483: 2026 CMAA World Conference Recap

We recap the 2026 CMAA World Conference in Anaheim through the lens of this year’s theme, Plant Seeds for Success.

After tons of conversations and quick expo hall interviews, one idea kept repeating, connection, but the real difference maker is connecting people, not just meeting them.

This quick episode is a practical follow up kick in the pants for club leaders and vendors, with a simple challenge to turn conference energy into real momentum back at your club in the next 24, 48, 72 hours.

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Transcript

Welcome And Purpose

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Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the show where you get the scoop on life inside private golf and country clubs. I'm your host, Danny Corby, and each episode is a real conversation with club leaders, the pros, the people, and partners who help clubs thrive. We talk leadership, culture, food and beverage, member experiences, member engagement, marketing governance, and so much more. If you want practical ideas, better teams, and a club experience members actually feel and talk about, you're in the right place. Now, welcome to the show. In this episode, we are recapping CMAA World Conference 2026. What an amazing time. Just got back. My voice is a little cooked. My feet are filing a formal complaint, and my camera roll is extremely unique. The theme this year was plant seeds for success, simple and clean. And it was also kind of perfect. Because after being there and talking to what feels like millions of humans, or maybe it felt like I just spoke millions of words throughout the entire week, the whole conference was really one big seed situation. And not everybody was planting the same thing. See, some people were planting career seeds. There were some conference seeds, they were planting vendor relationship seeds, and some were planting the I'm new, I need friends seeds. And I know because I was asking a lot. I was chatting with tons of people, probably hundreds of conversations. I even was doing some fun man on the street, quick style conversations in the expo hall, and can't even tell you how many I did there. The biggest thing I heard over and over and over again, and I'm going to do another episode on the content that I got from the people and the conversations that I had. But the biggest thing over and over and over again, I would say, was connect. It was connection, reconnection, meeting new people, finding my people, getting out of my bubble, getting ideas, getting perspectives, getting energy. And conference had that. It had all of that. It was a buzz. The the music before the speakers, the actual speakers, the energy, the vibe. And people were actually talking to each other and they weren't just sitting in a chair and scrolling. They were, they were part of the conversation. And here's the part I think mattered, matters most is that almost everybody came to connect, but the people who really win at conference, the ones who really, I think, walk out with momentum, uh, and the ones that actually do something slightly different, it's they don't just connect with people, they connect people. And that's the flex. That's the cheat code. That is the grown-up version of networking because anybody can collect contacts, add people on LinkedIn, add them on Instagram, follow them. Uh, you know, some people I think come to conference and almost treat it like Pokemon, like, gotta catch them all. Then they go home and a week or two later, they have all the cards and connections, and then nothing happens. But the people who are dangerous, the ones who are dangerous in a good way, they walk around like human matchmakers. They hear one conversation, they hear another conversation, they see overlap and they go, hold up, you got, I know someone you need to meet, or there's someone you knew you need to connect with. You two are solving the same problem, you two are speaking the same language, you two are in the same weird board scenario, or you both have similar backgrounds or know the same certain people. And I just think you guys would really benefit connecting. Go and talk. I think that is real seed planting. Uh, because when you introduce two people that should know each other and they don't, you're not just planting your seed, you're planting a whole garden. Being the gardener. How can you be the gardener that you don't even have to water? And the wild part is you become memorable without even trying. You become useful without selling, you become the person people want to be around because you're helping other people connect and helping their circles and their little vibes grow. That is the real ROI. And the seed thing got me thinking because conference had all the parts of the ecosystem, right? Some people were water. They were just there pouring value, no ego, no performance, just there. Hey, here's what works. Here's what I did, here's how I failed, here's what I did wrong. Learn from me. Here's what I would do again, here's what I wouldn't do again. And you talk to them for five minutes, you leave with like pages of like what seems like notes and like your notes app, um, but with stuff that you can actually use. Um, I feel like some people were like the sun, right? There's energy. They light up the room, they make the hallway feel like a reunion, they ask better questions, they pull shy people into the circle, they make you feel like you belong even if you're brand new. And yes, and yes, some people were even the fertilizer. Every conference has the for every conference has the fertilizer. A little stinky, a little messy, a little weird, but also weirdly useful. But overall, conference was absolutely amazing. The education was strong, and I think the best part was really cool seeing how many people came in with intention, not just hope and hoping good things are going to happen, but more like I really am here to plant something, to learn, to grow. Because planting a seed is good, but the follow-up is in the entire game, right? Because a seed in your pocket is not success. It's just potential. And potential dies in your inbox, it dies in your brain. So you need to take what you've done, take what you've learned, and put it to use immediately. And if there's one thing I think it's trying to encapsulate and bring it all together, it's I want I challenge you all with this, with the planting the seeds of success. And I think the challenge I want to impose, and that I want to put on everybody, is to be the gardener, not just planting your own seeds, not just watering your own goals, because the person who walks around going, wait, you need this and you need them, and you should come over here, and this should maybe come over here, and let's try putting that over here, and you two should talk because that is conference magic. And I saw so much of it, and I want to keep seeing more of it. So before your lanyard goes in the drawer, before you threw it out, you probably already did, but before you really start just forgetting where you were and going back into normal mode, just do one small thing that makes the seed real. Send the follow-up text, say hello, make the call, make the intro you promised, share the resource, book the call, put the idea into motion, talk to your team, tell somebody, read the book, order the book, whatever it is, start the momentum, start it moving forward, say what you were gonna do. And more importantly, this is a big one. This is a big one. This one is absolutely key. Because the people who win, the people who go to conference and the ones who win at life, back at their clubs, back at their teams, are not the ones who heard and took the best ideas and took down the best notes. It's the ones who actually did and will do something within the 24, 48, 72, I'm not good at math hours when you get home. That was it. That was my quick recap. Anaheim was so much fun. It was chilly, but the energy was not. So many great content, so much great content, so much great conversations. I it was it was rocking. It was rocking. It was it was so good. So, Private Club Radio listeners, it was so great seeing so many of you there and interacting and learning and sharing and connecting with so many people there, so many great new people, so many old connections. Right. It was just, we were all there for the same reason. It was all phenomenal. So great seeing you all. Thank you all for being fans. Thank you for being friends, and thank you, some of you, for being family. I'm very uh it's it's it's so cool. There were so many people who, you know, I'm very fortunate to pretty much borderline call or who I would consider family. Um, and just would start off as conversations or doing a show at someone's club or just meeting at conference, just you know, over the year, you just really create some amazing bonds. As you know, if you're looking for one of the most fun member event nights, reach out. There's a Denny Corby experience, there's excitement, there's mystery, also there's magic mind reading and comedy, a ton of laughs, gasps, and holy craps. If you're interested in want to learn more, Denny Corby.com. No pressure, your vibe attracts your tribe. That's this episode. I'm your host, Denny Corby. Until next time, catch y'all on the flippity flip.