Adventures in Management

The last few days have been frustrating, depressing, and then somehow very positive. So at the moment, I don’t really know how I feel. What happened? Well, I guess I can put it quite simply: the owner does not want me to be a Caddie Master.

This really came as a shock to me. I mean…why not? Haven’t I been working hard? Didn’t I help you get the Ritz account? At first, I was definitely confused. How could I not be put in that position? Will I ever be in a management position with some long-term job security? What the hell?

But after talking it over with the boss and getting a little feedback from some of the other managers, I’ve realized that there are bigger plans for me. I don’t fully understand the full scope of it yet—because we are such a small company and the idea of growth is a foreign concept—but I’m slated to be a territory manager someday.

Someday.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered to even be considered for such a position. But right now, that position is nonexistent. Right now, our company isn’t big enough to support it. So it’s a little frustrating. But after giving it some thought, I realized that the harder I work and the more I can standardize the operations of this company to prepare it for growth, the faster I’ll assume this new title. It is a little scary when I think about it—if I don’t succeed with my recruiting efforts, management training and financial duties, this company will not grow, and I will not have a job. But I think it will be worth it in the end.

And there is so much going on right now. Half of my week is spent filling in for the other Caddie Masters’ so they can get that much needed extra day off. The other half is spent driving around to the different golf courses evaluating caddies, reading over 401k documents, writing about management techniques to help with the new management training program and then trying to find time to caddie. If I have the energy.

To add to the stress, my management skills aren’t what they used to be. Well, let’s be honest. It is entirely possible my management style NEVER really existed to begin with. But I was informed recently that I tend to think more like a caddie than a manager. Now, while that is a fair piece of criticism, I’ve had a hard time figuring out just exactly what that means. Is this even something I can fix?

(Plus, if I’m currently collaborating with the other managers to piece together a Management Training Program for future employees, I can’t be having issues with my OWN management style, right?)

Up until this point, utilizing a caddie mentality has really helped me through a variety of jams. People tend to give me some slack when they see that I’m working hard. The only problem is, when you’re wearing a nice golf shirt and kakis and are responsible for trying to work 30 caddies, hustling and trying your hardest to be everywhere at once simply appears amateurish and unprofessional. I’ve been told I look “inexperienced” and “out of control.”

Well that’s nothing. You should’ve seen me when my crack addiction PEAKED.

Now, in all seriousness, I do have a very good idea of what needs to be accomplished day-to-day, but I’m sure to the average observer I look lost. And probably a little hyper, too.

And that’s a hard thing for me to say. I feel like with the history of this site people know me as this bitter, tough, “been-around-the-block” type of individual. But unfortunately, when it comes to management, my people-pleasing tendencies rise to the surface and I come off as weak. I’m sure of it. And as a manager, that’s a horrible trait to have.

I think part of my problem comes from not being able to trust that other people can help me do my job. I guess I’ve always come from that school of “if you want something done right…” and so I just try to do everything on my own because that’s the only way I KNOW it’s going to get done. One Caddie Master told me recently that I need to “just take a deep breath and survey the situation” before I dive in and try to figure things out.

Well again, that sounds great in theory and all, but what exactly does that mean? When you’re working at a club with NO tee times and 40 people show up out of nowhere, it’s hard to take your time and look calm when all you want to do is dive right into the fray, grab some bags and start taking names. But I suppose now I have to try something else.

Another facet of my management style involves a “first-come-first-serve” approach with the caddies. Being a caddie myself, I know how much it sucks to wait around all day for a loop. I just figured I’d reward the guys who got up at the ass-crack to help me out.

Unfortunately, the result of my kind efforts is a higher probability of unsatisfied players. The fact that I’ve only pissed off one player here or there so far is just dumb luck. Here’s the problem: if I’m assigning caddies on loops simply based on the order they arrive, I’m assuming two things. First, I’m assuming that all caddies are created equal. Well we know that’s horse-shit. Some are great, some suck, some can’t be put with women, some are hung-over, some can’t read greens (ahem) and some just come to play cards with the other caddies. Second, I’m assuming that the PLAYERS are arriving in an order which will perfectly tolerate each and every caddie.

What I mean is, if the first caddie to show up is hung-over and the first player to show up is a party-animal who just LOVES war stories, the two will get along. But if the first player to arrive is a devout-Catholic-man-hating FEMALE and you use that same hung-over caddie, you could have a problem on your hands.

I hate to sound like an Econ-dork, but as an aside, that’s sort of how money evolved out of the barter system. People realized that in order for the barter system to work, a “double-coincidence of wants” needed to arise. Meaning, if somebody wanted to trade a goat for a few wooden wagon-wheels and the local Carpenter wanted to trade a few wooden wagon-wheels for a goat, a trade could be made. Otherwise, you were up Shit Creek without a paddle. Money was created as a medium of exchange avoid this problem.

Well, even though cash is certainly King, I think the medium of exchange in my situation is the attitudes of the members. The attitudes should determine the caddies’ selected. I can’t let the order of arrival set my sheet for the entire day. Now that I think about it, this is a pretty simple observation. But when you’re slammed and you just KNOW one of your caddies has been waiting for over 3 hours, it’s hard to tell him no. But I suppose I can’t feel too badly for him. If a caddie has an attitude problem and there are only a few members I can work him with, he has no right to complain if I have to make him wait around for an appropriate loop.

Man, listen to me ramble. I guess what I’m realizing now is why there are whole sections in bookstores devoted to Management Techniques. Hell, I think there are even Undergraduate MAJORS dedicated to that field. It’s a little harder than I thought. I miss those laid-back crack-smoking days of old. I wonder how my dealer is doing now without me. Probably can’t buy his kids as many presents during Christmas-time.

But tough muffins for that guy. I’ve got bigger fish to fry now.

Well, take care all. Let’s see how my schedule plays out for the rest of the week.