It begins

As of today the propaganda machine that is the LRPC and Management has shifted up a gear with an e-mail letter to members that all but presents the relocation to Takanawa as a done deal.

SHAME on them for this dishonest and slanted piece of communication!

We look forward to the next town hall meetings and the voice of truth finding its way into the ears of members who know nothing but what the propaganda is telling them.

A vote of no confidence is appropriate

It might be effective to deliver to the members a bi-lingual email, possibly supported by a web site, which focuses on an easily understood and cohesive message. This would question if the BOG has to date served the interests of the members and if it should be entrusted with a high risk and expensive redevelopment project which could seriously threaten the future existance of the Club. This could be framed as a question:

"Are you willing to entrust the future of the Club to a Board of Governors and management who have demonstrated a disregard for financial responsibility? The payroll budget for 2006 is Y2.2Bn.($19 million)which is 70% of Operating Revenue. The cost of the average full-time employee is Y10 million ($85 thousand)and there are many. Shouldn't putting TAC's house in order precede any redevelopment plans? Do you really feel that you now getting excellent value for your membership costs?"

"The propaganda effort endorsed by the BOG to steam-roll the vote is worthy of tactics used by a Banana Republic. The options have not been fairly presented. If you have doubts about the wisdom of what has been termed by some as "risky and reckless" than you should vote "no". A "no" vote will serve as a strong message that the BOG should focus on delivering value to members and not on expensive, high risk, grandiose projects. The track record of your BOG and management is not impressive. Should the redevelopment go ahead and should it go badly, no one on the BOG, management or the committees will be held accountable; no one but you. Please think carefully before you vote."

April 15th, 1912

Nearly 94 years to the day, the RMS TitAniC hit an iceberg and sank.

The passengers continued to wine, dine and dance; reassured by the crew who continued to believe the management line that she was unsinkable.

The rest is confined to Davy Jones' Locker as a legacy to ill-preparedness and blind faith.

Is it unreasonable to at least make sure there are sufficient serviceable lifeboats for those that wish to disembark...as suggested by a response to the previous post.

Full Steam Ahead

The Finance Committee and the LRPC both met this weekend and voted to put to sea, regardless of the condition of the vessel or the forecast weather.

They are dis-inclined to be confused with further facts.

The vote will be the first and last time that members will have a chance to be heard on the subject. In the meantime if you want to do some lobbying, below is the beauty parade.




Make sure you vote and may I also suggest that you start taking some polaroid pictures of the Club, it may be all you have left to remember it.

Silence of the Clams

To anyone who cares about TAC's future, I hope this blog is profoundly disturbing.

The dilemma we find ourselves in is that we have sincere commitments based on foolish assumptions and a complete disregard for historical fact.

To coin Robert Samuelsen's statement about advanced economies...'political commitments outstrip the economy's capacity to deliver'.He is making the sound argument that lacklustre and profligate economies seem unable to make the hard economic decisions required today in order to guarantee a viable future. Not unlike the high-risk heart patient who continues to order fries in the hope that there will be a miracle silver-bullet to save him when the inevitable stroke or heart attack happens.

In simple terms, YOUR club has severely damaged financial arteries due to years of short-sighted financial management and a credit card approach to the balance sheet.

The lawyers, architects and PR agencies can produce the powerpoints for tomorrow but they are all being built on a mound of sand and freakonomics.

For many years now YOUR CLUB has been running pretty-much cash neutral, paying off the credit card but nothing more. This on a zero rent model with a significant cashflow. A Club Med for management if you will.

In round figures YOUR club has USD30m coming through the door each year in the form of DUES USD13m, FEES USD7m, F&B USD10m. In addition it has CASH&INVESTMENTS of about USD25m plus the land and buildings. The Azabu Towers investment is external to this but fully financed and guaranteed by TAC.

SALARIES & BENEFITS (staff costs) chew up and amazing 70% of the USD30m.

The balance goes in OTHER expenses for the various operating cost centers of USD 5m plus USD 1.8m for electricity USD1m for insurance and USD 2m for depreciation.

Of this figure a lousy USD1m is spent on Repair and Maintenance and House and Grounds

Imagine what the Club would be like if just another USD1m was spent in this area instead of in staff costs.

Imagine how much of a fighting fund would be available if USD2m had been allocated to a sinking fund over the past 10 years.

There is an argument being mountedby management and the board that the re-location will provide an opportunity to address the staffing costs. This is tantamount to saying we will fix the leak in the boat once we get out to sea .... and by the way we have sold half the boat to finance the voyage.

The past is the past and no amount of gnashing of teeth can bring back the millions of dollars wasted, and as alluded to, passed to those closer than arm's length.

Those millions should have put your CLUB in a more seaworthy state to tackle the proposed voyage. It is not too late to get the boat seaworthy but it surely will take a change in attitude from those that are never wrong or are too proud to admit it.

We need more excel spreadsheets not powerpoints please....and as always...

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