Private Club Radio Show
Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the industry's weekly source for education, news, trends, and other current developments in the world of private clubs.
Hosted by the talented entertainer and industry expert, Denny Corby,
the podcast offers a unique perspective on the private club industry, featuring expert guests, product spotlights, predictions, and more.
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Private Club Radio Show
461: 10 Lessons From Hosting Management in Motion w/ Denny Corby
What happens when you throw over 30 club professionals into BMW M cars and let them rip around a professional racetrack? Pure magic—and unexpected leadership lessons that no conference room could ever provide.
Management in Motion 2025 began as a casual conversation with the GM of Monticello Motor Club during a podcast interview. What started as a simple track visit evolved into a full-blown event combining adrenaline, education, and authentic connection among club leaders who share a passion for high-performance experiences.
The two-day adventure featured everything from drag racing in BMW M2s, M3s, and M5s to navigating the infamous skid pad (imagine a wet Costco floor with rear-wheel drive cars and all safety features disabled). We mixed in peer-to-peer leadership talks from established club GMs who connected their motorsport experiences directly to club management principles. Rather than generic professional speakers, we deliberately created space for club leaders to share their authentic insights with peers who truly understand the unique challenges of our industry.
Among the ten key lessons I took away: everything costs more and takes longer than you think; your vibe truly attracts your tribe; people don't need to participate in everything to find value; the quietest attendees often have the most powerful reactions; and unique experiences always beat generic ones. Perhaps most humbling was realizing that some people attended simply because my name was attached to the event—a level of trust that carries tremendous responsibility.
The event wouldn't have been possible without incredible sponsors who embraced the vision immediately, including Monticello Motor Club, Kennis Member Vetting, GSI, Members First, and Northstar. Their support even extended to funding scholarships for Club Management Association students to attend and network with established professionals.
For clubs looking to create similar magic, the formula is surprisingly simple: niche down to create specialized experiences, be the glue that connects people with shared interests, and don't be afraid to try something completely different. The most powerful moments often happened without words—just a smile, a head shake, or a high-five that communicated more than any conversation could.
If you missed Management in Motion this year, don't worry—we're already planning for 2026, and it will be bigger, faster, and even more impactful. Ready to swap your boardroom for a racetrack and discover leadership lessons at 100 MPH?
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In this episode I'm going to tell you what happens when you throw over 30 club professionals into BMW M cars, rip them around the track in a bunch of different experiences and then deal them into poker night, among just a few things. This is a behind-the-scenes look episode of Management in Motion, the craziest event I've ever put on and the 10 lessons that I learned doing it, from unexpected costs to sponsors saving the day, to why the quietest person in the room gave me the biggest smile. We cover it all Now real quick. What sparked this whole thing in general was just a fluke. I was having a really cool conversation with Yorub, the GM of Monticello Motor Club, for an episode here on Private Club Radio and, seeing how close we were only like 90 minutes away from each other he just invited me up to the track and for me I love procrastination. So any way for me to get out of the house to go do something else I shouldn't be doing, I am all about it. So of course I made the trek up and I just got an amazing tour and got to meet and connect with Yanel and his whole team and staff and everybody there, and afterwards I jokingly said to him oh man, I would love to do a fun thing here called management in motion. I don't even know if I had the name for it yet, but I said it'd be fun to do like a leadership thing here to bring in speakers and do do some fun stuff. And he mentioned how some of the chapters have come and done just like driving stuff and I said, yeah, but I want to expand on that. Like I wanted to bring in other GMs and I and I knew who they were already in my head I knew it was going to be Joe Smith of Countryside and Luann, because they were guests on here and we talked, talked about and I just happen to know that they're big on cars and vehicles and in the track in different capacities. So I knew in my head those would be the speakers and I knew that's what I wanted. And he just said done.
Speaker 1:And then I was talking to my buddy, sean Blyle, um, and he said, dude, you have to do it. And the more I thought about it, I actually put it. I didn't really start pushing it because I was nervous, I was really anxious to even get it started. To do something is scary and to put your name on something is scary. But then, after thinking about it, I was given this gift. You know, yanell gave me this amazing gift, opportunity, this ability to host an event there and, uh, at a price that was amazing for everybody. And I want to do something fun, something fun for our niche and something that is brings it all full circle into the club world, from what we're doing on the track and what that relates to club leadership and management, blending education, adrenaline, connection. And we did it, baby. So it ended up being a Sunday night reception at the Monticello Motor Club house, which they have like two separate facilities for different events and things. But we had a Sunday night reception at the clubhouse where a bunch of us hung out and networked and ate some great food, had a couple of drinks and just had a really, really fun night. And from there we moved over to Resorts World Catskills, which was where we all stayed because there's really no other options up there, but Monticello Motor Club is in the works of building their own hotel, so that'll be great, and a lot of us hung out and networked and connected and enjoyed each other's company.
Speaker 1:After that Monday it was all day breakfast, lunch, dinner, driving, leadership, fun. We had a bunch of different driving experiences. We had the hot laps at it. We had drag racing with BMW M2s, 3s and 5s. They were just ripping. Oh my goodness, that was so much fun. We did the skid pad, which was my favorite, the absolute favorite. Basically, a Costco floor with the sprinklers on it and a rear-wheel drive M2 with all the safety features turned off.
Speaker 1:You have to do this little small course as course, uh, as quickly as you can, but you it is very slippery, uh, and that car just whips very easily. And that was my favorite part. I didn't care about doing it fast, I cared about doing it for style points, uh. So I spent a lot of my my time there, uh and uh. We'll go back to it and I'll tell you why. But actually I was telling you now because it was one of the points that you get to see people react and have a good time.
Speaker 1:And not everybody was in the cars at the same time, so a group of us. You can hang out there and just watch. So I just kind of floated around the whole day. Then we did some follow the leaders, lead follows, which is where a bunch of people were in a straight line and just follow each other through the course. And then there was a small mushroom course like a little auto X where we did some really fun fast stuff. We did go-kart competitions and then we ended with the hot laps, which was so much fun. That's where their drivers take you in the car and show you really how the cars can and should be driven and how the track is really supposed to be used, and that's when you find out how slow you're really going. You were going, uh, but it was just a really fun time. Then after that there was a poker tournament that I hosted in the at at resorts world.
Speaker 1:But yeah, that is probably the most nervous I have been in quite a while, because I've been on TV, you know, not huge, huge shows, but still, like you know, over a million viewers each plus, and I've done sold out shows. I've done club shows, corporate gigs, mc. I've done a lot and you're always anxious, but I was anxious for this. My stomach was in knots for days. I think it's different when your name, your reputation, you're like I was hosting this, but I was like actually hosting it. You know it's different when it's you're sharing that dual role. You know being both host of the event and host of people floating between groups making connections. It was very, very unique, definitely learned some things. And yeah, I just figured hey, I'll just give a brain dump and it's about 10 lessons of things that I learned and just took away from Management in Motion 2025.
Speaker 1:Everything just costs more, it's just always going to be more, and just everything ends up costing more than you think. So these are just 10 lessons, 10 quick things that I've just brain dumped about management and motion 2025. Number one everything costs more than you think. It ends up costing more, it'll be more. Everything just ends up costing more than you think. Number two everything takes longer than you think. It might not always be a ton of time, but it just takes longer than you think. Emails, phone calls, wrangling people, moving people Just everything takes a little bit longer than you think.
Speaker 1:Number three your vibe attracts your tribe. My goal for management emotion was getting the right people in the right room, and we're already a niche industry, so I wanted to niche it out even more and I just knew if I can just get more of the right people in the right room, then next time we're at conference or a different event or a BMI or just doing something else, you'll see that person and go hey, remember how much fun we have. Or even if they, you know you. Just there's a different connection, there's a different vibe there, so your vibe attracts your tribe. Number four is people don't need to do everything to love it, and I assumed everybody coming was not necessarily a gearhead, because I knew a lot of people weren't.
Speaker 1:But I think sometimes you forget people have different comfort levels and when it comes to different things and I, you know, I think in my head I saw a few different people, maybe not doing everything or maybe not looking as excited or as happy, and in your head you're like, oh, something, everything okay, and you realize that they're having a great time, but everyone just enjoys it differently and they don't always have to be doing it or involved in it to still be enjoying it and having a good time with it. Everyone has their own comfort levels and especially when we're doing stuff that you know on a track and in cars that a lot of people don't normally get to drive and experience and really put the pedal to the metal for a lack of a better word to really you know, when you're really behind the wheel moving and grooving like it's. It's, it's nerve wracking, it's enticing. But you know some of the best notes that I got from people who were the ones who were the, who were the quietest, uh, so you know, you don't need to, not everybody needs to engage and be involved in everything actively to still love it, enjoy it and have a good time. And that comes to number five, which is the quietest. People sometimes give the best reactions. Everybody enjoys things differently. Everyone takes things in differently. Number six unique beats, generic differently. Number six unique beats generic.
Speaker 1:And in all aspects to me I knew, with management emotion, I didn't want professional speakers. When I say professional speakers, I mean not like a hired gun and they are pro speakers and they're going to come talk about something. I wanted peer to peer. I wanted this to be raw, for lack of a better word, since we were kind of getting raw driving and like the raw tires and rubber. But you know, I wanted the people who were coming in, joe and Luann. You know they're. They're great speakers, but they're not professional speakers, like they don't. They didn't give these talks anywhere else and they probably may not ever again. Uh, maybe in some capacity, but not like this in this scenario Because it was hey, how do I bring if we're already bringing these niche people together, how do we already get even?
Speaker 1:How do we dig down more and just make this so ingrained and involved long long time club people and how you know from young ages and how that relates to what they do on the track and vice versa. I just thought it was really really cool just to get the insights and just listen and watching people listen and take it all in. And then we go out and do driving stuff and you know it's the little conversations in between and the uh, all of all of that. So unique beats generic. I didn't want all of this fun driving stuff. And then here's Bob talking about AI. If I probably would have had that, it would have been fine, it would have been good, but to me, I really wanted to make this as specific, engaged and about this as possible.
Speaker 1:Number seven is some people came just because my name was on it and that was scary, because I feel like there's like a different level of responsibility there, because when people come and you know they're coming just because your name is on it, who man there's? There's a level of responsibility there that I was not ready for, just knowing you have that little bit of power or influence, or just people trust you that much that they go, hey, if your name is on it, we know it's going to be good or it's going to be fun. And it's also just a realization to know that people follow you and, you know, believe in you for some of that stuff. So you know, um, there are people who will come just because your name is on stuff. Uh, and it's cool and it's unique and it's a interesting feeling.
Speaker 1:Number eight sponsors a loss of words for the amount of quick embracement I don't even know if that's a good phrase, I don't know if that's proper English, but the, the, the support I got for management, emotion, um, from partners, sponsors, and it's unreal. So huge shout-outs. We had so many sponsors there but huge shout-outs to A-First Yenel, the Monticello Motor Club. Without them it would have not been possible. They hooked it up. What they normally charge a healthy sum of money for and money is relative to all of us. But what they normally charge a healthy sum of money for and money is relative to all of us. But what they normally charge a lot of people a lot of money for uh. But because yunel is one of us, a club leader, a club manager, and he hooked it tf up. So him, the whole team, and hooked it up in a way beyond anybody I've seen hook it up. Thank you to him, the entire team. Listen, if you're in the Northeast, even if you want to fly a group in, he will work with you and your team. He will give you the most amazing experience. So if you guys want to bring some of your members there, reach out. They would have the most fantastic time. We have Paul Dank, dan Klemek at Kennis Member Vetting. You hear me talk about them here on the channel. They've been OG partners from day one and I've clicked with them since day one. I love them, what they have to offer, all their products, and I knew when I did Management in Motion it was going to cost and take more than what tickets we're going to bring in and all of that. And I said, hey, I'm planning this thing and without missing a beat, they were both all in, a thousand percent, all in. So huge shout outs to them. They are changing the game in membership vetting. So if you're looking for ways to vet your new members, really take control of your culture and who's coming into your club. Check out membervettingcom.
Speaker 1:Manny at GSI. From the moment I told him the whole thing because I also knew it's so weird. When I had this day planned I knew everything that I wanted to have happen and I knew part of it was going to be a poker tournament and I was chatting with Manny about something else. I try to talk with everybody. I'm a big connector, I love people. And we were just chit-chatting and I was like, hey, I got this thing cooking and I told him the whole day and he, without missing a beat, said I want to participate, I want to help, I want you know, if I want to be like a, like a poker sponsor. And uh, I didn't even know I was having a poker sponsor until he brought that up. He was just willing and wanting to help and be a part and just saw the vision and what I had planned and this whole big fun day. And he's also a big fun car person and we've bonded over poker and cars and all of that. So you know, that was just really cool.
Speaker 1:Sean Blyle, in Members First, you know me and Sean talk more than we'd like to admit, not even about club stuff, just life, marketing, branding. We just love it all. So, my man, thank you. So, so, so, so much. Now, all of this would be nothing without amazing footage, and Brandon Stearns is unbelievable. He's currently doing all of the content videography, photography, everything for Philly Cricket Club and former police officer turned to the club world. He was also a car person and he jumped on board and he took all the footage and we're going to have amazing footage. So I can't wait for all of that to come out. Check him out. He's on LinkedIn, brandon Stearns. He is growing his portfolio and doing a lot more clubs besides just Philly Cricket Club. So if you're interested in getting some really great content filmed at your club from the course inside, interested in getting some really great content filmed at your club from the course inside, outside photography, videography, drone work, you name it he does absolutely amazing stuff. Reach out, just wait till you see what comes out in the next couple of weeks from management, emotion, it's, it's unreal and and check it out. Check him out, oh, brandon, thank you. So, so, so much.
Speaker 1:Garrett bows and North star. You know, uh, I'm I'm starting to do some more more stuff with North star. I'm do some more more stuff with nordstar. I'm I'm going out to do their user conference, which is next month in orlando. They they tag team it with the hftp conference conference, but they do a user conference and they're the only group that does this. So if you're a nordstar user, you know you can go and learn and dive in and dig in and learn how to get the most out of your nordstar experience in the product. So they were, they found out about management in motion and they were and learn how to get the most out of your Northstar experience and the product. So they found out about Management in Motion and they were like, hey, how do we get involved? So they sent Garrett Bowes and Garrett, I love you, bud, but I'm coming after that belt, I'm so mad.
Speaker 1:You won, garrett won the poker tournament at night. It was a heated, heated battle and you rivered the full house, reminded me of back when josh paris knocked, knocked me out, but uh, no, it was him versus sandra petty, and it was, it was. It was great to have you there, garrett. North star gang. Thank you. So, so, so, so much.
Speaker 1:You know I was, uh when, when I was doing all of this, I thought it'd be neat to engage with the youths more. Engage with the youths. And I was reaching out, I was chatting with Sean and what kind of stemmed from that. So I wanted to give back to the community a bit more, and by that I meant the youth community, the youths. I thought, oh, how cool would it be to have a CMA, a student, come to this and be a part and be able to network and engage and be a part of the whole day. And not one, but two people, without missing a beat, said we will help, we will pay for their ticket, and people just automatically reach out and support sending students there. And that is Brian Langhorst.
Speaker 1:Eustace Chairs American made wooden chairs stackable. One of the chair that your members need to sit on, sit happens. You know what I mean? No, uh, but but but Brian, uh, kenneth's member vetting and Sean they all were were a part of of helping get students to the event. So we had about, I think, 15 applicants, uh, because I also made sure that they had to send in a video of why they thought they were the right fit, and two of the sponsors picked who they wanted to come. So thanks to them for helping allow. We had two CMA students, both from UMass Amherst, ironically enough, which is pretty funny, but thanks to them for allowing them to come, as well as myself, I'll throw myself into the ring If you are looking for a fun event for your club.
Speaker 1:It's a comedy, magic and mind reading show, primarily crowd work, focused really big on getting into the crowd and working with people and just having a good time. There's excitement, there's mystery. Also there's magic, mind reading and comedy. A ton of laughs, gasps and holy craps. Now book it for 2026. If you're interested, let me know.
Speaker 1:Number nine is you need to be the glue, a good host, a good event. Whenever you're just doing things and I think, just as a human in person, be the glue. Make sure no one is standing alone, make sure people know each other, know names, know about people and know a little bit about as many people in the room as you can, so you can go and making sure the right people are being connected to the right people. You can go and making sure the right people are being connected to the right people. I think that is super and super important, especially when it is your own events. And number 10, mistakes happen and that is okay.
Speaker 1:Nothing major happened for this, thank goodness. No, you know all just little, tiny, small hiccups, nothing disastrous, I just know I should have. You know, I went against my gut for one thing and it was with the, with the, with the sound, if anybody cares. But I I just went against my my gut and regretted it. But if that's the worst thing that happens all day is a little bit you know, a small sound thing then now that, then I guess you can say the damn was. They was pretty damn good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I, those were in no particular order, it was just random thoughts that I wrote down after reflecting a couple days later. I needed a couple of days to decompress, not going to lie. Uh, it's been a, it's been a wild, wild fall so far, and that was just a lot of uh, a lot on, a lot on the brain, a lot on, you know, a lot of a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot. Um, but yeah, it was cool just seeing the different people, the different personalities and how just different people love different things.
Speaker 1:There were so many fun experiences and just hearing what people enjoyed the most, what scared people the most, and the magic wasn't just cars or poker. It was the joy, it was the speed, it was the education, it was everything all in the same place. I think that's why I loved this so much, and I think it's why I love magic so much. It's because I like seeing people react. I like seeing people have a good time, and this was watching people had having a really great time. Some of my favorite moments were just not even of any words. It was just people coming up and just either giving me a hug or a high five or a dab or just something, and just the head shake with a smile or a laugh and just no words. But you could just tell wow without having words being said.
Speaker 1:And I think clubs can apply this and use this too. It's don't just copy what's been done. Niche down, niche down in your club. Find members who enjoy really weird things and create unique experiences for them and, most importantly, connect your people, staff, connect people together. Niche down, have a viewing party for really weird shows and invite not just the members, but invite the staff too. I don't know Create unique experiences. How can you and we all have these softwares right. We all have these amazing softwares that we use and have data on. Why not pool your data in unique ways? Can you see where maybe certain people were at the same events and you know that they just don't connect? Maybe I don't know. I just feel like there's so much we can do in clubs with the data that we have and what people like and what they don't like and all of those different things. I think we can create really cool unique experiences in our clubs, similar to a management emotion. Actually, your club can go to management emotion or not management notion, but you can go to Monticello Motor Club and have fun there and that's just one of the things you can do and by that meaning you can probably members can bring their own cars. You can use the cars that were all already there Be the glue.
Speaker 1:Thank you to all of you listeners who listen to my episodes, who listen to me ramble, who listen to me talk. Thank you to the listeners who share, who comment, who engage, who have been OGs, who are new. Thank you to all the people who share. Thank you to the attendees who came, to, the people who had an idea of what it was and wanted to come, to the ones who had no clue and showed up. Thank you to all of you. It means the absolute world. I started nervous, ended proud. So, yeah, it was so much fun, it was wild. Thank you to everybody who was there. Thank you to all of you who listen in and tune in. Thank you to you. Now, the Monticello motor club team. Just thank the world. Um, if you missed year one, don't worry. Year two is coming. Bigger, faster, better, and I'd love to see you there. That's this episode. I'm your host, eddie Corby. Until next time, catch y'all on the flippity flip.
