Telling a private club executive to drop all of the objectives and goals of performance, and substitute learning, is like explaining to a child how to learn to breathe. You just don’t do it! Yet that is exactly what a recent article (The Learning Executive) in the magazine "Inc." recommends.

The concept put forward in the article was as follows. An executive should drop all of the immediate concerns on performance and substitute a learning process. Every good executive has a daily check off list of what is to be accomplished for the next 24 hour period . . . almost all of which will be concerned with performance. The author of the article recommended that if you don’t outright substitute a learning check off, you at least create one to run in parallel with your tasks for the day. In short, replace or compliment performance goals with learning goals.

The late Sam Walton (Walmart & Sam’s Club) was known as a retailing genius. At least, the money made by his companies certainly exceeded most in the trade. Yet, contrary to popular belief, he was not performance oriented. Obviously he had to be good at delegating to competent executives or his massive organization would not have operated as efficiently as it did, and continues to do so. However, his day to day tasks in regard to running his huge empire, were keyed to education rather than performance. A typical example of this orientation can be found in his response to a request from a retailer in Brazil. The executive wrote to 10 retailing CEOs in the United States requesting an interview so that he could learn more about how to better run his newly purchased chain of stores. Only Sam Walton responded. During the process of the interview, the South American executive picked up many valuable pointers . . . all gratis from Sam. Notwithstanding, there was a method to Sam’s madness. At the end of the interview, he literally pummeled the Brazilian executive with questions about his country. How do you advertise . . cut down theft . . . promote good customer relations, etc.? Sam wasn’t as gratuitous with his aid as first appeared . . Walmart later launched a joint venture in South America. Undoubtedly, Sam didn’t personally carry out all the details and implement the steps necessary to open in South America, but his learning about the country and operations therein, served as a foundation for his managers to follow.

An executive that sets aside time to travel and experience new foods and service amenities, is another example of learning orientation. The performance oriented executive tends to always be at home . . . . always on the dining room floor. As a result, he or she often loses sight of the "big picture." Everything works like clockwork and the service and foods served are always the same, but the member soon becomes tired of all that perfect food served in the perfect, albeit same manner. Meanwhile, the traveling executive brings home innovative ideas on foods and service that are enthusiastically implemented by the staff. W. R. "Red" Steger, CCM, prior to his retirement, was a perfect example of the learning executive. He made a point of visiting other clubs, and even other countries, to learn about their procedures and ideas. He acquired knowledge in all areas, whether he thought it would be applicable or not, when he returned to his club. As an example, he and his wife attended a cooking school in France. Obviously, he wasn’t going to be cooking in the kitchen when he returned to River Oaks Country Club, but the learning process of taking a class in a foreign country opened new vistas. Ideas on new recipes, new equipment available in France, and even how to import a new product to the U.S. were just a few of the assets he carried back to the club. "Red" used his learning check-off list as much as his performance check-off.

While most executives aren’t rushing to abandon performance for pure learning, they seem to agree there must be an element of R & D (research and development) in any successful operation. The detail man is essential in a successful club, but that individual doesn’t always have to be the top executive. Rather, he or she should freely and competently delegate such duties, thereby leaving time for the learning process. As one executive stated, "Take some time to smell the roses. Step back and take a look at the total picture. I make a point of acquiring at least one new bit of knowledge each day. If this means being learning oriented . . . . so be it." ²