@mbrewer
Multifamily #Trust30: Greatness
Moving past the halfway point with day 16 of the #trust30 challenge –
Greatness appeals to the future. If I can be firm enough to-day to do right, and scorn eyes, I must have done so much right before as to defend me now. Be it how it will, do right now. Always scorn appearances, and you always may. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Trusting intuition and making decisions based on it is the most important activity of the creative artist and entrepreneur. If you are facing (and fearing) a difficult life decision, ask yourself these three questions:
1) “What are the costs of inaction?”….
2) “What kind of person do I want to be?”
3) “In the event of failure, could I generate an alternative positive outcome?”
Multifamily greatness
We recently purchased a property from a lending institution who had in turn taken it back from a previous ownership interest. When completing the due
diligence phase of our process we discovered roughly 40 units in various stages of disrepair. Units we classify as down. Down to mean not habitable absent some major rehab.
It spoke loudly to the point of the first question – inaction. Banks are not property managers. And, in lieu of spending $25 to $30k to replace the roofs, they left them alone. Result of that inaction? Several hundred thousands of value wiped away.
Greatness starts with forecasting the consequence of in-actions. In this case, it would suffice to say that some back of the napkin math would have yielded an ROI that would have driven a decision to replace the roofs.
What kind of company do we want to be
At Mills Properties, we ask that question a lot. As of late it has been in the area of branding, marketing, digital footprint and the such. We have been slow in moving toward what we want to achieve part and parcel because of near 50% growth in community and unit count over the past four years. And, in part not having a real plan.
Fast forward to today. We have taken the time to craft a 40+ page branding/marketing plan that includes everything from font types and size for all thing forward facing to big ticket strategies to dominate the St. Louis Apartments on and off-line space. It lays it all out and captures how everything from curb appeal to lease contract signing ladders up into an overarching message for the neighborhoods and communities we serve. And, in advance our striving to make a splash nationally at some point.
It all starts with asking the right questions.
Multifamily failure
I think the best way to overcome failure is understand that it going to happen from time to time. In fact, I like what Tom Peters has to say about it, “reward
failure.” If you are not failing, you are not trying, you are not learning and thus you are not growing. Equity Residential cements this in their 10 ways to be a winner – one being ‘take educated risks.’ The expectation is that you gather every piece of information you can to include the counsel of others before you pull the trigger. And, if you fail, you simply have a group postmortem where you examine the facts and the various action points to see what could have been done better.
Off for a float trip
It’s Saturday, it’s raining and we are headed out for camping and a float trip. Should be loads of fun. I say that with lots of hope in mind.
Your hoping you have an amazing weekend contributor,
M
Multifamily #Trust30: Dream
It’s day 15 of #trust30 and it’s Friday!
Abide in the simple and noble regions of thy life, obey thy heart. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Write down your top three dreams. Now write down what’s holding you back from them.
(Author: Michael Rad)
Dreams
Top three dreams
1. See my three children prosper in health, family and their definition of a meaningful contribution to society
2. Reconcile relationships that I have marred along the way
3. Buy a home in a foreign country – in prep for retirement with my soul mate
What’s holding me back?
I feel blessed to report – not a thing…we are progressing well and taking actions to give ourselves the best shot!
On an aside, I want to give a quick thanks to those that have given me some kind words along the way in the #trust30 challenge. And, for those of you that have endured when the topic gets off the multifamily path, thank you as well.
Your continuing to love the #trust30 challenge contributor,
M
Multifamily Leadership: Reward the Doers
Execution and results are the name of the game in any and all business. Be it for profit or not for profit, getting things done that most positively effect the outcome is the chief aim. And, there are several ways to make sure your multifamily business is achieving results. There is the almighty stick and the ever enticing carrot. Threats and rewards. For the sake of this post and the continuation of this leadership series let us focus on reward.
Multifamily Doers
What is a doer? I heard a saying one time that went something like this; I would rather catch a tiger by the tail than have to light a fire under an
elephant’s ass. It speaks loudly in the way of defining a doer. Doer’s get things done. They move mountains. They find ways that others never even dream about much less think about. They never let a day go by without making meaningful progress toward their goals and aspirations. And, doers get rewarded.
Three Suggestions
1. Measure what you expect and reward what you measure
2. Reward the doers far in excess of the status quo – exaggerated and excessively reward the doers
3. Promote those that get things done – quickly
Multifamily Leasing: What Pulled Your Trigger
Common question from a regional manager to a property manager; “What is the reason they didn’t lease?” Maybe the better question is; “Why did they lease?”
Take the people that did lease and find out what pulled their commitment trigger.
Triggers:
1. People want to look good. Is it that your address or your building one that will give them celebrity status?
2. Does it save them money?
3. Does it shave their commute time?
4. Does it help them worry less?
5. Is it comfortable?
6. Does it help them feel accepted or included?
Who out there asks, ‘why they did’ in lieu of ‘why they didn’t?’
What did you do with the information?
Your wondering why contributor,
M
Multifamily #Trust30: Character
Day 14 of the #Trust30 challenge – Trust
…Decide what you want the future to be and make it happen. Because you can. Write about your future now.
(Author: Cindy Gallop)
It’s an elegant way of saying Trust thyself. There is no way of really telling how many times a year we have brilliant ideas cross our mind only to be lost in the same instance. And, no way to tell just how many times that dismissal is a direct result of our innate lack of trust in our own wherewithal. Or, back to that ever persistent dream killer – fear.
What do I want people to say about me when I die
A number of years ago I took the time to write a personal creed for myself. The soul-searching was prompted by a book I was reading at the time; don’t quote me but I do believe it was Steven Covey’s 8th Habit. The methodology included thinking about your very own funeral. I know, morbid huh?
You are at the back of the room as you watch four people take the stage to speak about you: a family member, a co-worker, a coach, mentor, friend or otherwise and a civic/church member. In the exercise you wrote about all the things you would want those individuals to say about you. In doing so you would discern the things that meant the most to you in the way you would want to live life. In a word: character.
Once you defined the character traits, the next step consisted of writing your creed. And, once the creed was written it was time to pen your goals and strategies with which you went about achieving them, predicated on the creed. Or, what you were going to do to build your character.
Character leads the way
Every year in early Jan, I sit and pen my goals for the coming calendar year along with five years and ten years down the road. All predicated on my creed. All in an effort to work on character first, accomplishment second and gathering of things third. In my head if I work on character, accomplishments will come followed closely by money and the things that money can buy.
Over time I will post the creed and the goals that go along with it as one of the last steps in the methodology is to share openly with those that would hold you accountable to living up to what you penned. But, not yet.
What about you; what methodology do you use to create the future for yourself?
Your working on 2011 goals predicated on creed and aiming for good character contributor,
M
