apartment management
Quote for Property Managers
I love quotes – every now and then I like to share the ones that really move me and I think that will move you too –
Business has been crazy as of late and the blog has been left to suffer. Not good for a number of reasons and in the same respect I appreciate the time to focus. That being said, thank you for the various emails some of you have sent questioning the next post. In some ways – it’s a good precursor to the quote I want to share.
“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” -M. Scott Peck
Could I take that one step further in the way of being a leader in the Property Management Space?
Until you value your time you won’t value the time of others either.
Being on time is huge in the eyes of others – if you make the commitment – be there.
What are you doing with your time as it relates to others?
Property Management Company: Cause
It seems to me that Property Management Companies are in essence Professional Service Firms. The chief objectives are to maximize the physical and fiscal performance of a real estate asset for institutional and or private owners. But are they really called to be and do more?
Property Management Company: Cause
I received an email not long ago asking a question along the lines of finding a cause for a firm – in an email exchange I penned the following:
I see a cause as being something bigger than self or team. To me – it’s audacious in nature. And, it has nothing to do with selling more stuff but everything to do with building individual and organizational character as a way of changing the world. I don’t use – changing the world – in jest. It is the only premise with which to build an organization. In my head organizations are built to serve the people that serve it – period. That is first and foremost. If built right all else will fall into place. An organization that focuses on building character will see that character exercised in the way of success on every level with every metric.
I think Emerson said it best when he penned the following:
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
Capture that in the way of a cause that lays over your companies mission, vision, strategy and goals that help to execute as much and you have something people can believe in. You will have found something that people can get out of bed in the morning for – you can change the lives of hundreds if not thousands and as a default – you will create wealth beyond your imagination and more important – the imaginations of those that are served by the organization. They will have lived what Emerson had in mind – all because you made a decision to offer up a worthy cause.
Do you have a cause? What is it? Why do you think it is important?
Apartment Operations: Respond or go to Jail
This is one of the more extreme documented cases of neglect by a property owner that I have ever read about. By the looks of it jail might be the best place for him but what if the judge ruled instead by requiring the owner to participate in the fixes. What if he demanded 500 hours of hands on repair by the owner to include living in the building until the work is complete. His hours would have to include education as to the ill effects of turning a blind eye to the issues. Requirements might also include certification, at the owners expense, in applicable remediation measures and practices, HVAC licenses and a minimum number of operation related education from IREM or NAA. I like that option in lieu of tax paying residents paying for his incarceration –
Bronx Landlord Jailed for Continued Housing Violations – Bronx Housing Court last week ordered Sam Suzuki to be held behind bars until he corrects the nearly 700 open housing violations | Katy’s Exposure
Apartment Education – The Heat of the Moment
It’s summer time and many – if not all- of us are heavily involved in turning apartments and fielding A/C calls. It’s a busy time of the year and as a result education and safety meetings have the propensity to get put off. The idea of that brings to mind a scene from the movie Crimson Tide where Denzel Washington’s character questions Gene Hackman’s character on a decision to run a missile readiness drill all the while there was a fire going on in the galley. Hackman’s response was along the lines of – war does not stop for fire’s in the galley and Hackman’s character suggest that is the best time to run a drill.
As it relates to our own operations: I am a big believer in repetition when it comes to education and this coming week, despite the busyness, might be a good week to dust off your mold remediation policies, procedures and brief your teams. The story linked above might be a nice supplement to the training. Siting the article as a example of the use of social media to draw attention to the story might be a good preface on the power of ignorance.
Have a smashing week – and feel free to sound off in the comment section below –
Multifamily Troublemaker
Check out this byline from Engrain
A design and technology consultancy dedicated to helping organizations make their brands and technology relevant, usable and beautiful. We are trouble making, data pillaging idealists obsessed with usability and design that works.
I like troublemakers! Anyone who is willing to put it out there like that is worthy of some press in my opinion! I do wonder what a data pillaging idealist is. A swag realist? Seems not to go together – sounds cool though.
I’ve never heard of Engrain and only ran across them because of a Google Alert I have set up for terms related to multifamily. So this in not an endorsement of any sort, neither is it an invitation for Engrain to solicit business – I just love the gumption and could not help but to say as much.
Does anyone have experience with the group?
One item of note: I tried to follow them on Twitter but got the protected tweets message – kind of a #fail but maybe there is good reason. And, the post I made to their Facebook wall letting them know I wanted to follow them on Twitter but could not was removed – kind of a uber #fail. Maybe that has to do with that data pillaging idealist thing – swag it in the spirit of perfection. It is – after all – all about appearances.
That aside – I love the spirit of this organization and look forward to tracking their successes. Check out their website – they show off some pretty cool stuff related to our space.
Your safeguarding ignoblist [Read: tongue in cheek]
Apartment Marketing: Invite the Thirty and Learn the Dirty…
I love what Mack Collier had to say a couple days ago in his post titled: The next evolution of social media for business is…
The following quote from his post struck me most…
Here’s the twist that makes this event so interesting to me; The 15 customers Dell will meet on the 15th are customers that have issues with Dell, and want to voice those issues to the company. The 15 customers Dell will meet on the 17th are evangelists of the company. So over the course of 2 days, Dell will be meeting with 30 of its most passionate customers, from both ends of the spectrum. I think this event is also an example of the next evolution of social media for companies.
Invite thirty and learn the dirty
The dirty little chatter that could work to make the your apartment living experience [read: offering] one that escapes the hand-cuffs of commodity. More times that not we as operators gather our troops in our conference rooms across this great land and decide on the next best thing for employees, prospects and residents alike. Imagine if we brought the thirty in like Dell is doing? That is once we have taken the time to understand who they really are.
Being a part of something bigger than yourself
Play along with me on this for a second – remember the last time you felt compelled – really compelled as a result of something you participated in something bigger than you? Remember how you felt leading up to, during and after the event? Do you still talk about it to this day? Did it shape your view of the world? Do you feel compelled to share not only the event but the organizer or organization that put on the event?
There is, innate in all of us, an underlying need to belong, to feel appreciate, to feel heard, wanted and important. As marketers – it’s not our job to exploit that but rather harness it and use it for a greater good.
Is it possible in our business? You bet it is. The questions is – are we willing to get those people in a room where there is no monitor to hide behind – where canned corporate speak is left to improv at the risk of authenticity and transparency? The second half of the thirty could be fun – it’s the first half I would be anxious about.
We have done our fair share of surveys and focus groups over the years but never did we go after the downside hardliners. Mack and Dell have me thinking hard about the obvious value of doing so…what do you think?
