky’s (the NHL Hall of Famer known as The Great One) comments were amazing. He said: “…I loved the fact that people didn’t think I was fast…getting to the puck takes a whole different kind of speed…” Further, he said, “The game is about having the puck, it’s about scoring the puck…not about how many pushups or how high you can jump on the ice…”
- In this context, Gretzky was suggesting his key traits were 1) his desire to get to the puck, 2) his willingness to study the game so he could anticipate where the puck would go on a given play, and 3) applying his “hockey IQ” to understand how to score the puck based on knowns about his opponents and how to get the puck to his teammate in the right place/time.
- Application thoughts:
- Your Desire: How is your desire “tracking” to be your best, to anticipate where “the puck” (whatever that is today, tomorrow, this week) is going to be?
- Your Study Habits: How is your willingness to study your business, your customers, your peers (who just might inspire you) and your own attitude so you can make small, but consistent incremental improvements in your operation and similar?
- Your “Golf Business IQ”: Relative to last season, are you applying the “lessons learned” in a healthy, intentional way? Relative to your teammates, how are you using your IQ (both your knowledge and your EQ, emotional intelligence) to set them up so they can score?
Jerry Rice, (NFL Hall of Famer who scored 127 NFL touchdowns) was equally good. He was quoted saying: “You can be stressed, but there has to have a calmness too…if you’re too relaxed, you don’t have enough intensity” and “I worked on certain disciplines because of what I was lacking…I was fast, but not sprinter fast, so I worked very hard to run very disciplined, precise routes…”
- Application thoughts:
- Your Calmness: How is your calmness under duress tracking? My mentor, Gus Jones, PGA always reminded me that “our members come to the club to relax, to de-stress so we need to give them a sense of calm that will allow them to focus on their relaxation…they pay a lot of money to find an escape from their stress here.” He also said (paraphrased) we “think about the details, we plan out the play and then we execute the play…we can then anticipate and adjust calmly when necessary…all while walking briskly, being present with our members and their guests.”
- Your Commitment to Get Better at the Right Disciplines (for You): As Rice inferred, are you working on the disciplines that will make you better, and help you differentiate yourself for the right reasons? When I worked for Gus Jones, PGA, I knew that I would never be known as a “great player” so I focused on being the “best behind the desk, but also out in front of it.” I observed Gus’ mastery of calmness, presence and engagement and I sought to make it “authentic to me.” I practiced these disciplines and still do. After working for Gus, it was at my next job that I got the nickname “The Mayor” (of Golf) from customers/members.
- Your Intensity: Sometimes, our Class A PGA may refer to our “Type-A” tendencies that provide us with drive, energy, motivation and more. However, misplaced and/or mistimed intensity can be a real issue. A lack of calmness, or intensity caused by lack of preparation, lack of patience or similar can really backfire. Like the white hot flames of a blow torch, intensity is great when applied correctly, with precision at the correct location and time.
Do you have any stories and learned lessons that have inspired you? Maybe from professional athletes, (e.g. Hall of Famers) or similar that you might share with me? What other ideas or solutions have you seen or would like to see that might apply in the narrative above? I would love to hear from you.
Monte Koch, PGA Certified Professional, CEIP
Regional Director, Member & Section Operations
West Region | PGA of America
Partnering with PGA Sections | Career & Business Coach for PGA professionals, facilities in the PNWPGA Section
206-335-5260 | mkoch@pgahq.com