Leadership
Apartment Marketing: Engagement
I am sure to take a digital beating for running down the road of engagement but in the words of a big haired 80’s band; “here I go again on my own.”
The term is abused in marketing circles, from the “How To” to the “What For’s”, it seems to be the word of the day and yet I think we miss the true essence. In most cases we mistake participation for engagement. Engagement just sounds better; It just rolls off the tongue more fluently than the word participation. I think that is about to change as it seems more and more people are catching on to the deeper meanings of the word.
One of my Facebook friends forwarded an article to me today that speaks to the difference; at least in my head. I pulled the following quote out of the text as it speaks right to the point;
Develop Character – The Rest Happens by Default
I think the excerpt implies a deeper meaning to the word. It goes beyond “wants” and “needs” as to strum the cords of our souls. Hopes, fears, dreams and achievements; big words with big meaning. As it is with the word engagement.
Now I am not suggesting that engagement does not have a place in marketing. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that when we develop the context that sets engagement free; then we will have hit the mother load. We will have unleashed the deeper meaning and application of the word. Okay, a little quixotic but nonetheless, we will have tapped something very special.
How do you do it? The Harvard types call it “Listening up,” Gary V calls it “Care,” and I call it “Loving People.” Loving them where they are and in an effort to bring greatness out of them. Easy? No. Worth it? yes.
Take away: Get deep into the study of people. Know what keeps them up at night and what keeps their dreams aflight and go about bringing that out of them. Do it by listening up, caring and loving them where they are and expecting more for them than they are capable of expecting for themselves. They will appreciate you for it; I know I appreciate those people in my life.
Have a compelling weekend! M
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Property Management: Money Orders are a Necessary Evil
I am turning to our readers today for some feedback on process.
A lot of renter’s in our communities are one life circumstance away from total financial ruin up to and including losing their apartment. It has given cause for desperate behaviors such as sacrificing their electricity, gas, phone, cable etc. in order to make the rent. In other cases they use creative means such as robbing electricity via extension cords run to your common area outlets in hallways and laundry rooms. It’s amazing what you see out there anymore.
Now one could argue that life choices predicated on fulfilling wants over needs or necessities has contributed to a lot of this and in the same respect I think there an equal amount of people out there that make all the right decisions and still get hit with the downside of adversity.
Our residents are not the only ones faced with making the rent. Many of our employees are waging the same battle month after month. And, sometimes it leads to desperate actions.
That leads me to the premise for my question – money orders left blank by the prospective resident and or current residents paying rent are so very tempting in a desperate time of need. Can you share some of your processes with me as it relates to keeping good people honest. What do you do to keep integrity in the system on your bigger sites where you have six, eight or even ten people working an office and handling money. Specifically, what do you do to make sure these blank money order gems are not used as float to get by to the next pay period? How do you make sure that once an application is taken that it is processed in your property management software asap?
While they are a necessary evil – I have to believe there is a system of handling that keeps theft to a minimum.
Thank you in advance for your considerations and feedback.
Your ready for some economic prosperity friend,
M
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Apartment Leadership – Your Answer May Not be the Only Answer
I read a story today that held a lesson too important not to share. The overarching premise related to creative solutions for business problems. The key lesson being that just because you [leaders] don’t get the answer you are looking for does not mean the answer is not an acceptable solution for the problem.
Allow me to take you back to my childhood for a second to bring this point home. I grew up on a farm just South of a small town on the Eastern Plains of New Mexico. The summers, outside of crazy boring chores, were packed with a ton of down time. My only mode of transportation were two wheels straddled by a frame, two peddles and a seat. It was four miles along the highway to the edge of town and another four to my nearest friend. Needless to say, I was not jumping at the chance to make the trip very often.
Both of my parents worked so my sister and I were left to make the best of each day. Days that included a long list of chores to complete before they made it home. On one occasion that list included a request for me to pull an acre of weeds no less than four feet tall [exaggerated for emphasis]. A project that wold have taken the better part of two days to accomplish [no exaggeration on this point].
Now I don’t claim to be any more resourceful than the next guy or gal but I can say that if there is a more efficient way to do something, trust that I am going to find it. In this instance, I went next door and asked by neighbor if I could borrow a few of his healthiest farm animals to assist in my assignment. He agreed and it took them the better part of a half-day to complete the project. They mowed the weeds right down to the dirt and in many cases pulled them out by the root. Needless to say, I was very proud of my accomplishment and could not wait to share it with my step-father.
“What were you thinking? I asked you to PULL the weeds,” he thundered upon my sharing. I was shocked. Devastated. And, angry. Why was my solution any less effective than his alternative? The reason according to the story I read this morning was because it was not his desired solution.
Getting to the point, how many times in our property management careers have we been put off or put back by resourceful thinkers that get things done in a different or better fashion than you. Do you coach them as it relates to your desired solution? Did you coach out of an underlying premise of frustration or anger? Here are some things to think about if you are in this crowd of thinkers:
1. Are you stalling creativity?
2. Are you screening out innovation?
3. Are you killing a free thinking environment?
4. Are you killing moral?
5. Are you losing good people?
Photo Credit: conversations.nokia.com
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Apartment Leasing: The Friendly Factor
Short and sweet post today – could have been a tweet but really looking for a comment or two on the subject.
So here it is –
How much is unfriendly costing you?
I wish I could suggest that this post was inspired by an experience of mine outside this industry but it was not. It was inspired by a couple of emails I received this week suggesting as much about our firm. Yikes! But but but… In my position – it is sometimes hard to separate the juiced up aggressive nature of a hostile prospect or resident who just had a bad day and or the position of the – more times than not -pushed to the limits on-site leasing and management heros. My bias always leans to the on-site team and in the same breath I would say – I have read some compelling prospect and resident statements that made me wonder. That said, it all comes down to delivery – in my opinion.
More times than not – the statement: they are not friendly – comes up.
So, I wonder – How much is unfriendly costing you?
And, have a very friendly day –
Also, a quick shout out to the NAA bound folks from the Multi-family world. Have a great week in NOLA –
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Apartment Marketing – Negative Capability
A good deal of insanely great change is influenced from the bottom up.. Why is that? It’s precisely for the reason that a front-liner’s negative capability meter is on par with Shawn White’s eXtreme fearless factor. John Keats brought the theory of negative capability to light back in the early 1800’s – negative capability defined as one’s ability to embrace uncertainty. For many property management firms across the country, embracing social media in all it’s implications will rest on those with the ability to exercise or greatly influence negative capability within their respective organizations.
Fighting the good fight
What will these champions of change face as they venture into corner offices across the country? The famed Edward de Bono calls it Rock Logic. You might recognize it as linear, pragmatic, methodical or even orderly thinking. Where negative capability thinkers thrive on ambiguity their counterparts want the back up, the proof in the pudding and they want it in solid Rock Logic spreadsheet fashion. Your best bet is to make the case for Good Enough.
Good Enough vs. All
Most C level property management executives live for the numbers. They also demand that they have ALL the available information to back up the numbers. They will delay decisions for months on end if they think [not feel] that any piece of information evades them. When in comes to developing a premise for decisions in uncharted territory, Good Enough loses to All every time. Think about that in the context of making the case for incorporating social media into your on-line strategy.
The rub is that the industrial age, where Rock Logic thinking absolutely applied, has given way to the knowledge age and this generation thrives on making things happen in the midst of chaos. They thrive on making decisions based on Good Enough information knowing full well that they will remain nimble enough to change direction if need be. They thrive on trying new things and changing course at the drop of a hat. Fail fast succeed sooner is part of their DNA.
All that in mind, convincing C level types that Good Enough, as it relates to embracing social media, will/should become their motto for the stump of 2009. Encourage and massage those negative capability muscles so that Good Enough has space in their thought process. Go for it and fight the good fight as your organization will be all the better for it.
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