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CEO's
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Managing GCSAA resources
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"How's it goin' at GCSAA?"
It's hard to count how many times I'm asked this question. I don't mind being asked because my response is universally positive, and I get a chance to discuss the top two or three initiatives of the day.
Sometimes, however, a follow-up question is asked that is more focused, and just as legitimate. That question usually is, "How do I as a GCSAA member know that the resources GCSAA is given are being properly managed?" That direct question deserves a direct and fairly detailed answer.
GCSAA uses an exacting, disciplined process to make sure our resources are applied as efficiently as possible. Specifically, the GCSAA Board of Directors regularly goes through a long-range, strategic planning process that determines the overall direction for the association.
Also, under the strategic governance model, the board at each of its meetings engages in strategic conversations about major issues facing the association and its membership. Excellent examples of these are the future of the profession conversations the board went through in 2004 and the recent discussions on branding GCSAA Class A members and the association itself.
It's through recent strategic discussions like these with the board that we have a clear vision of its current highest priorities, which include branding, membership growth and retention, and expanded revenue for programs and services.
Guiding our actions on these priorities are the strategic indicators, which the board uses to measure progress on the things it deems most important. The board annually evaluates and updates the indicators to align them with GCSAAÕs mission, vision and strategic objectives, with the staff then forming annual business plans and budgets geared toward achieving the indicators.
This process creates a staff culture in which each decision on expending resources is judged on whether it will help move an indicator, which will, in turn, help attain a strategic objective. Achieving our strategic objectives, then, moves us closer to realizing the association's vision.
A successful outcome to this process is seen in GCSAA's environmental efforts. The board gave direction for the association to take a lead role in golf and the environment, and from that came The Environmental Institute for Golf, which encompasses our development and environmental programs.
Additionally, working through chapters and enhancing our personal relationships with chapter members through staff in the field is a high board priority. We responded by pointing resources in that direction, and as a result, two field staff members have come on board in the last few months.
Also at the direction of the board, our membership growth and retention efforts have seen a recent infusion of resources, including a six-figure membership campaign, into this vital area. In 2007, our branding efforts will receive this type of attention.
Changes in the Golf Industry Show over the last few years also required major resource reallocation to meet our goals, and already have started to pay dividends.
All members want to believe that their association is a wise steward of the resources trusted to it, while at the same time wanting it to be innovative, entrepreneurial and forward thinking. The annual meeting in which staff and the board review the budget for the upcoming year helps assure members that this, indeed, happens at GCSAA.
There's no question that the board's continuing evaluation of the strategic indicators, the strategic objectives and GCSAA's mission, vision and goals helps us direct resources to where they are needed most. The process demands nothing less.
RECENT issues
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September |
August 2006 |