company culture
Episode 1118 | Values
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Episode 17 | Collective Conversations | Melissa DeCicco
Welcome to this week’s episode of Collective Conversations. Our guest this week is Melissa DeCicco | Director of Client Performance at Satisfacts Research
This engaging chat starts and ends with the great Dolly Parton and there is no better bookend when it comes to creating thriving human-centric companies and communities.
What can Dolly Parton teach us about leadership and building human-centric communities? Our guest today unpacks this and many other fascinating insights. Melissa DeCicco is a veteran in the Multifamily space, and I’m excited that she joined me for this wide-ranging conversation. Buckle your seatbelt as this one starts fast and doesn’t slow down!
“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life” | Dolly Parton
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My Boss is Killing Me
Make note of everything you hate about the ledership style of your current boss and commit to never doing any of it when you have the chance to seize your opportunity to lead. – Tom Peters Paraphrase
It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are bad people but every property management professional has come home professing; “My bosss is killling me!” We have all been on the downside of that kind of environment/culture. And, there is more truth in that statment than you might realize. Their is a literal mountain of research on the subject of negativity and it’s effect on workplace productivity. Chief reasons being: ill health, lack of moral, tardiness/absenteeism, motivation, wherewithal or outright spite. It’s just a fact; working for a bad leader [Read: Bully] just sucks. Pardon the slang.
There is Hope Out There
I recall many an instance in my journey through the leadership ranks where I preceived my supervisor/boss [I really have a distaste for both of those words as I see leadership/work as a collaborative concept not an up down or up down concept] to be an absolute debbie downer. And, under alternative circumstances I might have caved to the pressure and walked or worse yet undermined his authority in a spiteful way.
Tom Peters Rocks The Apartment World
Enter Tom Peters – I am a raging fan of TP and all of his exclamation point advice. Chief among it the advice that lead this post. Twelve years ago I vowed never to lead people the way I was being lead at that time in my career. That is not to suggest that I have not taken my lumps over the years but rather to say that it has worked in large part. The premise being creating a postive work environment that people cherish and rave about. Knowing that people want to be a part of something bigger than self and working to align that with their personal motives. Understanding that the chief reason for the existence of business organizations is to support the poeple that support it.
Interrupting our Regularly Scheduled Program
I’ve been through a tough season as of late; just crushed by the weight of budget season, one of our RM’s leaving, the search for a replacement and trying to run a business. I am coming out of it now brusied, scathed and inspired. Inspired by a greeat boss/supervisor – [Read: one who gets it].
As such I am reaching back to the roots of my inspirations – books, speeches, inspiring videos, letters, cards and gifts from those who have moved me and those I have moved. And, I am pumped.
All that to say that I am going to do my best to create a Monday Morning Minute that rocks your socks. Or, more realistically put, something that gives you pause for thought and inspiration to give some feedback in the comment seciton below.
Let’s smash 2012 and create some stuff that puts a dent in the multifamily universe.
Thanks for reading and have a compelling week! [That exclamation point is my paying hommage to TP].
Your getting back to inspiring multifamily maniac,
M
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Apartment Marketing: Get Simple
Read a great post over Brains of Fire Blog titled: Creating Problems (Instead of Solving Them). In the post Eric Dodds speaks the point of reinventing for the sake of the exercise. And, all under the guise of presenting the perception that we, as providers of service; be it branding, marketing, financial or otherwise, are creating value for our constituents. The otherwise obvious point for me is that simple stuff works. Simple stuff gets results. Simple gets participation. And, simple is simply a process of filtering out the noise.
In this excerpt, Eric sites a very cool example of an agency filtering out the noise in the way of building the right website for a brewery in the amazing state of Oregon:
What did they want? What all beer-lovers want. To know where they can find good beer.
This hit me right between the eyes this morning as I grappled with our new media strategies and overall apartment marketing and branding efforts.
Righting My View of the Apartment Marketing World
Many times I am guilty of viewing our strategies based on what I want to see happen, what I want to participate in, what I want our Mills Properties participants to see, what I want them to do and experience. When the simple reality is that It is and has always been about getting heads on beds under a sharp curb to commode premise. Under the premise of people’s needs. And, people want simple things done in simple ways for simple results.
How To Create Simple
1. Create a culture that is conducive to very good but simple customer service. Say please, thank you and how can I help – always!
2. Create great partcipatory sales routines. Invite people to tell you their view of the world. Ask how you can make things simple.
3. Be relentless about follow up and follow through. Simple phone call. Simple thank you card. Simple thank you.
It’s that simple.
Major on the majors that get you to simple and guess what – You’ll ROCK!
Your getting simple contributer,
M