Using times and counts to quantify results

Dr. Merritt,

I attended your leadership program recently and wanted to take a moment to thank you and let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed your classes. Not only did you keep the atmosphere light, you brought a real world experience to class that made it crystal clear that you have been in our shoes.

You were describing a manager whose operations were “crazy busy,” but had no hard facts to back up those statements. I laughed and realized that I can identify with that manager at times when I get asked questions from board members. It is uncomfortable when I tell them I need to get back to them. I have weekly manager meetings where operations are discussed, however I was inspired by how your meetings were run. I have decided that I am going to change the way  that I structure my meetings and have each manager spend a few minutes summarizing the past week and events along with what is happening in the upcoming week. After that I want them to discuss their departmental financials. Can you give me advice as to how to get started?

Ariel S.

St. Louis

Ariel,

Thanks for your message. I enjoyed meeting you and having you at our sessions. The short answer is that you need to ensure concise reporting from your managers, so that you are current on operations--especially as they relate to budget and forecast--without drowning in useless detail.

Let your direct reports know in advance that you are changing the format of your meetings slightly and that reports will now move toward concise operations reviews of who, what, where, when, why, how, and who cared. Their reports should also include recaps of numbers and times versus budgets and forecasts.

Weekly meetings, monthly, and quarterly reviews should include statements (department head estimates) as to whether variances to budget and forecast (of 10% higher or lower than forecast) are issues of timing or real (with hard adjustments at quarter ends). Perhaps the most important part of this analysis review is the reporter’s understanding that you want to hear what he or she intends to do about such variances. 

One cannot move high performance individuals and teams toward the lowest amount of need for direction by you (refer back to our discussion of the four levels of direction: Directing, Coaching, Supporting, and Delegating) unless they assume responsibility for managing both good and tough outcomes. Operations are somewhat easy when business is favorable. Effective management comes from thoughtfully and successfully working through difficult times. Carefully guiding the ups and downs of operations is what makes effective managers successful leaders.

Good luck and good wishes!

-Ed Merritt

eam19@cornell.edu

 

Super Majority

Dr. Merritt,

Our board was following the strategy you helped us create until lately. It seems the more time since we set the strategy, the less incoming board members are committed to staying the course and working the plan. They have become distracted by other issues and I fear that we are going down the path of strategy-of-the-year (where we were before you came in to help us). What can we do to get back on track? You spoke to me about super-majority rule some time ago as one way to help, but honestly I did not see the value back then.

George J.
Toronto

George,

Boards often want to commit future boards to their (a present board's) plan. So, it is a good idea to help the present board see the importance of their work being honored over time by new (future) boards. Here are some guidelines and options. Before seriously considering or undertaking any one of them, be sure to check with your legal counsel to help ensure a smooth process.

Super-Majority Rule

Your question about the super-majority rule in terms of deciding or changing a future direction can be handled in one of two ways: 1) a change to the by-laws or 2) inclusion in the voting language of a major proposal.

Let's first define the intent of super-majority rule. These rules require more than a simple majority vote of 51 percent to make decisions--in the case of clubs, super majority usually also means to make changes to an agreed-upon course of action.

Example: The board, working with the long-range planning committee, greens, and golf committees propose to re-build the greens at a cost of $457,000, the members vote the assessment decision in (assume a 66 percent super majority [but it would be defined before the vote, such as 2/3rds, 3/5ths, etc.]), and everyone assumes that the decision is what will be implemented. The next year, the board changes by one third, committees change to a large degree, and the then-sitting president convinces the board to do a cosmetic re-building of the greens and use the leftover dollars to re-build the bunker faces.

With super-majority rule in effect, the substantial change would need to go back to the members for a super majority re-vote. Therefore, the super-majority vote theoretically protects the membership by helping ensure assessments are really wanted by the membership. And/or, the super-majority rule protects the membership by ensuring that they (the members) have a chance to approve any substantial changes to their voted-in programs. The major drawback to the 1) decision is that progress can be very difficult if assessments require a super majority of members agreeing--especially in an older club with a large percentage of fixed income members. On the other hand, there are no real major drawbacks to the 2) change other than to those who are trying to make the change need to really make a strong case or the change will not be voted in.  

1) Change to the by-laws (this assumes that no super-majority rule presently exists in the by-laws). Clubs which use this on-going process must work with the appropriate committees, boards of directors, and clubs’ legal counsel to draft the change, and present it to the members for a vote (along with reasoning), who either vote it in or out. The primary consideration is that a comprehensive definition as to what constitutes a major issue would need to be established. As an alternative, language could be used to include a non-exhaustive list of examples, such as .... The board would need to decide these, but typically they would be related to either dollar amounts (such as, any expenditure over, let's say, $70,000 [which will become problematic over time]) or any member assessment. The second consideration would be to decide whether super-majority rule would apply to the decision and/or the change to a decision.

2)  Major proposal. Clubs which use this ad-hoc process must certainly still work with the appropriate committees, boards of directors, and clubs’ legal counsel to draft the proposal, and present it to the members for a vote (along with reasoning), who either vote the proposal in or out. The difference here, is that the super-majority rule is specifically written into the proposal that the members are voting upon--so it is ad hoc and therefore proposal specific, which gives the board a great deal of flexibility into whether considering an issue of substance to include super-majority rule. The consideration would be to decide whether super-majority rule would apply to the decision and/or the change to a decision.

-Ed Merritt

eam19@cornell.edu   

 

Working and Studying for my CPA

Professor Merritt,


As you know, I have been seeking a senior-level position with a big-4 firm in accounting or consulting. I have 20-years' experience in finance at the director level. I earned my MBA three years ago, but never got my CPA certification. In the dismal economy, I have moved around in temporary assignments (of one-to-two years) and have tried to get my CPA. Unfortunately, the hours and stress at work are not allowing me to focus on the CPA and I just heard that two of my papers (in the process of earning certification) were not successful.  I feel emotionally and physically drained and know that my stress and burnout levels are growing every day. What should I do now?


-Mary Elizabeth R.
Alexandria, VA

Mary Elizabeth,

 Good to hear from you. Sorry that you hit a speed bump in your progress toward earning your CPA credential.

 Here is some information for you to consider: You have been unhappy in your last few positions -- overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. The key to getting you where you want to be is in earning your CPA credential. The job requirements inherent in these last positions are keeping you from being able to focus on your studies and getting your CPA. You can either continue to work away at these unfulfilling companies and stay frustrated and non-certified or you can take a stand and focus completely on your studies and get the CPA behind you -- making earning your CPA your main job (in a sense). I know that doesn't come without sacrifice. However, what you are doing is miserable for you and you need to position yourself for the improving economy by getting ready to be ready when things finally turn around and get going again. It looks like that time is finally within sight.

 I know that you have endured a lot during these past several years. However, you can continue to be miserable and hope for improvement or, as you discovered in your MBA, you can take action, do things differently, and position yourself to be ready when opportunity strikes. The latter is far more difficult than the former. Incremental change has not been working well in your situation, so you may need to utilize revolutionary change in your quest to accomplish your interim goal (becoming certified), which can facilitate your long-term goal (to get back into the big-4 public accounting or

consulting). This is truly what effective leadership is all about -- both recognizing the need for change AND actually operationalizing such change. This may be your best option.

 You don't need to burnout (and thereby let your body make the decision for you). You need to take positive steps, make positive decisions, and not let anything get in the way of achieving your goals. As you allow yourself to move closer toward burnout, these decisions become more clouded and therefore more difficult. This is time to REALLY re-assess your goals and priorities.

 You were an excellent MBA student. You can do this!

 -Prof Ed Merritt
www.EdwardAMerritt.com   

 

Commercial Real Estate Finance and Development

Doctor Merritt,

I am President of a Beverly-Hills based company. Our company owns ocean-front property in Central America that is zoned for a resort hotel, condominiums, and light commercial. What are your thoughts about financing and development?

-Walter F.
Beverly Hills

Walter,

I am not current on financing sources, as that is not my area of focus. As you may remember, my primary consulting practice involves three areas in development and management: leadership, strategy, and opinion surveying.


I remember that your company is a specialty automotive parts manufacturer, so venturing into international real estate development will be extremely risky. When we last spoke you told me that your sources in Central America were telling you that the market there is heating up once again. Assuming that is the case, my advice would be for you to sell the property.


Here are some guidelines as to what is going on: The financing market has changed tremendously over the past five years or so. Most of the traditional sources – banks, insurance companies, large pension plans (like CalPERS), and GE Capital and Textron are all re-assessing their involvement in new ventures while they sort through assets they have currently.


Venture capital is perhaps the most active source of funding. However, the major drawbacks are, as always, control (they will demand a lot), very high requirements for equity positions (to help compensate for the risk), and impatience (they typically earn more ownership in their ventures when timing does not work as planned for the general partner). Depending on size, any of the large brokerage houses may be interested in doing an offering for limited partnerships across phases. This is typically how we did development of resorts with clubs and real estate. Another way, may be to find a willing partner representing one of the major international flags that wants a presence where your friend owns property, such as Hilton, Marriott, Four Seasons, or Ritz-Carlton.


The timing issues for pure, initial developers, are subject to extreme effects of external variables, primarily interest rates, economic downturns, governmental planning and processing, and consumer optimism. Because these events are largely uncontrollable by the developer, initial development, while satisfying ego needs, is extremely risky unless the initial developer is well-seasoned and has the financial capabilities to make it through the downturns. A good example of a very successful real estate developer during the 1980s and ‘90s was Chevron (they have since exited the business). Their financial wherewithal (at the time the largest public company in California), cash flow from retail operations, maturity, and patience made them almost ideal to work with. After many years of working with pure developers, my years with Chevron were a delight.


Last week while in Chicago I spoke with a successful developer who has changed his strategy from ‘initial mover’ for 25 years to ‘bottom feeder.’ He said that the economic ups and downs of the development life cycle (primarily external variables) of a project make it almost impossible to successfully take a project from planning and processing through to maturity. Instead, over the past four years he has focused his efforts on acquiring distressed projects at hugely discounted prices after three or four previous developers and their financial partners have taken baths. He just completed the acquisition of a $50 million project from a lender for $12 million. Aside from the enormously discounted purchase, the planning, processing, and horizontal infrastructure are all in place, which greatly eliminated the time lag (almost four years) between cash outflow (planning) and cash inflow (sales).


So initial movers should be aware of the adage: The fastest way to make $10 million in real estate development is to begin with $50 million.


I hope that those thoughts help.

All the best,
-Ed Merritt

eamerritt@csupomona.edu

After Many Years in Industry I want to Teach

Dear Professor Merritt,


Its been a while since I have been in touch. We met at a management conference where you lectured about the importance of leaders and giving back to others. It was a very inspiring speech.


Circumstances are now favorable for me to give serious consideration to a full time position teaching management. The prospect fills me with excitement as I have been considering this move for several years now.


I would very much appreciate your advice on how to move forward with my new goal.


-Adam K.
New York City

Adam,


I am pleased to read that you are considering teaching. After reading your resume, there are a number of different types of programs with which you could become associated. Here are several of them along with my comments:


--Community College. This is a good possibility. Your education coupled with experience would make you a very good candidate.


--University. You would likely be able to guest lecture and teach part-time courses, but probably not full-time. Many universities require a doctoral degree before someone can become a full-time faculty member. However, check around as this may not always be the case.


--Adult high school (night school). These are high school completion programs for adults. Because ours is such a huge industry, you would be a good candidate for a position in this type of program and could bring real-world examples into the classroom.


--Vocational and or technical college. This is similar to Community College, but focuses more on technical education (instead of what we often refer to as General Education). As such, students go right into their major courses of study. You would be a viable candidate for a position here.


--Community education program at a high school. High Schools and Colleges offer community education courses in various technical areas. These are not typically degree programs, but instead are open to the public for learning something specific, such as management, bookeeping, wine, cooking, or photography -- that sort of thing. You would be a good candidate for this, as well.


So, you have several options. Teaching is greatly rewarding.


All the best,
-Ed Merritt
 eamerritt@csupomona.edu

Getting Ready to Interview

Professor Merritt,

I have a job interview next week. I don't want to get there too early because I don't want to appear overly eager, but I am afraid of being late. Any advice?


-Allison
Bethesda, MD

Allison,

Show up (at the appointed place and not in the parking structure) two-to-three minutes early for any appointment—whether with customers or staff, but not 10 minutes early. If you are away from your organization and arrive too early, stay in the car, do a bit of last-minute preparation, review items in your PDA, return phone calls, or just relax and collect your thoughts.


Promptness is a virtue that not only contributes to professionalism, but it also helps demonstrate your concern for others in showing them that you recognize that their time is valuable. Arriving too early indicates that you have too much time on your hands, that you are too eager, that you do not respect others’ timeframes, or some combination of the three.
In the event that you are running late, be sure to call—preferably before you actually are late. You need not give a detailed reason, but it is a good idea to state that you are being delayed by traffic (or whatever the reason) and give the person an estimated (and realistic) arrival time. Be prepared to re-schedule if your host cannot accommodate your new, estimated arrival time.


It is common, particularly in congested geographic areas, to grossly underestimate the time that it takes to travel to a destination. This is because the timeframes vary so drastically depending upon traffic congestion. Traffic congestion is a function of several variables including day of week, time of day, road construction, maintenance, and repair, severe weather, incidents such as crashes, traffic debris, and many other predictable and unpredictable reasons. Often, estimates for travel time are made under ideal conditions without consideration for tie ups.
Promptness is one of those issues noted regularly as an indicator of organizational success by leaders.


Good luck!


-Dr. Ed Merritt
 eamerritt@csupomona.edu

I can't seem to get the sale

Professor Merritt,

I attended one of your sessions in Atlanta. I have used your principles of emphasizing features in my pitches to customers, but do not always get the sale. I know that I am not going to get every sale, but is there a method that I can use to increase my success rate?

-Cliff T.
Savannah, GA

Cliff,

Without sounding robotic, there is definitely a sequence that should be used in ensuring a complete pitch. It is possible that you are spending so much time emphasizing features that you may not be translating that into what the benefits may mean to the customer. Making this connection may sound obvious to you, but often it is difficult for a potential customer.

Here is an example of connecting the dots for a potential country club member in a pitch: Feature: "Our club has established a membership cap of 400 members." Benefits: "This means that as a member, a round of golf will never take longer than four hours and you can always play golf without first making a tee time."

The feature can be referred to as the what. The benefit can be referred to as the so what. Answering the so what ensures that the potential members can understand how the particular feature will be of benefit them. Paint a more complete picture by being sure to answer both the what and the so what.

I wrote earlier that there is a specific order of events to cover in making a pitch. While I spent most of my answer on two specific elements of the pitch, here is the complete process listed in order. I will illustrate the process using an example from a restaurant server:

1. Expand awareness of the product or service (intro the product):
“We feature fresh flounder tonight from Florida”
2. Explain features (the what):
“Light fish, flown in today, broiled w/ lemon & capers”
3. Describe benefits (the so what)
“Delicious tasting, flaky, just 250 calories”
4. Ask for the order (do not miss this important step in asking for the order)
“Would you like to order the broiled flounder for your dinner tonight?”
5. Compliment the choice (this helps eliminate buyers' remorse)
“Excellent choice. Guests are raving about it. I'm sure you will love it”

I want to teach

Dr. Merritt,

I attended your workshop in Denver and afterward started thinking about what you said about pursuing one's true calling. I have been in senior management for almost 20 years and want to pursue teaching in my area. I have bachelor's degree in Business Management and am close to completing an MBA.

Could you offer some advice on what I could do to become an instructor at a college or university? Is getting a Master's degree the best way to go? If you have any advice I would appreciate it.

-Paul H.
Denver, CO

Paul,

Thanks for your message. It was great being with you in Denver. I will give you some general suggestions which will help you move closer toward your goal:

--High School programs generally require certification as a teacher in a particular content area. Often, that takes as long as a year or so to complete. This may not be true in an adult, vocational high school (that typically accepts those who did not complete high school and now find themselves as adults wanting to complete their degrees and get some training that they can apply). I would check around and look into these types of adult high schools and maybe offer to teach on an adjunct basis – perhaps in the evening. If you do this a time or two, you will find out quickly whether or not it is for you.

--Universities most often require a minimum of a Master’s degree for part-time instructors. However, you could often get around this by teaching in their community education programs, which are generally offered in the evening. Look through one of the community education flyers from one of your universities and you will likely see several that would include your area of business management. Again, I would consider offering my services in order to get a feel for whether this is, indeed, for you.

--Community Colleges often recognize a BS with heavy amounts of experience. Call, visit, and or look on their websites and see whether any of them offer courses in your area. It is a good bet that they do. I would consider expressing interest in teaching and try it out.

None of the suggestions that I offer cause you to risk your present position and I think that’s a good idea. After you try it out, teaching may or may not be for you.

Effort and Outcome May Not Necessarily Relate

Dr. Merritt,

At the business institute in South Africa, you said that effort and outcome do not necessarily relate. What did you mean by that statement? I thought that hard work produces positive outcomes.

-Tashe H.
Johannesburg, South Africa

Tashe,

We hear it all the time, people talking about how busy they are and how hard they are working (effort), only to find that they are not meeting their deadlines (outcomes). Effort and outcome do not necessarily relate. In fact, at times we must expend what seems to be enormous amounts of energy and effort only to receive relatively small outcomes. The opposite can be true, as well; that at times it all seems to fall into place almost effortlessly and we end up with major accomplishment. The point here is to appreciate the times when things seem to fall into place and to realize that rarely happens.

More important, effort does not equal outcome. A manager approached one of her direct reports who had been working on a budget analysis matter (the manager needed the ad hoc report for an upcoming meeting). When queried about the progress, the direct report provided a dramatic story about how hard and long he had been working to complete the analysis.

The manager stopped the charge mid excuse with these terse words, “Look, I was counting on you to get this assignment completed, and not just to give me excuses about how hard you are working. I need for you to help by being part of the solution and not by being part of the problem.” Ouch.

Thinking Strategically About a Job Offer

Professor Merritt--
I do not know how I should be feeling about my job offer. I have worked for a well known, casual, steak restaurant chain through college. I graduate this spring with a degree in hospitality management. The restaurant has now made me an offer to join their manager-in-training program with lots of stress and responsibility. I made more as a server than they are offering me as a management trainee. At times I think that I should just continue to be a server and have fun.
Brian T.

Brian,
There are plusses and minuses to choosing the hospitality industry. One of the early minuses for college grads is that people without degrees are competing for the same entry-level management jobs, which can keep salaries down. One of the plusses is a college grad will likely move up much quicker in the organization and continue to progress when others find themselves topping out. Generally, it takes two to three years before this breakout occurs. When it happens, promotions and opportunities come quickly.

As to making more money as a server than as a manager-in-training, I suggest that you consider the management training an investment-in-yourself period. You will be receiving intensive training and the organization will be watching and evaluating your progress in terms of where and how you will be fitting into the organization. Organizations do not benefit by bringing someone in as a management trainee unless they help develop that person into a fast-track manager (which greatly benefits both the organization and the individual). The payoff will come either in this organization or down the road with another. You will need to decide for yourself.

Do be aware that I hear a fair amount of regret from college grads who find themselves in their 30s and who stayed with being servers because they get great pay (cash at the end of the shift) and have no ongoing responsibility after the work period. Their regret stems largely from not capitalizing on the opportunity early, now wanting a more stable and predictable worklife and lifestyle, and realizing that time may have passed them by.

Think carefully and not just about the near term future.

Creating Meaningful Incentive Plans

Dr. Merritt,

I attended your recent day-long session in Detroit on Leadership and Strategy. You were great. In one section, you spoke about creating meaningful incentive plans for high-performance individuals. We have always used bonus pools that are distributed across teams that do well. Can you expain your twist on this concept in more detail?

Thank you,
Alex D.

Alex,

A well-designed incentive plan has one main objective:

It enables the organization to stimulate its general manager or other key executive(s) to focus his or her efforts in directions that will profit him or her while dramatically improving company performance.

Types of Bonuses:
(Note: Remember that I am discussing incentive bonuses and not earned commissions or gratuities in the following paragraphs.)

--Discretionary bonuses are uncertain and create suspicion about the method of distribution. A bonus should be tied to measurable performance (objective measures). Objective measures are those items that can be either timed or counted.

--Fixed bonuses, whether paid to individuals or teams, can become too expectant for average performance since they are paid irrespective of organizational results.

--Individual bonuses reward those charged with budget (income and expense) responsibility.

--Office-wide, department-wide, or team bonuses can foster team spirit, but can also become a dis-incentive to high-performance individuals that have the most direct effect on the budget.

Bonuses should reward superior performance above some baseline of performance which is established in a mutually agreed set of measurable goals and objectives in advance of operations.

Bonuses should be paid semi-annually or annually to even-out peaks and valleys during the year and to serve as golden handcuffs—if the manager leaves during the period, he or she is not eligible for a bonus at the end of the particular period (nor a pro-rata share).

I speak and write a fair amount about objective measures as being highly desirable over subjective measures. The point is to ensure that your direct reports are speaking and reporting in objective format. Here are a few examples to illustrate the difference:

1. Subjective examples are textually vague and imprecise: "We had a very good month and sold a lot of real estate last month. Prospect counts were up and it took less time to convert a prospect into a sale."

2. Objective examples are precise and help provide comparisons: "We had a very good month in March and sold $110 million in real estate versus $79 million last March (which was our record to date). Prospect counts were up for the same period by 29 percent and conversion time dropped from 63 days and six visits to 31 days and three visits."

Which Comes First, Vision or Mission?

Dear Dr. Merritt:

It was a pleasure to hear you speak in S.F.

When we were together, I said I had a question, but the meeting was beginning and there was not time to ask it. So, here it is….when you talk about vision and mission, which comes first? Clearly you must have a vision to create the organization. Having said that, many companies have a mission statement and don’t have a vision statement. I have heard it taught that you establish the mission statement and then develop the vision statement. My concern with that is if you are working from your mission statement, then you are working with what already “is” and are not exploring all possibility for vision, if you had a clean slate to work from.

Many organizations have a mission statement and no vision statement. They obviously had some sort of vision to create the company, but so many generations have passed, this vision may be lost. What is your suggestion for a company that has a mission but no vision statement for forward movement? I would love to have your thoughts on this.

Thanks for this and thanks for all that you give back to the industry.

Best....crystal


Crystal,

You are welcome. It was good seeing you, as well.

Vision and mission are often debated in terms of order. Many business strategy texts list mission first. I usually list vision as being first, because I view vision as being the wider view than mission. The discussion of order is not as important as the content of the two. In reality, vision and mission often occur (at least evolve) more-or-less simultaneously. Your comment is correct, many private organizations lose connection to their vision. When that happens we get Frankenstein companies – a bit of this and a bit of that. Organizations that find themselves in this position certainly benefit from a higher view of the organization, which I refer to as a helicopter view. A helicopter view allows leaders to remove themselves from the day-to-day as if they are at a height of 1,000 feet and looking down on the organization as a whole and establish (or re-establish) the fundamental tenets of what the organization is (or should be) all about.

This excerpt is from my book, Leading the Strategic Planning Process, which may help clarify your question further:

Vision, is perhaps, the most fundamental of the elements in strategic planning. Vision is future oriented. Vision includes the basic concept of what the organization is all about—its purpose for being. Using vision, the organization is able to know where it is heading. Vision infuses the organization with a definite sense of purpose. In a sense, vision states a direction and describes the destination.

Mission includes the broadest and highest level of organizational goals and objectives. In a mission statement, the organization would state why it exists. A mission statement would also include purpose and describe the basic services provided. Generally, the mission can be viewed as a statement, which, if realized, can help ensure success.

Mission, perhaps more than any other element of the strategic process elucidates the first-order reasons for the organization's existence as they flow downward toward more specificity from the vision. Mission, then, flows directly from the vision and begins the crystallization of detail.

All the best,
-Ed

Grievance Committees in Private Clubs

Dear Dr. Merritt--

Greetings, Sir. I am a General Manager at a private club. I attended your leadership and strategy seminar in San Francisco and am making an effort to share your thoughts about 'members managing members, staff managing staff' with my Board. They've requested more info about Grievance Committee best practices.

Steven S.


Steven,

There is not much written on private club Grievance Committees and how they work. Here is a reprint from a report that I did for another private club board that will give you a better idea as to how the concept works. You will notice that this club referred to theirs as a Discipline Committee (but it is the same as a Grievance Committee in other private clubs):

The paid staff manages paid staff while the board must manage the member owners. Get involved in managing the members. The GM and his leadership team should manage the paid staff, while the board should manage the members. The paid staff simply cannot be expected to manage the owners!

There are many situations which occur at clubs with members getting feisty and out of line. I will give you a typical for example. While at the club, I was bombarded by written notices posted around the club and in the sleeping rooms outlining the dress code. I was verbally reminded of the dress code on at least eight occasions. Yet, I was always wearing a jacket and tie. This overreaction suggests that the club is having difficulties with certain members and/or their guests—probably represented by younger members with children at home—who do not agree with the policy. While this is fairly normal occurrence for clubs, the paid staff is dealing with the situation in an improper manner. The difficult members are not going to respond just with one additional reminder.

Assuming the club is set on these dress code policies (even though this will likely change as the younger members assume leadership roles at the club), has agreement from the membership, and posts and reinforces the policy in the magazine, violating members would simply be reminded of the policy by the staff and offered a loaner jacket. If the member refused and insisted on violating the rule, the staff should allow the violation (again, the paid staff is dealing with an owner!). From there, the violation would be reported up by the GM anonymously to the designated discipline committee (which, operates under your board secretary, and other than the membership committee is typically the only other secret committee at the club).

The discipline committee exists, but I sense from comments that it may not function effectively. Under this plan the discipline committee would be more pro-active in handling member issues. They would receive a write-up of the incident without the member’s name being disclosed (to help the committee make a fair ruling and recommendation without being influenced by any particular individual). The committee would make a written recommendation to the board that would accept, adjust, or reject the recommendation, and communicate with the violating member. Often times, before taking strong action, the board would invite the offending member in to get his or her side of the story.

In the end, the issues of discipline would be covered—again without mentioning names—in the magazine to reinforce the rules and to assure the rules-following members that the club is watching out for their best interests.

Currently, the staff appears to be handling these issues. For obvious reasons, they do not get handled effectively. The majority of the members are rules followers. However, rules followers watch to see what happens and become disgusted when rules-breaking members are allowed to bully their way through situations.

I hope that this information helps.
My best wishes,
-Ed Merritt