Do you know what time it is?

Timing is everything when it comes to your career.

Anthony L. Williams, CGCS

Do you know what time it is?

Easily one of the most frequently asked questions in human history, it’s usually asked in reference to the time of day. However, I ask this question as it relates to your career as a superintendent.

We all know how important timing is in nature, and we all have personal examples of how timing in business is critical for success. But how often do we consider the timing of our own career decisions? Are we sure we have the latest industry information when we make these decisions? How do we really know what time it is in our careers? 

I’ve found three keys to making properly timed career decisions. They include:

• Creating a detailed time horizon
• ensuring you have the most up-to-date, accurate industry information
• Seeking advice from a great mentor or mentors

Anthony Williams, CGCS, Stone Mountain (Ga.) GC.

The time horizon

The first step in knowing what time it is in your career is the development of what I call a personal time horizon. A time horizon, essentially a map that focuses on your career as a superintendent, tracks your prior experiences, where you are now and where you want to be in the future. Time horizons are most effective when written in great detail.

This process is like setting your watch to the correct time. The time horizon should list goals and detailed strategies that connect small goals to larger ones. For example, you can link joining the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary system to becoming an Audubon Certified Sanctuary, then to winning an Environmental Leaders in Golf Award. For an assistant, your timeline may be more about advancing up the ladder to being a head superintendent, then to being a certified golf course superintendent.

I’ve used this time horizon method effectively for 10 years. My time horizon stated that I wanted to be a superintendent and an environmental leader. I set the goal of winning a GCSAA Environmental Leaders in Golf Award (ELGA). For this I needed continuing education, so I completed the GCSAA Environmental Management Program, which led me to certify our property as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, which in turn led to three ELGAs, including the overall winner in 2006.

The original goal created two stretch achievements: Marriott Golf Grounds Manager of the Year in 2005 and 2006 and the highest award of Marriott, the J.W. Marriott Award of Excellence, in 2008 in recognition of our environmental efforts. The latest milestone on this time horizon was my recent selection as the 2009 host of “Green Links” for the Environmental Institute for Golf’s Web site.

I was able to break my long-term goals into smaller actions that I organized into my personal time horizon. Doing this helps maximize results in any endeavor. By breaking down long-term goals into smaller goals, you greatly improve your likelihood of success.

A time horizon should be a living document that flows through successes and setbacks while reflecting the industry’s realities and possibilities at any given time.

Superintendent time horizon

Accurate industry information

The second key is ensuring you have the most up-to-date, accurate industry information available. This is like changing your watch to the correct time zone when you travel. The golf industry is always moving, and superintendents need to stay on the cutting edge of the business.

A great way to gather large amounts of industry information in a short time is by attending a trade show.

You do this by staying connected to the industry through active participation and service. The cornerstones of this approach include active professional memberships (local, state and national), reading trade magazines, Internet research, volunteering, continuing education and certification programs, involvement with local colleges and universities, fundraisers, award programs and so on.

One of the best ways to gather large amounts of industry information in a short time is by attending trade shows. I attend a select group of local, regional and national trade shows. My list includes the Georgia GCSA Vendor Fair, Southeastern Turfgrass Conference, Green Industry Expo (GIE) and the Golf Industry Show (GIS).

The GIS is like setting your watch to Golf Industry Standard Time. Active participation in the GIS is the cornerstone to building a successful career as a superintendent. I depend on this event to gather the insights I need to reach my career goals in the upcoming year.

For those starting out in the industry, I recommend tagging along with more experienced veterans of the GIS, because you don’t know what you don’t know. I was taught how to plan, participate and articulate the GIS by two highly successful superintendents, Robert Waller, CGCS, and David Robinson, CGCS. They walked the floor with me, helped me choose my continuing education and connected me to a bigger industry, one booth at a time. Their experience helped me maximize the resources available at the GIS.

Despite the proven advantages of GIS participation, I’ve heard superintendents say that because this has been a tough year they aren’t attending GIS in New Orleans this month.

In a down economy we have increased performance pressures. Is that really the best time to cut yourself off from the largest gathering of golf industry mavens? I have a bigger-than-ever agenda for this year’s GIS because it’s been a tough year. In difficult times, industry trends and information become even more valuable. Missing out on the 2009 GIS would simply make a tough economic year tougher.

If you’re struggling with the choice of attending the GIS, here’s some advice. Find a way to attend and make it pay off for you and your course each day over the next golf season. Use creative ways to document the value of your attendance and justify the facility’s investment in your shared future. Ideas may include memos, case studies or PowerPoint
presentations.

In the last few years I’ve prepared a detailed agenda of costs and goals associated with GIS attendance to ensure the management of my property understands why I’m going and the return it represents on their investment. GIS attendance has proven its value year after year, because you simply cannot make strategic, well-timed decisions with outdated or inaccurate information.

All superintendents realize how important timing is in nature, but how often do they consider timing of their own career decisions? Pictured is No. 2 of the Stonemont Course at Stone Mountain GC, where the author is superintendent.

Follow a mentor

The last key to making properly timed career decisions is to follow the advice and actions of a great mentor or group of mentors.

We all need mentors and heroes to inspire us. They make us believe we can be more tomorrow than what we are today. A great mentor is like having a GPS device to tell you the best route to your desired destination, how much travel time will be required and what dangers to avoid along the way.

Where do you find mentors in our industry? They are everywhere; you just have to recognize them. Many are members of GCSAA or local chapters and can be found at any gathering of those organizations. Many are at local colleges and universities. Some of our mentors are no longer with us but have left volumes of text that tell of their philosophies and insights.

You can find many mentors in the lists of award winners throughout our industry. I’m always fascinated by the stories of winners of golf’s most treasured achievements. It was through the mentorship of Tom Schlick, CGCS (ELGA National Resort Course winner in 1994), and Buck Workman, CGCS (ELGA National Public Course winner in 2000), that I was introduced to many great environmental programs, including the ELGAs. Their support and encouragement helped me win back-to-back National ELGAs in the resort and public categories. I couldn’t have reached that career goal alone.

I’ve asked many successful superintendents for their secrets to success. Most point to a person or small group of exceptional people who taught them how to leverage their time against their heart-felt passion or calling. They also point out that having been mentored, they felt compelled to mentor others, thereby creating a legacy of excellence bigger than themselves. Imagine if we all lived up to this standard of excellence.

Timing is everything

Great timing results from proper awareness of constantly changing factors. I hope these strategies will help you be proactive, find success and excellence this year, and that you’ll always know what time it is.

I was once told, “We are all given 24 hours each day to invest any way we choose. The difference between excellent and average is often traceable to a personal choice to become one over the other.” The woman who told me that was Mrs. Tarkenton, a revered teacher at Palmer Stone Elementary School in Oxford, Ga., and mother of legendary NFL quarterback Fran Tarkenton. She always knew what time it was.

Leo Feser Award candidate

This article is eligible for the 2009 Leo Feser Award, presented annually since 1977 to the author of the best superintendent-written article published in GCM during the previous year. Superintendents receive a $300 stipend for articles. Feser Award winners receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the Golf Industry Show, where they are recognized. They also have their names engraved on a plaque permanently displayed at GCSAA headquarters.

Anthony L. Williams, CGCS, is the superintendent at Stone Mountain (Ga.) Golf Club and an 11-year GCSAA member.