Dealing with management

Golf course superintendents Fred Dickman, of The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Co. and Dan Meersman of Philadelphia Cricket Club in Pa. talked about their experiences from attending last year’s Syngenta Business Institute development program. The event, in its fourth year, will be held Dec. 3-6 in Winston-Salem, N.C.

What did you think of the Syngenta Business Institute as a whole?

FD: It was a really great opportunity and good learning experience. For me personally, it was good to get back to the basics about business and be surrounded by other really good superintendents in the industry. It was a really well-rounded presentation by all the professors in all sectors of business.

DM: It was a fantastic event. They rounded up a really good group of superintendents and the instructors were phenomenal. The financial end of it was great and the team building event was also good. Anything Syngenta does is first class.

How did working on your business plan help you deal with their boss, board of directors and your golfers?

FD: Just learning from the professors, the superintendents and the media. You had a lot of different representation - municipal courses, private, resort, management company. Being a resort course, it was interesting getting the different perspectives.

What helps you as a superintendent is that we are focused on our golf courses and presentations. The only way to be successful is to be successful financially as well. Whether you’re a high budget facility or toward the lower end, everyone has the same goals. In business language, it helps you understand better what your boss and your accountant sees.

DM: The personality test was an eye-opener. It showed me where my primary focus was in. I learned I was good on future planning and that I did not have a lot of patience. It helps you be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. And then you can take that information and hire people around you to balance you out.

What kinds of projects were you able to tackle that you weren’t able to before, or maybe improve on?

DM: It strengthened some of the good things we were doing. We were putting our front line employees in contact with our customers. It reinforced the idea to get your employees knowing who your customers are. Budget wise, anyone who does leases, capital programming, things of that nature, can learn something in those areas.