Greetings Golfers,

Do you like to be micro-managed? Me neither. So I try not to micro-manage. It’s really disrespectful and it isn’t necessary unless people are incompetent. So being micro-managed is like being told you’re incompetent. Some micro-managers would deny this, they’ll say they’re just being careful … but we all know the difference.

And I’m not just talking employees. This can be family members or friends just reacting to how you do things. It can also be about being a customer. This can get tricky, because customers are more of a wide-ranging group than employees, friends, and family.

As a customer, I like to be treated with respect. I hope it’s assumed that I have common sense and decent manners and personal standards. Years ago, I played a public golf course that had a pole with rules on it. The pole had so many rules on it that they actually added another pole for more rules.

Of course people and businesses need to make things clear. But, there should be a basic level of expectation that shouldn’t need to be said. Such as: no stealing, no fighting, driving carts into ponds, etc.

You can tell a lot about a place by how many rules they have and about how many rules they post. Obviously a place with a ton of rules and especially low-level rules, either caters to a bunch of knuckleheads or believes their customers are knuckleheads. Probably not a culture of respect.

This can be tricky. Too high of expectations, especially unwritten ones, can cause a stiff atmosphere. Or, too low of expectations, especially written ones, can cause a disrespectful atmosphere.

My policy is to set a C level of expectations with almost nothing written or posted. For our staff I expect B level. Don’t laugh, but I expect A level of myself. I think those levels of expectation are fair. Of course, some people think C level is too high … well, C level is probably what is needed for civilization. And, I’m not going to disrespect our customers by changing the atmosphere with signs to deal with the occasional knucklehead.

Unfortunately, most managers don’t have the freedom that I do. Too many businesses micro-manage their employees and customers. They think that’s running a “tight ship”. Actually, it’s how to run a prison.

The price of a good culture is accepting the fact that a few knuckleheads will sneak in. The best way to deal with them is expulsion, not more rules.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
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