decided together which GOs would go to which villages. Jacky and his
staff selected groups of new and old GOs for each village, based on such
factors as experience, personality, age, physical characteristics, special
talents, and performance-appraisal reports already on file. Although the
chiefs had the ultimate authority to pick their teams, the dossiers compiled
by Jacky’s office for each village were usually accepted after a round of
haggling that, in some respects, was more ceremonial than substantive.
“Naturally the chiefs all want the best team members,” commented Jacky,
“and they also might want a few of their favorite GOs from previous
seasons. They are always allowed to keep a few chiefs of service whom
they have worked with. Some of them have worked together for years. But
we obviously cannot give all the best GOs to certain chiefs. I would be
killed by the other chiefs!”
Village chiefs had complete authority to dismiss GOs or chiefs of service
and request immediate replacements. The Club’s offices in New York and
Paris were often faced with the difficult task of locating qualified individ-
uals who could depart to a particular village immediately.
“I was on the phone with Paris the other day, telling them I need more
American chiefs of service,” Jacky said with a sigh. “We have sometimes
the miscommunication between the chiefs of service and their GOs. Let me
give you an example. Suppose I am the chief of service and see that a wall
needs to be painted. If I see a French GO, I tell him ‘Go paint the wall’; he
finds the paint and the brush, and he paints the wall.” He continued: “But,
with an American GO, I must explain to himwhyI want him to paint the
wall, what changes that will make, and why it is a change for the better.
Then I must tell him where to find the paint and brush – he will not look
for it himself. And he wants to finish what he is doing first. Finally, he
wants feedback about the quality of his work.” Jacky’s face grew serious.
“The European chiefs of service often don’t understand how American
GOs have to be managed, which can create serious morale problems.
Additionally, the chiefs often have difficulties with the English language
and accent, so they tend not to give as much training and feedback as they
might. But we need the Europeans to keep the Club’s international ambi-
ence. This is particularly true since the number of Europeans visiting our
American zone villages is booming.”
Since the American zone had 17 villages, each with about 80 GOs, the
turnover problem complicated the already complex village-assignment
task. Assuming that suitable replacement GOs could be located in the files,
the next step would be a flurry of telephone calls to determine availability.
“For example,” Jacky said, “halfway through last season I needed a tennis
instructor for the village in Martinique. So Debbie, in my office, called the
first person in the tennis instructor file. No answer. The second one said
she had been working somewhere else for two and a half months and was
very happy with her job. The third one was very angry at not having been
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