When it comes to negotiating deals, presidential candidates have nothing on the Syngenta Business Institute. Whether it is striking a deal with vendors on equipment and chemicals, club administrators on next year's budget or a compensation package for a new job, the art of the negotiating process is just one of the many topics covered in the annual Syngenta Business Institute.
The Syngenta Business Institute is an intensive four-day program designed to grow the professional knowledge of golf course superintendents and assist them with managing their courses. Through a partnership with the Wake Forest University School of Business, the program provides graduate school-level instruction in financial management, human resource management, negotiating, managing across generations and cultural divides, impact hiring and other leadership- and professional-development skills.
The application period for this year's event is open through Aug. 16. This year's SBI is scheduled for Dec. 5-8 at the Graylyn Conference Center at Wake Forest. CLICK HERE for more information or to register.
Programs like SBI are a good fit for today's superintendent who must also possess an array of business-related skills.
"I'm always continuing the education process. I never stop learning," said Paul Latshaw, CGCS at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. "The vast majority of the classes I take are abuot management, because the vast majority of what we do is management."
A total of 25 attendees will be selected for this year's program from a panel of judges. Those chosen to attend in this year's event will be notified in October. Travel, lodging and meals are provided by Syngenta for all superintendent attendees.
"The reason I came is because this deals with things that are outside of our wheelhouse," said Jim Pavonetti, CGCS at Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. "Making greens great is what we do, but managing boards and owners, those are the kinds of things we can improve upon."
One of the sessions Pavonetti found most informative was a session on negotiating, led by Wake Forest's Bill Davis, Ph.D., who told attendees to always have a back up plan when trying to strike a deal. The back-up plan is so important, Davis has a term for it BATNA, or best alternative to a negotiated agreement.
"We're negotiating every day," Pavonetti said, "whether it's buying chemicals or fertilizers, or working with the finance committee over next year's budget, or selling projects to committees."