#4 Our Guiding Principles

At Parmasters Golf Training Centers, we strive to have our business be an example of these five key Guiding Principles:

• Sustainable Quantum Growth - We believe the purpose of our business is More Profits and More Life.
• Systems Thinking - We believe in a system-dependent business.
• Servant Leadership - We believe the greatest leaders are those who are consistently taking action to serve others.
• Strategy - We believe in focusing on the highest leverage actions and outcomes.
• Success Formula for Golf - We believe that Clarity + Focus + Duration x Desire = Success in Golf, and in life.

At Parmasters Golf Training Centers,  we believe the purpose of our business is More Profits and More Life.

That means that ensuring the sustainability of a business is of the utmost importance. If a business is to be sustainable, it must produce consistent, predictable results every single time over an extended period of time.

At Parmasters Golf Training Centers, however, we also believe that for a business to be truly sustainable, it’s livelihood and growth must also support the long term sustainability of both it’s people, the community and the planet. 

A sustainable business philosophy involves adopting the idea that business is responsible for the products and services they provide from inception to end use. In our industry for example, this means looking at everything from the materials we use to building our facilities to the way we impact the lives of our employees. Also in an industry such as ours where our main product is personalized training, the responsibility concept must focus on social responsibility and contribution to the community.

Business leaders are beginning to understand that operating in a sustainable and socially conscious manner means good business. The research of the past twenty years has made it clear that ethical business and social contribution are becoming an economic imperative. More and more consumers are showing that they are willing to pay higher prices for products when they know that the company is ethical, environmentally responsible, and contributing a portion of their profits or labor to the community.

Rationale for Sustainable Business Philosophy

Not only is the planet demanding that we clean up our act, but today's consumers are demanding that companies be environmental responsible and offer consumers’ environmentally friendly products. Stanford University completed a detailed client satisfaction survey for example, and found that sixty-six percent of clients are willing to pay more for a company's products and services if they believe the company is environmentally and socially responsible!

We have adopted The Natural Step guidelines for sustainability as our own. The Natural Step lists four system conditions that are necessary in order for society (and business) to be sustainable.

In order for society to be sustainable, nature's functions and diversity are not systematically:

1. Subject to increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earth's crust;

2. Subject to increasing concentrations of substances produced by society;

3. Impoverished by physical displacement, over harvesting, or other forms of ecosystem manipulation; and

4. Resources are used fairly and efficiently in order to meet human needs globally.

Sustainability is intricately linked to quantum growth.

Quantum growth differs from traditional growth in that it involves making an exponential and apparently effortless jump from one place to another without covering all of the “logical” steps in between.

Quantum growth involves going off into a territory that has never been explored before and creating the map yourself, rather than moving systematically and gradually from one level to the next, you go for the breakthrough. Rather than being content with incremental change, you come to expect amazing leaps in performance and achievement.

To deepen your understanding of sustainability, visit The Natural Step website at www.naturalstep.org or read The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken.

Announcing our cause, Right to Play!

It's official, we've selected an amazing group called Right to Play as Parmasters cause. Among other things, that means all Parmasters Golf Training Centers will be donating one dollar from every paid lesson to this organization, and we couldn't be prouder.

Right To Play is an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play as a tool for development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world.

Their home page is www.righttoplay.com , a quick summary of what they do is at
http://www.righttoplay.com/site/PageServer?pagename=overview

and a stirring new public service announcement can be seen at
http://www.righttoplay.com/site/PageServer?pagename=PSA_landing_2005
(click on the picture, then wait a bit as it loads - it's worth the wait!)

We also look forward to developing our own special fundraising events for them, using our sites, and our shared vision and values.

We're proud to join many other supporters, including athletes from around the globe like Lance Armstrong, Steve Young, Wayne Gretzky, Ian Thorpe, Martina Hingis and many more.

See this page for a list:
http://www.righttoplay.com/site/PageServer?pagename=athletes_map

And, if you want to donate directly to this great group, visit
http://www.righttoplay.com/site/PageServer?pagename=Donate

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At Parmasters Golf Training Centers we believe in a system-dependent business. 

What’s more, the purpose of a business, and of your work, is to serve your life, not for your life to serve your business or your work. System thinking helps you to contribute to the growth and sustainability of the business by ensuring that it is not dependent on any one person for its success.  

At the same time, systems thinking can contribute greatly to the fulfillment you experience by allowing you to get consistent, predictable results, thus freeing up more time for you to be creative and innovative in other areas. Until systems have been developed and are being used, chaos often reigns supreme, keeping you in a constant state of stress and crisis.

At Parmasters Golf Training Centers we see you as much more than a franchisee. We view you as partners in growing our businesses together. For this reason it is important that you learn to think like a business owner, or rather like an enlightened business owner. You must learn the skill of systems thinking.

Read the book, The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to do About It by Michael Gerber or visit www.e-myth.com .

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At Parmasters Golf Training Centers we believe the greatest leaders are those who are consistently taking action to serve others.

Each one of us has the power and the responsibility to become a leader. Our definition of being a leader is founded on the concept of “servant leadership” that was popularized by Robert K. Greenleaf. In essence, servant leadership tells us that the greatest leaders are those who are consistently taking action to serve others. Rather than hoarding knowledge and power, the Servant Leader strives to give it away to others. Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Jesus and Buddha are all examples of Servant Leadership in action.

Great Leaders

• Have a vision connected to a worthwhile cause that gives their lives purpose.
• Communicate their vision in a way that attracts other people to the cause and inspires purpose in their lives as well.
• Accept responsibility for their actions, the actions of their followers, and for achieving goals that will support their vision.
• Are humble and are continually striving for greater self-awareness, self-reliance and integrity.
• Excel at enabling others to follow their calling and use their special gifts in service of the cause.
• Put into action the quote by Mother Theresa that “There are no great acts, only small acts done with great love.”  
• Build on their strengths and the strengths of others rather than on their weaknesses.  
• Inspire others through helping them to meet their needs, discover their gifts, give birth to their dreams, and reveal their brilliance to the world. As in the Marianne Williamson quote (often attributed to Nelson Mandela) “it is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us…and in letting our own light shine we give permission for others to do the same.” A true leader helps others to release their fear of their own brilliance and let the light of their gifts shine through to act as a beacon to others.
• Have the courage to tell the truth and speak up for what they believe in.
• Are authentic – their actions and their words are congruent.
• Make choices based on love rather than on fear.

“Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” Martin Luther King

To learn more about Servant Leadership see the book Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness by Robert K. Greenleaf or visit www.greenleaf.org.

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Strategy

We believe in focusing on the highest leverage actions and outcomes.

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Success Formula for Golf

We believe that Clarity + Focus + Duration x Desire = Success in Golf, and in life.

Clarity is getting a clear picture on what you want to accomplish. The end point. If it's on the course, it's where you want the ball to end up after a shot.

Focus is about clearing away the distractions to focus on the task at hand. In the golf game, it's freeing your mind of swing mechanics, the last bad shot, the environment around you. We teach a mantra to repeat inside your mind, "shoulder to shoulder" to create a rhythm to your swing and to block out the distractions.

Duration is about repeating the motions over and over to create patterns. Whether it's hitting groups of three balls at the practice range with each club to create patterns, or consistently using the Long Game Fluency Bay in our centers to groove your swing, or using a weighted golf club for your warm-up routines, add a duration to your practice and training for more consistent results.

All of this is multiplied by desire. Desire is the "secret ingredient" to massive success, both on and off the golf course. We believe you can build your desire by focusing on what's working in your golf game, rather than what's not, and by recalling or "anchoring" those successes on the golf course.

All together this adds up to success on and off the golf course.

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