Golf course superintendents who want to increase their understanding of business strategy and management have until Aug. 16 to submit applications for the eighth annual Syngenta Business Institute.
Scheduled for Dec. 5-8, SBI is a partnership between Syngenta and the Wake Forest University School of Business to help superintendents strengthen business and management skills."The Syngenta Business Institute is one of the most unique and rewarding experiences I have ever been part of," said John Cunningham, CGCS at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, who attended SBI in 2015. "Having the opportunity to attend three days of business classes focused on the many challenges we face as superintendents was unbelievable. Spending time with other superintendents was beneficial, and walking away with best management practices, tools and solutions to help some of these problems was awesome."
To be considered, applicants must complete an application that includes an essay on why they should be selected, relevant professional experience and educational background. This year's attendees will be notified in October.
"(SBI) deals with things that are outside of our wheelhouse," said 2015 attendee 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.
"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."
Click here to learn more about the Syngenta Business Institute or to apply.