NGCOA keynote speaker knows how to have
fun
As a teenager, Carr Hagerman and his friends
used to sneak onto the grounds at Interlachen Country Club in Minneapolis. They
were there to have fun, but not by playing golf. Instead, they would swim in
the lake and run around on the greens - the kind of after-hours mischief that
drives golf course owners and superintendents crazy. But to Hagerman's
adolescent way of thinking, at least someone was having fun on the course.
"I didn't grow up thinking a golf course was a
fun place to be, especially Interlachen because the golfers were always so
intense," Hagerman told a captive audience during his passionate keynote
presentation at yesterday's NGCOA Opening Session.
Hagerman now realizes that golf is - or should
be - a fun experience. And he knows a thing or two about fun. As an adult, he's
made it his business.
Hagerman is a motivational speaker and one of
the foremost authorities on the FISH! Philosophy, a business approach designed
to create workplaces full of fun, inspiration, creativity and innovation. The
philosophy, which was borne from a 1998 documentary about Seattle's
world-famous Pike Place Fish Market, is based on four key principles-Be There,
Play, Make Their Day and Choose Your Attitude.
Hagerman used the market, where jovial fish
handlers throw salmon and shellfish to the delight of tourists from around the
world, as an example of a positive workplace and a vibrant culture where
visitors walk away with lifetime memories.
"At this little marketplace in Seattle, where
the stated mission is 'making a world that works better for everyone,' it's all
about human connection," Hagerman said. "It has nothing to do with the fish.
The competition is won through human engagement - one to one connection with
one another."
Hagerman said golf courses have an inherent
advantage in creating a fun environment because the game creates a "mutual
association of celebration" amongst players. However, he said all of the time
and money invested in the course is at risk if the employees, including those
in the clubhouse, don't take the time make a connection with the patrons.
"When I play golf, I'm always amazed at how
much energy is put into making sure the greens are absolutely perfect," he
said. "And yet I wonder if we have someone similar to a superindendent managing
our human resources in the same fashion, with the same commitment."
But Hagerman cautioned that fun can't be
forced. "The job of leadership is not to walk into work and say 'We're going to
have some fun here,'" he said. "The job of leadership is the cultivation of
perfection in human beings. As leaders, your job is to cultivate a space or
environment where human beings naturally will show up as themselves and express
themselves as human beings. It always comes back to human interaction." For
more information on the FISH! Philosophy and its four basic principles, visit
the website at www.fishphilosophy.com. |
