Search Results for: Put in the reps
From Setback to Success: Multifamily Leadership Lessons Inspired by Bob Dylan’s Timeless Wisdom
Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash
Leadership is a role and a journey of constant evolution, resilience, and foresight. Drawing inspiration from Bob Dylan’s iconic lyric, “the loser now will be later to win,” we delve into the transformative lessons for leaders in this dynamic sector.
The Ebb and Flow of Success
The multifamily industry, with its forever-changing set of challenges and competitive business environment, often mirrors the unpredictability of life itself, as encapsulated in Dylan’s profound words. Leaders face the inevitability of ups and downs, successes, and setbacks. However, it’s the perspective toward these fluctuations that defines authentic leadership. The ‘loser,’ or leader facing a setback today, possesses the potential to emerge as a winner tomorrow. This transformative journey hinges on resilience, adaptability, and a deep understanding of market dynamics.
Cultivating Resilience in Leadership
Resilience is more than mere survival; it’s about thriving amidst challenges. For multifamily leaders, this means weathering economic fluctuations or market changes and using these experiences to build a stronger, more agile business model. It’s about learning from each setback, integrating these lessons, and preparing for future success. This resilience becomes a beacon, guiding teams and the broader community through uncertainty toward stability and growth.
Adaptability: The Key to Future Wins
The multifamily space continuously evolves, driven by technological advancements, changing consumer behaviors, and regulatory landscapes. We are living through the most dramatic shift as I write these words. Adaptability is not just a skill but a necessity for leaders. Embracing new technologies, shifting marketing strategies, and reimagining operational efficiencies are not just routes to recovery from setbacks but pathways to future wins. Leaders who adapt swiftly and effectively position their organizations to capitalize on emerging opportunities and trends. Put in the reps now for the future yield you will receive.
Understanding and Anticipating Market Dynamics
Like any other, the multifamily industry is subject to the whims of the market. Leaders who understand and anticipate these changes can turn potential losses into wins. This involves understanding economic indicators, consumer preferences, and competitive strategies. Leaders can make informed decisions, anticipate shifts, and pivot strategies by leveraging data analytics, a robust mastermind advisory group, and market research.
The Human-Centric Approach to Leadership
Multifamily leadership goes beyond numbers and strategies; it’s inherently human-centric. Building communities, fostering inclusive environments, and ensuring resident satisfaction are as crucial as financial metrics. Even in challenging times, leaders who prioritize these aspects lay the groundwork for long-term success. Leaders can transform temporary setbacks into lasting achievements by nurturing trust, fostering collaboration, and championing innovation within their teams and communities.
Empowering Teams to Embrace Change
Leadership is not a solitary endeavor but a collective effort. Empowering teams to embrace change, encouraging innovative thinking, and fostering a culture of continuous learning are crucial. This empowerment leads to a resilient and adaptive organization, ready to face challenges and seize opportunities.
Conclusion
Bob Dylan’s timeless lyrics resonate deeply within the multifamily leadership landscape. The journey from ‘loser’ to ‘winner’ is not about avoiding setbacks but learning from them, adapting, and emerging stronger. It’s a testament to the power of resilience, adaptability, and a human-centric approach in navigating the multifamily industry’s dynamic terrain.
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The True Essence of Performance: Beyond Perfection
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Most of us have grown up with the idea that hitting the target every single time signifies excellence. Our culture applauds perfection, leading many to believe this flawless execution epitomizes performance. Peter Drucker, one of the most influential thinkers on management theory, once said, “Performance is not hitting the bull’s eye with every shot – that is a circus act.” But what did he mean?
Digging Deeper into Performance
In a circus world, acts are rehearsed repeatedly until executed impeccably. Every movement and every gesture is curated for the audience’s awe. While this is undeniably a masterful display of skill, it isn’t a true representation of performance in the broader sense. Real-world scenarios aren’t rehearsed. The variables change, unpredictability is the norm, and the true mark of performance is how one navigates through these challenges.
Beyond the Spectacle of Perfection
Perfection, while admirable, is often a mirage. Chasing it can lead to unnecessary stress and overshadow the more meaningful metrics of progress and growth. The essence of performance lies in continuous learning, adaptation, and the ability to bounce back from failures. You still put in the reps, but the reps build character more than skill.
Navigating the Realms of True Achievement
Think of an athlete. A single failure doesn’t diminish their capability. Instead, it offers a perspective, a lesson, and an area to focus on. Similarly, in our personal and professional lives, our performance shouldn’t be gauged merely by the number of times we hit the bull’s eye but by the times we missed, learned, and improved. “Embrace the suck,” as someone once said. I like to say embrace the struggle for all that you will become.
The Illusion of Flawless Execution
There’s a significant difference between a rehearsed act and a real-time performance. In life, we aren’t granted the luxury of multiple rehearsals. Every decision and every move is a live act. Embracing this reality allows us to understand that while hitting the bull’s eye is fantastic, missing it occasionally doesn’t diminish our worth.
As we wake up and enter the world (the game of life) daily, remember Drucker’s words. Let’s shift our focus from the circus act of consistent perfection to the larger play of evolving performance. Let’s aim for the bull’s eye and cherish the journey that leads us there.
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The Thing About Fear
In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke to the nation in his first inaugural address including this powerful statement; “…let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance”. Those sentiments stand the test of time even today.
Fear is common to all humans and most animals (apparently apart from the honey badger).
Hard Wired
Thousands of years ago, humans were wired with the fear response as it was critical to the survival of our species in a world filled with dangers. The fear response prepares the body to fight, flight or freeze. It also triggers the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenalin.
Fear is often more anticipatory than reactive. In Letters from a Stoic, first-century Stoic Philosopher Seneca wrote: “There are more things…likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more in imagination than in reality.” We worry over things that could happen even when there is no immediate threat to our wellbeing – but the body doesn’t know the difference. Fear related to public speaking, dreaded conversations or confrontations, fear of failure (or success), and even fear of spiders and snakes all send a signal to the brain to release those chemicals even without the actual presence of danger. The experience of feeling fear is real even when the feared event is not.
Protection or Isolation?
In response to anxious thoughts, humans tend to create systems of rules or boundaries as a hedge of protection against experiencing the feeling of fear or anxiety. Over time, those well-intentioned boundaries can devolve into a cage that prevents personal growth and life experiences. In some cases, a person becomes held hostage by a web of fears that all derive from the stories they tell themselves about the possibility of the feared event.
The good news is that a powerful prescriptive exists – it is free and readily available.
Take Action!
That’s right – action is the best medicine. Use the fear impulse as a catalyst for action and choose to run directly at the thing you fear. Begin with simply making a choice.
- Confess your fear to someone you trust and ask them to hold you accountable as you commit to trying the things you fear. Just the act of sharing relieves some of the fear-filled weight.
- Afraid of failure? Fail. A lot. Fail again and again until the sting of failure is lessened, and the successes begin to outweigh the failures.
- Fear of public speaking? Sign up for an open mic, volunteer to speak at a company meeting or an industry function. Do it even with knees shaking, voice quivering, and a sheen of sweat on your brow. Stand up to the fear by taking action to do the thing that scares you.
- Put in the reps. By doing the thing you fear over and over, you gain confidence, experience, and skill.
- Let go of perfection as the benchmark. If you only define success as having performed perfectly, then failure is assured. Assign engagement and progress as success markers and build on those foundations instead.
Fear Less
Conquering fears is not accomplished in one fell swoop. If the thought feels overwhelming, know that it is not necessary to become instantly fearless – but just to fear (a little) less – just enough less to allow you to take the next step. Small steps lead to bigger steps and eventually to a life less encumbered by fear. Taking concrete action such as setting an appointment, replying yes to an rsvp, or signing up for a class all signal courage to your psyche. Following through on those commitments builds success on top of success. There may be plenty of fits and starts along the way, each of which teaches you that failure is not the end but simply a building block for your next success.
This quote attributed to Robert Tew hits the mark. “Sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set you free.”
The daily videos of my blog (fka Apartment Hacker) started with this gem in 2016. One take. No edits. Authentic.
There are countless opportunities to actively engage in the things you fear. Just get started.
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The Downside of Advantage
In his Oscar acceptance speech for his role in The Gladiator, Russell Crowe famously said, “…dreams like this seemed vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable. For anybody who’s on the downside of advantage and relying purely on courage – it’s possible.” It is true that most of us won’t win an Academy Award. We are each one nonetheless capable of stretching towards a destination that seems impossibly out of reach. Somewhere between where you are today and your impossible dream lies a journey filled with incredible lessons and stories worth sharing around the firepit.
In the quest to achieve your ambition, I offer you a few nuggets to keep, use, or toss along the way.
Failure is Inevitable
You will fail. Not completely – failure is only complete when you decide it is. From a quiver full of arrows, only some will hit the mark. The rest could be called failures, but I prefer to think of them as practice shots.
BHAG
Set your Big-Hairy-Audacious-Goal. Then set some more – realistic near-term goals. If your goal is to win that Oscar, you can’t get there without attainable, actionable goals. I wrote about this topic ten years ago in this series. Even Russell Crowe had to start somewhere. Take an acting workshop or class. Volunteer at your community theater. In the world of multifamily, that could mean signing up for classes wherever you can find them – Internal L&D departments, LinkedIn Learning, or in any of the countless free webinars made widely available by vendors across the industry.
Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
Embrace nervous anxiety. Lean in to it. Greatness was never found hiding in the blanketed cocoon of comfort. Willingly put yourself into uncomfortable situations. Reach out to someone you don’t know to ask for a call or video chat to talk about your project. You may be surprised by how often people who have achieved success are willing to share their time and stories with others on the way up.
Be True to You
Be accountable – to yourself and to someone else. There is a reason people hire personal trainers or life coaches. It’s because those people hold you accountable to your commitments. It’s incredibly hard to duck out of a 6 am workout if you know your trainer got up early to meet you at the gym. Accountability is key.
Repetition Builds Muscle Memory
Put in the reps. It can feel boring or pointless at times but in every endeavor, practice the reps that build up your skill, strength, and confidence. Arnold Schwarzenegger was a teenager when he started lifting weights and learned the fundamentals of completing and marking the reps. From Mr. Universe to Governor of California, the practice of repetition served him well.
Measure Everything
Measure and acknowledge your progress. It feels like fuel in your tank to have reached even the incremental markers of progress towards your bigger goal. Dave Ramsey has a debt snowball philosophy that helps people get out of credit card debt that involves paying off the smallest balance first. It feels good and it frees up cash to put towards the other debt. Celebrate your progress. Tell the world. Share it on your stories. It’s powerful stuff.
Celebrate the Win
When you achieve your big goal – take it in. Breathe the moment of accomplishment. Then – set your next goal even as you turn around and help someone else who is just getting started on theirs. For every person who heard you out, cheered you on, and celebrated the markers with you, pay it forward.
Congratulations – you’ve reached the upside.
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I Met Ken Today
Over the last several decades, Sesame Street laid the foundation on many topics for children and their grown-ups. The song “Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?” is catchy enough that many parents probably know the words to the chorus off the top of their heads. It reminds us that the people in our neighborhood – the grocer, the doctor, fireman, postman, etc. – are the people we meet each day. But how often do we make an effort to greet and get to know those people in the background of our daily lives?
My morning routine is predictable and includes time for hydration, reflection, prayer, journaling, and exercise. I am a runner. Before covid, I ran on the treadmill at the gym. Now, I run around my neighborhood. I begin my run in the pre-dawn hours, so dark I can’t see the sidewalk beneath my feet. I greet the sunrise most days while putting in the reps that sharpen my focus and keep me feeling healthy and sane.
During my daily run, I noticed a man walking around our neighborhood 3-4 times a week, purposely, diligently, step by step, working his exercise plan. I took note of his features and saw that he carries with him a small bat tucked into the palm of his hand and ending at his elbow , and he wears a reflective vest, the kind that can be seen from far away in the headlight of any vehicle passing by at that time of day. I wondered if he carried the bat for personal protection.
Whenever I saw him, I lifted my hand in a small wave of acknowledgment. It buoyed my spirits to see him , and over time, my small gesture turned into a more significant two-handed wave. As I ran past him from behind, I called out, “On your left!” not wanting to startle him and hoping he heard my voice over whatever played on his earbuds. In my mind, I wrote a story about who he was and wondered if maybe we had more in common than a shared appreciation for exercise and greeting the daybreak.
Today, it was on my heart to introduce myself, and so I did. I said that I look forward to seeing him every day when I run. He asked me how many miles I run and told him, then he shared that he walks to work out his frustrations and to keep stress at bay. I told him how inspired I am by his dedication. We chatted a little longer and then went our separate ways.
Today, I met Ken!
I am thankful that I did. No longer a nameless stranger, Ken became more real to me today. Our interaction was just a few minutes long, but it was enough to turn two strangers into something a little bit more.
As we go about our daily lives, there are countless opportunities to engage with people more genuinely. I encourage you to go out and meet your Ken today.
Share your stories with us in the comments below!
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