The Management Club – 20 years now: Down memory lane

By Athula Jayasekera 

I feel it was like yesterday that my good friend Varuna Ratnaweera called me in 2002, to invite me to join a different type of a club that was to be opened shortly. From the brief given by Varuna, what I gathered was that this is a different concept of a social club, where membership will be limited to professional managers and they could join only by invitation. 

I was given membership as I satisfied the criteria and was recommended by my friend Varuna who was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Operations Committee of this newly formed club, first of its kind probably in Asia – the Management Club of Sri Lanka (TMC). On Varuna’s recommendation I was immediately appointed to head the subcommittee of Media and Public Relations of the newly formed Club. 

The Management Club (TMC) was formed in 2002 under the auspices of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) Sri Lanka branch. The idea of forming a club for Managers was mooted by a past President of CMI – Fayaz Saleem (the father figure of TMC, the founder and later President Emeritus of TMC) and was ably supported by the then President of CMI Anil Weeratunage. The Club was officially opened on 12 February 2002, by the then British High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Linda Duffield and joining her for the function as a Guest of Honour was the Country Director of the British Council in Sri Lanka. The club for Professional Managers was hence, in operation at the Galle Face Hotel near the then ‘Sea Spray’ Restaurant. 

The Club started recruiting quality members, and another club house was opened at Mount Lavinia Hotel. The commitment and dedication of the initial TMC committee members helped the club to increase membership, they organised various leadership and management development programs, social gatherings. The Club was incorporated as a non-profit-making corporate body and Colombo and Mount Lavinia were separated as two clubs. I was invited to head the Colombo branch as the first Chairman of TMC Colombo and Nilhan Mendis became the first Chairman of TMC Mount Lavinia. 

TMC Mount Lavinia moved to a different location and was housed at the Mount Royal Hotel. TMC Colombo continued at Galle Face Hotel for 10 more years. I served the full term of three years as Chairman TMC Colombo and in 2008 was invited to Chair the Board of Management of TMC as its President. During the three-year tenure of my Presidency, TMC was able to expand is wings to Negombo and Kalutara and open two Clubs in Negombo and Kalutara at Camelot Beach Hotel Negombo, and Hibiscus Hotel in Kalutara.

The Management Club (TMC) has covered a fairly long and evolutionary journey. As in the case of any social club, TMC too experienced a drop in membership, but new members kept joining; they not only compensated for the numbers but brought in new ideas as well. The Club continues to make strong and quality recruitment efforts which can be one of the reasons for its long existence. The Club’s membership is limited to the professional managers, and it maintains this exclusivity to date. 

TMC is helping its members in various ways, to progress in their personal and professional life. A very diverse membership base representing various management disciplines can be found at TMC. They are mostly urban based and most of them are professionally qualified in their respective professions. I enjoyed the company of these members and hence, learnt many things from these colleagues coming from various fields. Although my field of expertise was in the line of banking, I was lucky to be exposed to the other fields through my association. We had many interesting discussions at our social gatherings. 

From time immemorial people have been willing to group together. Human being is a social animal and hence, would always wish to be a part of a social group. The people of same class with a common objective join together to form a group to achieve this common objective. One will be able to increase his/her social capital by joining a social club. The reasons for joining a social club can be for social gratification, opportunities for networking, personal development and to engage in social service activities. 

TMC provides ample opportunities for same. Hence, all professional managers in the country have a club for their personal and professional advancement. By joining a social club, one can widen their social circle. It can also bring a break to one’s monotonous daily routines. Networking helps one to develop social skills and step out his/her comfort zones. By providing networking opportunities, TMC helps its members to develop their self-confidence. Meeting people from different industries will help one to gain insights into different industries and fields.

For sustainability of any club, it needs to have surpluses of income over its expenditure. It needs to engage in revenue making activities as it cannot run on the subscription payments alone. A Club must have a strong reserve base for its smooth operation and continuity. TMC has been organising programmes to enhance the knowledge of its members, sometimes by arranging professionals from overseas to visit TMC to impart knowledge to the membership. Another interesting program in the agenda was the ‘Book Review’ sessions TMC had. Also, the ever-popular ‘Members Meet’ sessions which continues to date. 

Another unique program introduced in 2008, was ‘The Way Forward’ – evening programs series, presentations covering topics of importance, facilitated by eminent professionals from different fields. ‘TMC Wisdom Quiz challenge’ was a very popular program TMC organised, and it was a brain child of my friend, former Chairman TMC Colombo and Vice President Board of Management Varuna Ratnaweera. It was considered TMC ‘s flagship program a few years ago. TMC continues its new program ‘Members Speak’ to date. In addition to its member gatherings and networking, it does involve in social service through its CSR arm, the Enabled the Disabled (ETD). 

TMC’s own club premises provide members with an ideal area for relaxation and socialising. Earlier the lounge at TMC premise at Galle Face Hotel was a perfect location for a relaxed evening. The ambience at the current premises at Galadari Hotel, too is conducive for relaxing and for small gatherings. This unique concept of TMC entitles its membership for discounts at various restaurants and services of TMC affiliated hotels.  

The club now celebrates its 20th anniversary, it has stood the test of time. New thinking and directions are now required to steer the unchartered future which may be full of uncertainties. With new global challenges that may come and the opportunities that may arise, TMC should be able to prepare itself for a longer existence. The Millennials and the Generation Z will comprise the current and future corporate leadership, and their aspirations, behaviours and priorities are different to their previous generations. Hence, TMC think tank should formulate strategies to attract this new generation of potential members. 

TMC should continue its unique value addition schemes after critically evaluating its success and acceptability. TMC will need the same vibrancy which it had at the inception to attract more new members. Will the present-day hybrid-blended work model discourage employees/managers from socialising or will it encourage them to be more socially active? The isolation due to the “work from home” concept may increase the need for socialisation. The exhaustion due to unspecified work times of employee/manager requires time and a place for relaxation. 

The new work methods may not be the right platform for new ideas, the frustration can set in among the young managers, if there is a platform to attract them where they can share and discuss their ideas, these young managers would certainly opt to join a such forum. The existing social networks of people can shrink or may only confine to a WhatsApp group due to the inability to physically meet and interact and here is another opportunity to attract the young ones to the club where they have opportunities to develop new social networks. 

The TMC is a 21st Century club, I am sure it will explore every opportunity to attract a quality set of dynamic young managers to their membership. These young ones should be groomed to take the leadership of TMC and they will then confidently march in to the future. 

(The writer is First Chairman – TMC Colombo, Former President TMC Board of Management.)