My Boss, and good friend, Jeff Brandwein approached me about doing a guest appearance on his Blog– Wake Up! It’s Day One. Naturally, I had no idea what I was going to write about at first. What expert am I? Why would anyone listen to me? I started thinking about what others think of me, and something people call me a lot is “Elite Caddy.” Silly, I know. They’re partially making fun of me because that’s my Instagram handle. But to be honest, it also means a great deal to me. I was an Elite Caddy at one of America’s top 100 golf courses for the better part of a decade. I was one of the best. I figured I would share the principles that made me one of the best, that made me Elite.
If You’re Not 5 Minutes Early, You’re 10 Minutes Late
This is something my Grandfather said to me all the time, and it stuck. I hate being late to anything, especially things that are work-related. Being early shows you care, it shows that you’re willing to work harder than the others, and in return, you often reap the rewards. Simple concept, right? In my case, being early showed the head pro that I was reliable, and I was rewarded by getting assigned better groups to caddy for, and in return making more money.
Do Something Different
Yes, every Caddy can clean a golf club. Every Caddy can rake a bunker, or give yardage. But what I did differently from every other Caddy is that I knew more about the history of the golf course than everyone. Guests and members love that stuff, and this allowed me to create the best member/guest experience possible. This was another thing that allowed me to establish myself as one of the best.
Act As If Someone Is Always Watching
Think about it. You almost always act better when you know someone is watching you. Why not act like that all the time? I can remember back to a day of cleaning out the golf carts all by myself after an outing. The golf outing had been over for about an hour, the sun was setting, and every other Caddy had left by this point. But there I was, cleaning carts alone. After finishing, I was walking to my car to go home when the head pro gave me a call and told me I was working the next day for the best member. I didn’t really know why I was given this opportunity until he ended the call saying “and thanks for cleaning the carts, good work.” He had been watching the whole time.
Although I’m no longer an active Elite Caddy, I still carry these three principles with me today. I’m now in sales at a great company here in Chicago, and these are things I implement on a daily basis. So, what do you do for a living? How can you get better? How can you be Elite?
Good thing it’s Day One.
