Nobody in this industry sees more clubs at once than a CMAA Chapter Director.

Join Derek with Kate Scott, managing director of the Carolinas Chapter of the CMAA, one of the largest and fastest growing chapters in the country. Her job puts her in the room with club leaders across the Carolinas constantly, which means she doesn't just see trends. She sees them forming.

Right now that story includes a labor market that isn't letting up, a generational gap between who's on the board and who's actually using the club, and the question of how long the Covid resurgence can carry clubs that haven't done the harder work of building for what comes next. 

Her words for it were familiar. Be there, be available, and the value compounds over time.

For more information, visit www.sussner.com

Most clubs think they have a strategy towards the future when what they usually have is a list of tactics to deal with the now.

Join Derek with Avi Olitzky, president and principal consultant at Olitzky Consulting Group, who has spent his career helping membership organizations understand and close that gap. Avi came to this work not through club management but through years of leading congregations and advising nonprofits, and that vantage point is exactly what makes his thinking on belonging land the way it does. A congregation and a private club have more in common than most people realize.

Sacred purpose, high emotion, legacy families, competing expectations, and deep questions about relevance. A club is never just amenities, it’s a promise of belonging wrapped up into an experience, and that’s exactly where the work sits.

If your club is doing a lot but can’t quite say what it’s building toward, this episode is for you.

Half of all clubs have a waitlist right now, and the difference between the ones that do and the ones that don’t usually has nothing to do with the golf course.

Join Derek with Ed Heil, founder of StoryTeller Club Marketing, who has spent two decades helping clubs figure out why their story isn’t landing the way they think it is. 

Ed walks through what that disconnect actually costs a club, from the 18 month window when a new member is most likely to become an advocate, to the shift happening right now in how people search for anything, including a club. Google traffic is down. AI search is up. And underneath all of it sits the same problem he keeps running into in his own work: clubs with core values so safe they could belong to any club in the country, and content with nowhere real to attach to.

If you’ve ever wondered why your communications aren’t landing the way they used to, this conversation is a good place to start.

Satisfaction tells you whether someone enjoyed their last meal. It doesn't tell you whether they feel like they belong. April Seifert of Sprocket CX on what clubs aren't measuring, and why the most important question isn't how members feel about the food.

Most clubs survey their members annually. They track NPS scores, read comment cards, and walk away feeling like they've done the work. But a high satisfaction score can quietly mask something more concerning: a member who rates everything a nine and still doesn't renew — not because the experience was bad, but because the belonging was never there.

Join Derek Sussner and April Seifert, president and data scientist at Sprocket CX, as they explore the difference between measuring what members think and understanding why they stay. April brings a PhD in social cognitive psychology and years of work at the intersection of sports fan loyalty and human behavior — and the parallels to private club membership are sharper than you might expect.

Whether you're a general manager wondering why strong operational scores aren't translating to member retention, a board trying to make sense of survey data that doesn't point anywhere useful, or a leader ready to ask better questions of your membership, this episode reframes what it means to truly understand your members.

For more information, visit www.sussner.com #PrivateClub #ClubIndustry #LeadershipPodcast #Branding #BrandingStrategies #ClubsMadeMeaningful

A milestone is only as meaningful as the intention behind it. A logo on a napkin and a one-night gala check a box. What Casey Newman did at Lakeside Country Club for their 75th anniversary was something different entirely.

Join Derek with Casey Newman, General Manager and COO at Lakeside Country Club in Houston, as she shares how her team turned a yearlong celebration into something members and staff felt genuine ownership of. Lakeside has been through Hurricane Harvey, a pandemic, and a full golf course renovation. The 75th wasn't just a number. It was a chance to honor the resilience of a membership that rebuilt something together and look forward to what comes next.

Whether you're a GM with a milestone on the horizon, a board member wondering how to make your club's history feel relevant to newer members, or a leader trying to build culture that outlasts any single event, this episode offers a grounded perspective on what it means to know your story and use it well.

Because your club's story isn't something you make up. It's built every day through the people in it and the memories they make together.

For more information, visit www.sussner.com

A new website won't save you. Neither will a new logo, a pickleball court, or a redesigned menu if you haven't defined the problem you're trying to solve. Are you mistaking a solution for a diagnosis?

Whether you're a GM navigating a board pushing for quick fixes, a club leader sensing something is off but unsure where to start, this episode gives you a framework to slow down before you speed up. Because the clubs that invest wisely aren't the ones with the fastest answers. They're the ones who asked the right questions first.

For more information, visit www.sussner.com

Member satisfaction scores look solid. But when the survey asks about value, the numbers soften. Most boards reach for pricing adjustments or reworking their messaging, but what do you do when that shows no results? 

Whether you are a board reviewing survey results you cannot fully explain, a general manager trying to close the gap between a great operation and a lukewarm value score, or a leader wondering how emotional intelligence connects to member retention, this episode reframes the conversation around two questions every club should be able to answer.

For more information, visit www.sussner.com

A new general manager inherits more than a title. They inherit a culture, a team, a membership — and a window of clarity that closes faster than most people realize. Join Derek with Luke Burbach, the new general manager at The Club at Golden Valley. This conversation is an on-the-ground look at what principled leadership looks like in motion: how to build structured listening into the calendar before acting, how to find quick wins that signal engagement without forcing change, and why the single greatest risk of a mishandled first 90 days isn't operational — it's relational.

Whether you're a board preparing for a GM transition, a general manager stepping into a new club, or a leader wondering how identity stays alive once the brand work is done, this episode offers a candid, human account of what it actually takes to turn a strong identity into a living culture.

Most clubs describe themselves the same way. Great amenities. Welcoming culture. Excellent service. And most of the time, the club down the street says the exact same thing.

Join Derek and Tucker as they dig into one of the most persistent and underexamined challenges in the private club world: what real differentiation looks like and how to know whether your club has an identity problem, a communication problem, or both. 

Whether you're a general manager frustrated that your club can't articulate what makes it special, a board member trying to understand why strategic plans aren't producing momentum, or a marketing director searching for language that actually resonates with prospective members, this episode cuts through the noise and gets to the real question: what could your club claim that every competitor would agree belongs to you?

Because differentiation isn't built in a boardroom. It's uncovered and lived daily, at every touchpoint.

For more information, visit www.sussner.com

A membership director's job isn't just filling seats. It's curating the first year of someone's belonging—one introduction at a time.

Join Derek and Tucker as they sit down with Melissa Hanson, Director of Marketing and Membership at The Club at Old Cypress in Naples, Florida. With 15 years of experience living the brand daily, Melissa reveals what it really takes to transform prospects into advocates, new members into ambassadors, and a marketing role into the heartbeat of club culture.

Whether you're a membership director trying to move beyond transactional tours, a general manager wondering how to scale authentic connection, or a club leader looking to turn members into your best salespeople, this episode offers hard-won wisdom from someone who lives at the intersection of brand and belonging every single day.

Because at exceptional clubs, membership directors aren't just filling a pipeline. They're matchmakers for friends, architects of relationships that turn "I joined" into "I belong."

For more information, visit ww.sussner.com

#PrivateClub #ClubIndustry #leadershippodcast #Branding #Brandingstrategies  #ClubsMadeMeaningful