Category: Meeting Notes

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Summary Of TAC Townhall Meeting 27 Oct 2010

As the management of the American Club has apparently managed the TAC to the brink of financial failure, a group of 4 TAC members teamed up with 4 TAC board of governors.  This group was named ‘The Working Group 2” or TWG2.

This TWG2 presented their recommendations for how to fix the problems of the TAC.  They were very candid about what needed to be done.  Following their presentation, when asked if they “were confident that their recommended changes would be implemented?”.   the group unanimously responded “No”.  They responded on how getting information was slow and painful at TAC.

It was apparent to all present that there was a split between TWG2’s recommendations and some members on the board.  Although the positions of all the BoG (board of governors) was unclear, one board member made clear that he was against their recommendations in several instances.  In one case, he responded that the loan could not be renegotiated.  When asked by another member, he revealed that he was the one who negotiated the loan at 4 plus % interest for the club but did not clarify why he was unwilling to renegotiate and his position varied from that of the 4 TWG2 members.

The overall conclusion was that the problem of the club is not just an inept general manager playing the committee and board system, but also some individuals on the board of governors.  There are definitely some good people there, but there are also some people that need to move on.

A recommendation was made, and accepted by the President, to have a further meeting for the Board of Governor candidates to debate or state their positions as being for change or of the group that would continue the status quo and continue to block change and not make the changes necessary.

An American Chamber of Commerce (ACCJ) board member asked the General Manager if he paid for the development of yet another new TAC site that was described earlier in the meeting.  With a bit of stumbling around saying something about a ‘backend’ the GM confirmed that he did use budget to develop a new website.  The member went on to explain that the TAC must shift their thinking.  “The paradigm must change” he stated.  He illustrated his points by explaining how at ACCJ he paid nothing for web development, the chamber magazine, the upkeep of the website or virtually anything else.  This comment was a brilliant illustration that TAC needs people with fresh minds.

Although we have not covered all the questions and comments of the membership in this summary,  the conclusion we made from all that we need to rid the club of blockers on the board of governors and elect people who are willing to implement the changes.  One BoG member (mentioned above) seemed to indict himself at the meeting as being against change later on multiple points.  Later arguing with the TWG2 members about providing information that the 4 clearly stated they had not received.  The positions of the other BOG members and BOG candidates for the upcoming election remains unclear at this point.

The great work of the 4 board of governors and the TWG2 made it known that their work must be implemented otherwise we will have to continue “these

If you have any comments or would like to add any further points, please feel free to do so in the comment section below.  We will edit this summary accordingly to incorporate your comments.

Stay tuned!

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Ecstasy and Agony By Terry White

I think it’s fair to say that many of us on TWG2 have found the experience both fascinating and – at the same time- frustrating. While almost everyone — Board, member and management included — individually recognize that we need to change the way the way we operate, there seems to be great difficulty actually doing it. Ironically, transformation is dependent on those dysfunctional mechanisms we seek to reform. It will be important going forward for all members to stay actively involved and to keep up the pressure for reform. The potential for backsliding once the short term financial pain is deferred remains a clear possibility.

We recently spoke to the Board about the twin missions driving TWG2 – the need for short-term measures to address the DSCR concerns, and longer-term actions to address the root causes of the Club’s tightened circumstances.

Short-Term Measures: We explained that we believe that it is possible to remove considerable expense from the Club’s operations without impacting services to members. Working closely with the Finance Committee, we are confident that we can recommend a budget that meets the current situation realistically and head-on. We have also recommended some changes to the management structure that help deliver on the four strategic issues below.
Strategic Issues: At the same time, we’ve pointed out that there are four key issues that need to be addressed to effect the transformation that will ensure our long-term success:

1. First, we believe there is a fundamental problem with the governance of the Club. Mostly, that’s our fault as members … but we have to put in place an effective and active governance structure that determines the strategic objectives of the Club and helps oversee management in the delivery of those objectives. It’s great to see that the BoG agrees with this perspective and has launched a Governance Committee charged with making changes.
2. Second, and a necessary consequence of the first, is the need to develop a strategic plan that gives clear direction on what’s important to the club as a corporate entity and the aspirations and expectations of its members. 3. The third plank follows the second – a need for a clear understanding of the Club’s brandand the mechanisms to market that brand among the existing and prospective membership. The Membership Committee is potentially going to take this challenge on board with pro bono help from members who are professionals in this area.
4. The final element is transparency and accountability mechanisms, reviewed regularly by the board andreported to the members. A performance dashboard comes to mind, and we’ve made some suggestions about what this might look like.

These four challenges make for much more difficult conversations: many people have opinions on each of these issues and the unfortunate result can be that the status quo emerges as a compromise. That’s the frustrating part.

To be sure, measurable progress has been made to date. Not least, management has been given more and tighter guidance by the board in the budgeting process. Budgeting to lose a major portion of our remaining equity and basking in self-satisfaction when we lose a lesser amount is now, hopefully, a thing of the past. Executive compensation is in the cross-hairs and governance per-se is finally attracting a measure of attention.

I’d love to get feedback and comments … all reasonable opinions sought and welcomed!

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MABT Update Sept 5

It’s certainly been a lively time for the TWG2 team during the summer holidays. We’ve been digging into a wide variety of topics that include root cause analysis, the Club’s revenue and expenditure projections for the next few years, F&B, strategy and governance issues, outsourcing opportunities, and benchmarks for compensation. We’ve also made a pretty significant contribution to the Traders’ Bar balance sheet!

Some of our members have been active participants in discussions with the Club’s committees, including Finance, Compensation, F&B, Membership, House and others. Special thanks to the Committee chairs and BoG for their cooperation in this process. And similarly, thanks to those of you who have taken the trouble to give us your ideas and opinions these last few months. TWG2 sees the membership as its constituency, and we’re focused on delivering outcomes that ensure the Club meets and exceeds your expectations.

We’d also like to recognize the effort put in by the management and staff in backing us up – we’ve been asking some pretty difficult questions and sticking our noses into every aspect of the Club’s operations, and it’s gratifying to see the positive way in which people are responding to the need for change.

It’s interesting to note that we’re not the only private members club facing these sort of challenges right now. That makes our work, and your support, even more important as we deal with a much more competitive environment going forward. Our goal is to make sure that TAC is well-placed to thrive over the next three to five years, by delivering on a unique lifestyle and community proposition that just can’t be beat!

We’d like the chance to report back to members and get feedback before submitting our final report, and are planning a town hall meeting later in the month for that specific purpose. Please support us – and your Club – by coming along and letting us know what you think.

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MABT Update For 14 July

Thanks to everyone who continues to participate in making a better TAC! it’s our Club, and each of us has a role to play in securing its future.

Per Lance Lee’s recent note, we’ve been quietly working in the background looking for positive ways to bring the Club back on to a solid financial footing. While not everyone will agree with our approach, we are operating under the following principles:

  • §   Our core principle is that our role is to identify potential solutions to the challenges ahead of the Club, not to attribute responsibility or blame to individuals or groups. We are united in believing that we don’t have time to play politics.
  • §   We have insisted that TAC is an American club, and that its positioning and differentiation depends on this fact.
  • §   We have affirmed that the Club is, well, a club and exists solely to serve its members. Even more clearly stated, we are not a for-profit business.
  • §   We have clearly acknowledged that our staff are our second-most important asset after the members, and that almost without exception do an outstanding job. We salute them.

We think we’ve made some solid gains so far:

  • §   For what we believe is the first time, the BoG has given management budget guidance ahead of the budget process. That guidance: run the Club to hit the xxx target.
  • §   The F and B Committee has been asked to prepare an operating plan that breaks even exclusive of undistributed costs.
  • §   We have suggested a target of recurrent savings of ¥400 million from non member-facing costs.
  • §   We have proposed that the goal of “becoming the premier club in Asia” be dropped in favor of something more relevant and achievable (and measurable!).
  • §   We have agreed that current management costs are beyond the Club’s means, and that an immediate review against market benchmarks is appropriate. We have proposed an aggressive target for reductions.
  • §   TWG2 will soon be holding a series of Open Meetings to listen to you ahead of releasing an interim report to the BoG and members. We emphasize “ahead”. The meetings will operate under the principles identified above. Please support us by participating energetically!
  • §   We have recommended that the current practice of 14 months of dues be removed in favor of 12 equal payments.
  • §   Although it is very early in the process, Japanese mega-banks have indicated that it might be possible to achieve significant reductions in interest charges when the time comes to re-finance our loans.
  • §   We have identified Governance as a very significant issue for discussion once more urgent priorities have been resolved.

There are many other points that have been discussed, so we believe there is much work still to be done. Current priorities include the framing of RFIs for potential outsourcing opportunities, the potential to better leverage marketing opportunities, and setting the framework for the BoG to create a medium-term strategic plan.

Again, we know that not everyone will agree with our principles and priorities. That’s your right, and we expect you all to continue to be passionate about the future of our Club. So please stay / get in touch … and come along to the proposed meetings!

Terry White for Making A Better Tac (MABT)

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All Members Email

—– Original Message —–
From: “Better TAC Team” <editors@wordpress-644826-2102161.cloudwaysapps.com>
To: “Tac_members” <tac_members@wordpress-644826-2102161.cloudwaysapps.com>
Sent: Monday, June 21, 2010 7:19:51 PM GMT +09:00 Japan
Subject:  Making A Better TAC (MABT)- Need Your Feedback
Dear Fellow TAC Members,
With the push for a “Yes” vote on increasing costs to TAC members by the current leadership, the vast majority of the TAC membership has risen up in alarm. This was evident in the three town hall meetings and materialized in the vote result.
Although not organized at the time, a number of us were able to get an email out to demonstrate how a “Yes” vote was the wrong decision (posted on the website). If you were one of the members in the packed room on 7 June, you will know that people were very concerned about what is going on with the Board of Governors (BOG) and especially with the management of the club.
We have amazing people in retail, IT, operations, hospitality, entertainment, finance, marketing, and many other areas that can help the club keep the glow that it has had and blossom as it goes back into these amazing new facilities in a few months time.
Our goal is to better involve our membership as we have found out few things about TAC that concern us.
  • -TAC does the majority of work house and outsources little to keep costs competitive
  • -The average salary for the top 10 managers at TAC in 2009 was XX million yen according to the website. Quick marketing checks would have this as 40% above market rates in Japan.
  • -Apparent over-staffing in certain areas of the Club
  • -There seems to be no check or balance on the management we employ
Democracy has spoken and the Board of Governors is listening after your “No” vote. The group of members that has been working towards fixing and helping the club has become known as Making A Better TAC (MABT). We have a website with close to 100 visitors each day since we set it up earlier this month. Clearly all members that want accountability and transparency are a part of MABT.
Five of initial MABT membership will begin work with the BOG shortly to help better represent the membership on the whole. The rest of our growing group will be monitoring the status. We will use the website to collaborate with each other.
We will remain a voice of the membership and independent from both the management and the BOG. Let’s all stand together to continue our momentum. The site can use more ideas from you of how
  1. To Reduce Cost
  2. Generate More Revenue
  3. Improve the Tokyo American Club overall
Please check out the site and comment in the appropriate section so that we can open the lines of communication and make everything clear.
We are looking forward to working together to make an even better TAC.
Sincerely,
Making A Better TAC (MABT)
www.abetteramericanclub.com
PS. Please feel free to change, remove or add your email to this list by following the links below. We apologize that this email address is not monitored, but encourage everyone to communicate via the website. (There is a link on the top page of the website for the mailing list as well).
_______________________________________________
Tac_members mailing list
https://abetteramericanclub.com/mailman/listinfo/tac_members_abetteramericanclub.com
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Today’s MABT Team Meeting Summary

Today’s Making A Better TAC (MABT) meeting was effective.  This was the second meeting but was a good chance for various members concerned about the mismanagement of the club to pitch in and discuss what we as all, as member-owners of the club, that we should do to make sure the TAC goes back into the new facility with the influence and image it has had.  A number of points for the meeting.

-One of our leaders was approached by the TAC to select five people of our growing MABT (membership) to work with the current board of governors (BOG)to work with them to begin working on transparency and fixing the club.

-Feedback from a vast majority of the membership sees the BOG as tainted for pushing financially unsound “assessment” without really trying to fix the true problems.  We need to help fix that.

-The board of governors is not united in leadership

-Much of the club’s problem lies with the management that we have hired and relied on too heavily.

At this meeting, we decided to give the 4 our numbers a chance to work with the BOG and try to help them rebuild the rapport with the club and fix the real problems.

The cross section of the group agreed to give the small group a chance to meet with the BOG and see how progress is one month from now.

MABT will continue to work a watchdog and encouragement to help the club rid itself of any practices, costs, or even people in the wrong positions that may be dragging it down.  More importantly, we shall be an independent branch and voice of the membership and keep remain independent from the current apparently broken committee system.