Every club eventually faces the capital decision: the new clubhouse wing, the reimagined dining venue, the aquatics complex that has been on the wishlist for a decade. These conversations almost always begin with what the club should build. We would offer a different opening question: who are we, and what should this investment make possible for our club’s experience?
A capital project is rarely remembered for its construction timeline. Members remember these projects for what they signal about who the club is becoming. The building is a platform. When leadership treats the project as an act of identity rather than only an act of construction, the investment aligns leadership and deepens member attachment. That alignment is achievable, and it does not require a full rebrand or cultural overhaul. It requires getting the sequence of operations right.
Define who you are before you decide what to build
”We find that the clubs getting the most from their investment understand their identity before they break ground,” explains Derek Sussner, Founder at Sussner. “That clarity tells them what to build and how to program it. Many leaders tell us in hindsight that they wish they had done the identity work first, because it would have shaped the facility from the start.”
Identity defined early makes the project pay off. A club that understands itself as offering a breadth of experiences can build new dining venues as distinct destinations, each telling a variation of the larger story, each proving the identity through lived experience.
Tom Wallace, Partner at KK&W, agrees. ”We see the same principle expressed through governance and data. The starting point for any capital decision needs evidence. Two documents anchor that evidence: the Capital Reserve Study, which establishes the obligatory capital a club must spend to protect its physical assets and manage deferred maintenance, and the Campus Master Plan, which establishes the aspirational capital that elevates the member experience and advances the long-range vision.”
Understanding the balance between obligatory and aspirational spending is a critical strategic conversation between the Board and General Manager. It shifts capital planning from a contest of personal preferences and loud voices to a transparent, defensible process. When a project reinforces who the club is becoming, it’s an investment.
The two lenses meet on a single test: does this project strengthen what makes the club distinct, or does it replicate what other clubs in the market are already doing?
Watch for the amenity that does not match the identity
There is a reliable warning sign that capital is drifting away from identity. Picture a club that describes itself as a family destination for every generation, yet continues to pour capital into a championship golf course while the pool deteriorates. When the only truly premier amenity is the one that does not match the stated identity, the investment is quietly working against the story the club tells about itself.
At Sussner, we read that gap to avoid a perception problem,” says Sussner. “Every element a member encounters is either reinforcing who the club is or diluting it. A facility that contradicts the identity teaches members to distrust the message.”
Wallace emphasizes, ”The same gap is a stewardship problem. Stewardship is a leadership philosophy. It means ensuring the club is healthier, stronger, and more vibrant for the next generation. Every capital decision is a message to the membership about what the club values and who it values.”
Leadership that balances the aspirational with the obligatory, the new with the existing, sends a message of care for the whole club rather than only its shiniest parts.
This is also where staff spaces deserve a deliberate place in the plan. When break rooms, locker areas, and back-of-house workspaces are overlooked, the message to employees is unmistakable: member experience matters; yours does not. Over the past five years, the leading clubs have recognized that the member experience is always a reflection of the employee experience, and they have invested accordingly. A club cannot be an employer of choice without providing a great employee environment.
Lead the people, then tell the story
A capital project asks the General Manager to operate in two modes at once: as a strategic change leader and an operational stabilizer.
“Over time, our executive search due diligence has consistently shown that communication remains one of the most critical competencies identified by private club Board Members and Search Committee. A GM/COO communicates up to the Board, across to vendors and project managers, down to staff, and outward to members, with messages tailored to each audience but never contradictory. When people lack information, they fill the void with assumptions and anxiety. The strongest GM/COOs over-communicate with intention,” confirms Wallace.
Governance discipline protects that clarity. A board-driven Long-Range Planning Committee, inclusive of the GM/COO, owns the strategic direction. A Construction Steering Committee provides focused oversight during active work. For any project exceeding three million dollars, a dedicated professional Project Manager should report to the General Manager/COO, not the board, and should never be a club member, because a member in that role blurs governance boundaries and puts personal relationships in the middle of high-stakes decisions. Boards own the what and the why. General Manager/COOs own the how. When those lanes are clear, projects move faster and with far less friction. And when debates arise, they stay behind closed doors; public alignment is non-negotiable.
”That internal clarity is exactly what makes member communication land,” adds Sussner. “The instinct during a project is to announce what is being built and when it will be done. The stronger message is: we are investing in this because of who we are, and here is what it allows us to accentuate.”
When members understand the why, expectations take care of themselves; people stop measuring the project against their personal preferences and start measuring it against the club’s direction. The same clarity should apply to staff. Rather than scripting every interaction, we equip people with a genuine understanding of what makes the club special, so they know how to handle the moments no one anticipated. Understanding solves challenges a script didn’t know could occur. This is how internal and external identities stay aligned, including in the moments no one planned.
When the project opens, the work returns to identity. A new venue should carry a name and a story of its own, one that ladders into the larger story and creates an atmosphere of “if you know, you know.” That quality is what makes the place feel genuinely theirs.
First steps for the General Manager/COO and Board
You do not need a finished master plan to begin aligning capital with identity. A few low-barrier moves create momentum:
- Name the identity before the next project conversation. Articulate who the club is and what makes it special, and use that as the screen every proposed project must pass through.
- Put the two documents on the table. Review the Capital Reserve Study and the Campus Master Plan side by side, so the obligatory and the aspirational are weighed in the same conversation.
- Clarify the roles early. Agree on what the board decides, what the GM executes, and how the two will communicate, before the first announcement goes out.
- Lead member communication with the why, not the what. Frame the investment as an expression of identity, and let the construction updates carry the story forward.
A capital project is one of the most visible decisions a club will make. Handled as construction, it produces a building. Handled as an act of identity and stewardship, it produces a stronger, clearer, more enduring club.
NCA Club Director – August 2026
Sussner is a Minneapolis-based branding firm specializing in helping private clubs define, design, and deliver brand clarity. With a strategic and creative approach, Sussner partners with clubs to modernize their brand identity, strengthen member engagement, and elevate their market perception.