The Network

2008

Gregg Patterson
General Manager, The Beach Club

Got Network?

You’re sitting at the Podunk Yacht Club drinking non-fat lattes with your executive coach. You’re a young, hungry, aspiring club professional, searching for every advantage in your pursuit of the Big Prize---a country club, a Platinum Club, a Front Page of Board Room magazine type club. You’re impatient for progress. You’ve paid this woman the big bucks to mold and knead you into The Right Stuff. You’re all ears.

She looks you in the eye and speaks.

“You will be judged by the Networks you keep.”

Huh???

She gazes into your deficiencies, sighs deeply, and speaks.

“The Big Boys of Clubdom---CMAA Directors, Platinum Club Managers, Chautauquans---know that social networks create collective intelligence. And The Big Boys know that collective intelligence will transform an under-developed, under-performing, under-paid someone like you into A Big Time Professional.”

Huh???

You never heard about this mumbo-jumbo “network stuff” in the classroom, was never asked to research this “collective intelligence stuff” in graduate school, never read about “The Network Imperative” in the Cornell Quarterly, and was never troubled (not once!) by your network deficiencies. Stumped, you ask---“What in the name of all that’s holy and sacred are you talking about???”

Your executive coach groans audibly, then explains. “Networks are powerful stuff. Networks are medicine for the tortured soul and an antidote for ailing operations. Networks are built on personal relationships, with Good People, who share experiences and reflect on The Great Journey, together. The Big Boys of Clubdom know that more brains are better than one and more ideas are better than few. You are small. Networks are big. Big is best. Big Boys need Big Networks. Want big? Best you get Network.”

She goes on and on and on. She explains that successful people use their networks to find jobs, find people, find answers, find support, find solace, and find executive coaches. Networks are there to answer questions about life and love and business---and they’re cheaper than consultants, psychologists or marriage counselors. Networks are all about collective intelligence. Want big? Best you get Network.

Your executive coach warns you that Those Who Judge will judge you by your Networks. Your Networks will validate or diminish you. You’ll be grilled about your networks by your family and friends; by your headhunter and your peers; by your board and your members; by your staff and the management team. They’ll ask about your family network, your social network, your professional network, your book network, and about networks you’ve never realized you had---or needed. Everyone is curious about your networks, whether they’re “thick” or “thin,” filled with the good or the vapid, often used or dust covered. They want to know.

Because The Big Boys have big Networks.

Best you get Network.

So, for a few dollars more, she tells you how.

Get Network

First---she tells you to accept that interlocking networks are critical to success, that those networks need to be identified, that you need to make a conscious and concerted effort to develop each, and you need to nurture them once developed. “Getting network” is a business that needs to be managed.

Second---she tells you that an “Up and Coming and I’m Hungry for Success” club manager needs to know about the five “Big Boys of Network.”

1. The Professionals Network. (club managers, golf pros, superintendents, hotel guys, restaurant people, chefs, etc.etc.)

2. The “Movers and Shakers” Member Network. (the board, the committees, the ex-presidents, the frequent users, etc.etc.)

3. The “Movers and Shakers” Staff Network. (senior staff, head busboys, the accounting department, etc.etc.)

4. The Friends Network. (sports friends, culture friends, PTA friends, etc.etc.)

5. The Family Network. (the spouse, the parents, the siblings, the aunts and the uncles, etc.etc.)

Third---she tells you that you need a couple of tools to network effectively. You’ll need to be a great communicator who can speak, and listen and write engagingly. You’ll need social enthusiasm to get out and connect. You’ll need to become a deeply curious personality---the sort of character who’s interested in others and loves asking questions. You’ll need to be an active listener when those who’ve been asked questions, answer. You’ll need to be a discriminator of the good and develop “The Eye” to quickly determine who should and should not be in your Network---because a Network filled with The Bad is as bad as no Network at all. No tools, no Network.

Fourth---she tells you to identify “Interact Opportunities” in your search for Network People. Her list is endless. In committee meetings. At the World Conference. During the Bicycle Chautauqua. While attending BMI. At family reunions and staff picnics. During walks and talks in the clubhouse and on the golf course.

Fifth---she tells you to search for variety in each network---to include managers from big clubs and small; managers who know everyone and others who know no-one; friends who love motorcycles and others who love opera; relatives who live in trailer parks and others who live in mansions; members who love bridge and others who love the gym. Healthy networks are diverse and filled with a deep portfolio of personalities.

Sixth---she explains that you’ll need to feed the Network once created. You’ll need write time and call time to stay connected. You’ll need face time at some time each year. You’ll need to use the network on a regular basis to address business problems, career problems, family problems, problem problems. You’ll need to respond quickly when others ask questions. You’ll need to show enthusiasm when asking and answering. And when you change jobs, when you move from California to New York, you’ll need to stay connected with the old Networks. You’ll need to know which people for which Network---and to re-position as needed. You’ll need to actively search for new members to keep the Network fresh. You’ll need to be clear about who’s worth keeping in the network and who isn’t, and be ruthless in culling the bad---the boring, the dull, the cynical, the unhelpful. Good practices lead to good Networks.

Time to Network

Networks are tough to develop and even tougher to replace. Once you’ve Got Network, best you keep Network. Best to have dozens of networks from a dozen different places, woven together, layered atop each other, frequently used, present and accounted for in support of The Great Journey.

You’ll need to audit your networks, scrub them often, keep them fresh. You’ll need to identify the Big Boys of Network, find Good People to fill your Networks, maintain Networks once created, and strengthen your Networks through frequent use. Networks take work. And worth the effort.

If you’ve got great networks at the club you’re at, in the town you live in, with the spouse you have, keep ‘em. Stay put. Deep networks, properly aged and well fertilized, are tough to replace.

And if you move, take the Networks with you. Stay connected.

You are not alone in The Great Adventure. Networks are there to support, bolster, underpin, embrace, educate and celebrate you while navigating the twists and turns of a life well lived.

So put me in your Network via gjpair@aol.com.

And enjoy the journey--------------