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

Those that know me, know that I work crazy hours often times hitting the pillow right prior to the rooster’s announcement of the day to come. And, I rise at roughly 6:00am everyday without the aid of an alarm clock. It used to be 5am but the older I get the more sleep I am learning I need.

How Did I Build the Habit of Rising Early? 

It all started in college. I played basketball at Texas Tech University back in the early 90′s and part of our pre-season conditioning was running at 5am – 4 days a week. Imagine trying to have a social life while being a student while training for basketball – its brutal. Granting the pre-season training was just a six-week stretch; it was still tough. And, required good habits. Rising early being one of them.

Rising early was not an easy task and getting to bed earlier was just not an option at that time in my life. So, what did I do? I put the alarm clock as far away from my bed as I possibly could. That act alone forced me to get out of bed and walk to turn it off. At that point it was absolute will power to not crawl back between the sheets. Now granted; I had massive leverage in that missing a morning run meant a serious consequence up to and including losing my full ride scholarship. But the action of getting out of bed that early over a six-week stretch, even with three days a week off, got me in the habit of rising early. And, I have never looked back.

Laying the Foundation Habits

What does rising early have to do with building good professional habits? I see three things in the life experience cited above; 1. catalyst 2. will power 3. massive leverage. It’s not one but all three working together that builds good habit.

Catalyst

Professionally [using a marketing bent], your catalyst should marry around something to the effect of; you will be the greatest social marketing master of all time. No kidding. Okay, maybe master is a stretch given the constantly changing environment. The point is that you must be willing to sacrifice massive amounts of time, effort and brain power to get up the curve and stay there. And, don’t think once you get there you can coast. It’s just as hard if not harder to maintain the pace concerning innovation, consistency, quality and quantity.

Will Power

To put it bluntly – some days it will just suck to be you. How do I get over that? I read a book some years ago that depicted a scenario where you pick the thing about your day that you just don’t want to do and go about making that the ‘knock it out of the park over the top most compelling and rich’ thing you have ever done in your life time. Try it – you’ll get the point when you get to the end of the project.

Massive Leverage

How do I create this in my life? I think about two things 1. My wife and kids depend on me to be the best I can be. 2. My good self can only be expanded upon or reduced upon by me. No one runs my game. I am responsible for the good, the bad and the ugly every day of the week. And to make sure I remember that; I read my personal creed along with my personal, professional and economic goals every single morning and with massive passion [read: creating massive leverage]. Read enough, things just seem to come together. I really can’t explain it except to tell you that it works 100% of the time.

Your rising early multifamily manic,

M

Joy is an amazing individual and beyond a joy to work with. Each and everyday I come into the office she is smiling and eager to take on any task I send her way. Hope you enjoyed the video as much as we did.

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.

When I got back from the field, covered with mud (it was rainy season), I was sent directly to the Commandant with no time to change into a respectable uniform—a great embarrassment. General Chapman engaged in all of about 15 seconds of chitchat, and having done his duty to my aunt, sent me on my way. As I was literally walking out of his temporary field office, he summoned me back, and said, out of the blue, “Tom, are you taking care of your men?” (I had a little detachment, about 20 guys as I recall, doing the work described before.)

Yup, 40 years plus later, I remember his exact words—which is the point of this Post. I replied to the General, “I’m doing my best, sir.” To this day, with a chill going up my spine (no kidding—as I type this), I can see his face darken, and his voice harden, “Mr Peters, General Walt and I and General Buse are not interested in whether or not you are ‘doing your best.’ We simply expect you to get the job done—and to take care of your sailors. Period. That will be all, Lieutenant.”

The line, “we simple expect you to get the job done,” took me back to 1996. It was my rookie year in the role of property manager and I was as confident as they come – on top of the world and on top of my game. Or, so I thought.

The hand written note read; “all the best intentions in the world are worth nothing unless they are followed through with.” It was the last sentence in a long letter addressed to me from my district manager shortly after a very important property inspection. It floored me. It took my view of the world from a 6’7″ lens to that roughly the height of fire ant. Mind you – it was well deserved and sticks with me to this day.

She had entrusted me with a project that needed to be complete prior to the upcoming inspection. I put it off to the last minute not knowing that the regional manager would walk the property on the eve prior to the date her expected visit. She, along with my DM, caught us in the act of prepping the project in the eleventh hour and was clearly tweaked. The following day was both the best and the worst day of my PM career. The best in the sense that I clearly understood the definition of expectation – the worst in the sense that I did not meet it on behalf of the one that had bestowed the responsibility on me.

I say all that to say this – as we continue down the path of social media as it relates to marketing apartments; remember intentions must marry to expectations. Our consumer demands that we live up to and follow through with the ways in which they like to do business and not much concern is given to our sacred cows. Any more it is not our executive officers defining the way we do business – it is the consumer and we must engage. We must get the job done in a way that is being defined and redefined everyday.

What are your intentions for the coming week and who is driving them?

Have a famous week. M