Page 11 - GBC Spring 2023 Eng

Scott was the opening keynote speaker at
the 2022 Golf Business Canada Conference
& Trade Show in Vancouver, BC. Delegates were treated to a memorable session on UnMarketing: Everything Has Changed
and Nothing Is Different. Scott is the
highest ranked opening keynote speaker
in conference history. Here, he takes a deep dive into how to implement non-traditional marketing strategies at your facility to become a more effective leader and increase your bottom line.
When I first joined the workforce, I had two goals - learn how to play golf and figure out how to pretend I liked sushi. Whether around the table or on the green, these were the places my coworkers came together to form friendships and build strong teams, and I wanted to be part of it. The sushi one took a little longer, but with golf, it was love at first swing. Not long after I began that first job and the first few mediocre rounds of golf that went with it, I realized I was unemployable...a.k.a, an entrepreneur.
My company, UnMarketing, began as a cry against hypocritical marketing - using marketing tactics we hate as customers (ahem...cold calling) when we represent our businesses. It grew to be about coming together, community and the power of building relationships with our
potential market - because if you believe business is built on relationships, you make building them your business.
AWARENESS IS KEY
One of the first things golf taught me was that coming together required awareness. It might be an individual sport, but golf wasn’t played alone, and you had to keep your ears open and your head up (at least metaphorically). As an entrepreneur, speaker and leader in my industry, I have returned to this lesson many times.
Awareness is critical in leadership because we are setting the tone for teams, but for too long, we have imagined leaders as those out front, with their backs turned. We think about leadership as being “ahead of the game.” However, we can only effectively lead others when we pay attention to their feedback and base decisions on correct information.
At UnMarketing, we believe that leading with awareness encourages and facilitates a free flow of feedback, supports responsive change and growth and recognizes that no company’s success is a one-person job. Effective leadership happens from
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