Obvious Belief in your Apartment Community

Nothing novel here. You have to believe in the apartment you are selling. Now you might ask, what if I am selling a C class apartment in a C location; that is different, right? No. It’s no different and my suggestion is that if you can’t believe in it – move on. As I see it, you are cheating three people out what they deserve if you stick around. You are cheating yourself as you will never be happy. You are cheating the company as you will never give them 100% of what you are capable of. And, worst of all, you are cheating the people who are really interested in leasing an apartment from you. Key: Get and Obvious belief in your apartment community.

 Obvious Belief in your Neighborhood

Tell them how much you are moved by the neighborhood. People want to know what there is to do around where they live. They not only want to know which pub serves the coldest cold one; they also want to know the name of best bar tender. They not only want to know the best restaurant; they want to know the name of the best server and the chef. They want to know the name of the cleaner that gives top-notch service. They want to know the name of the intake specialist at the local elementary school. Do you want to differentiate yourself? Key: Get out and learn anything and everything you can about the people who give personality to your neighborhood. 

Obvious Belief in Yourself

It’s people who make all the difference in this world. It’s YOU. It’s ME. It’s our friends, family, neighbors and those we would do business with. Key: You have to be comfortable in your own skin. Confident in your convictions. Convinced by your actions. And, Courageous in your opportunities. It is possible to fake it over a near term but over time even the best placed guards crumble. Be real and be real good. It is then that selling your apartment community, the neighborhood that surrounds it and you come across as an authentic need to serve the needs of others. And, that my friends sells all day long…

Your – believing in you – multifamily manic,

M

Today, we are doing a down and dirty lesson on empathetic listening or a fancy way of saying – pay attention. Empathetic listen is active listening or seeking first to understand and then to be understood. The goal being two-fold – listen on an emotional level as well as a cognitive level. In other words you aim to get a sense of how they feel and what they are thinking. And, remember empathy is not sympathy. Empathy speaks from experience; sympathy is there in support of.

Two Questions – Going Deep

When communicating with any one of your apartment residents over any issue, good or bad, use the following two questions to go deeper. If they are in your office complaining about a leaky faucet for the third time this week [and, presupposing you have experienced a persistent leaking faucet in your lifetime], stop and listen. Once they are done talking ask, “how does that make you feel. Or, suggest, “I can imagine that makes feel very frustrated or angry.

It seems obvious but many times, in our haste to get the cranky people out of our office, we don’t take time to validate their feelings. Guess what, that makes a person even more frustrated or angry. All that most people are after is an outlet to vent their anger, frustration or the such and they want the problem fixed. That is where the second question comes in. It is more cognitive in nature.

At the end of understanding their emotion; repeat the reason for the anger or frustration; “I see Mr. Ineedamyfaucetfixed; this is the third time this week you have been in to report your leaky faucet. Our service person has been over two times and still you have a leaky faucet. It bugs you because you are a light sleeper and the persistent drip against the aluminum sink keeps you up. And, you don’t think you should have to put a cup or a rag under the drip to soften the sound. You just want it fixed.”

Your – seeking first to understand – multifamily maniac,

M

Empathy – Care

Empathy can be defined as having the ability to relate. For example, if you are speaking to someone who lives in your apartment community about their son’s soccer game over the weekend and you have a son that plays soccer – you can empathize. And, empathy is the perfect foundation for caring.

If you can empathize – you can care. And, when you care people will respond.

Take the time today to reach out and initiate some conversation. Be it with people you work with and for or with the people who you serve and that serve you in return.

Don’t accept the canned answers and don’t ask canned questions. Let the weather take care of itself. That is the easy stuff.

Ask deeper questions and if your weekend sucked – say so. Don’t be surprised if your audience can relate.

Your – caring to empathize – multifamily maniac,

M

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

The secret of fortune is joy in our hands. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What if today, right now, no jokes at all, you were actually in charge, the boss, the Head Honcho. Write the “call to arms” note you’re sending to everyone (staff, customers, suppliers, Board) charting the path ahead for the next 12 months and the next 5 years. Now take this manifesto, print it out somewhere you can see, preferably in big letters you can read from your chair…

(Author: Sasha Dichter)

I kind of feel like Jerry McGuire right about now.

I can’t help but to call upon the great Tom Peters for this exercise. Back in 2006 I drew from Tom’s: The PSF is Everything! Manifesto to re-imagine the way we did business in Portland. I had just inherited the Regional Manager role where I was responsible for managing fourteen properties consisting of over 5000 units spread over five sub-markets. It was a daunting task and I had no illusions that I could run the deal by myself. I knew it would take the collective efforts of our 100+ people as lead by eleven site managers. It was a bonus that they were the best in business.

If given the charge today to chart the course for the next 12 months and beyond; I would break it down just like we did back in 2006.

• Enhance Work & The Legacy
• Enhance Firm & The Brand
• Enhance Employee Commitments
• Enhance Resident Commitments

I would assign our top talent to each of these four over-riding areas. The task? To Develop the next generation of Mills Properties. It would be on each team [with as little guidance as possible] to come up with amazing over the top and executable strategies to create excellence.

Enhance Work & The Legacy

People want to be a part of something bigger than self. And, it all starts inside with the innate need to move character. It starts with a
company that is convinced that organizations are put in place to serve the people that serve it. It stars with mission, vision, strategy and values. As such we would take action on the following:

• Get a crystal clear point of view
• Create a dramatic difference
• Create a culture where ‘Stretch is Routine’
• Create a culture of ‘Game-Changer’ – WOW Projects
• Work only with ‘Playful Clients’ – Life and Business is Too Short to work with Jerks
• We would get obsessed with LEGACY
• We would part ways with anyone who says ‘apartments are commodities’
• We would never shy away from ‘Radical’

Enhance Firm & The Brand

• We would define what it means to make our business ‘cool’
• We would recruit the absolute best talent
• Integrity would rule the day
• Execution would rule the seconds, minutes and hours
• We would create a ‘Swarm Team’ as a way to support
• R&D would get front and center attention
• We will own the relevant Saint Louis digital frontier
• We will aim to be no less than a ‘LOVEMARK’
• Passion would be the guiding principle

Enhance Employee Commitments

• Our talent would breed talent – FANATICS
• We would hire peculiar
• We would manufacture Early Opportunities for new Talent
• They will rise up or be out
• We will make way for YOUTH
• We will get committed to Renewing our CURRENT base of Talent
• We will get obsessed with MENTORING
• Everyone is a leader
• Bring in the Best in Breed
• INTEGRITY with everyone

Enhance Resident Commitments

• We will invite our residents in as partners
• We will draw in only the best vendors to Serve our residents
• Have residents claim that working with US is THE BEST EVER
• Implement Implement Implement
• Our Chief AIM? Resident’s assist in creating CULTURE
• The measure? Did we make a Dramatic, Game-Changing Difference? Will they tell a friend, family member or co-worker about us?

That’s it! That would be my framework for the next twelve months. After that year we would go on an EXECUTION and IMPLEMENTATION QUEST! It would be a No Holds Barred Journey into Compelling, Over the Top, Amazing and downright Stunning Achievement!

Your always striving contributor,

M

Pics tip to Blogging Pro

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

To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOW to 1 million people, what would you say? (Author: Eric Handler)

It’s All About Choice

The message is something to this effect – the difference between that which you are and that which you want to be is the sliver of a  space between stimulus and response – you are what you ‘choose’ to be and you can be what you want to be by choosing differently.

How would you answer the question above?

Your lovin’ the #trust30 challenge contributor,

M

In Part 3 of the series we are going to brief on the subject of clear goals and priorities…

You cannot Hit a Target that You do not Have

This was an interesting exercise for me; thinking through what I would share today. So many angles you can take with the subject of goal setting from the process of identifying, reward systems, etc. In the spirit of brevity and clarity, I settled on were the follow three things:

1. Get

2. Read

3. Act

At some point, every self improvement guru, management consultant and business coach in the world starts and or introduces the subject of goal setting. Wether they call it strategic objectives or just objectives or more simply – goals. They talk about them. And, they do so because they are critical to both your personal success as well as your business success.

If you think about it from a multifamily leadership perspective, budget numbers are goals. We set them at the end of every year for the year to follow and then we work like wild maniacs to ‘beat the numbers.’

The simple point is that how ever you go about getting them – go do it and do it today. Pick your guru and system and get them on paper or in an electronic format.

PHD&D

Business Coach Chet Homes author of the famed book: The Ultimate Sales Machine trumps the statement Pig Headed Determination and Discipline with every point he makes in his book and otherwise. I reference it as a premise for point number two. You have to get pig headed about reading your goals every single day without fail.

The great Napoleon Hill writes about Think and Grow Rich. He makes the point of reading them before you go to bed at night and again when you wake in the morning. His posit; while in slumber your mind works out ‘the how’ as it relates to getting your goals accomplished. My posit; ‘read them’ and the rest will take care of itself.

What the Mind of Man Conceives and Believes and ACTs on he Achieves

Napoleon Hill penned the above absent the italicized piece – I added that for good measure. My epiphany with ‘action’ came in the early years of my management career. One of my absolute favorite mentors in the business – Jackie W. – wrote me a letter than contained the following statement. All the best intentions in the world are worth nothing unless followed through with. It hit me like a Mack truck in high gear headed down the open freeway. More than an Ouch!

Meaningful Specific or Wondering Generality

Let’s close with a good question; it comes from Zig Ziglar; “Are you a meaningful specific or a wondering generality?” Goals insure that you run with the former part of the question.

Your PHD&D contributor,

M

The idea came from the following link:

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey. Sign up below to receive the prompts by email. If you like this pledge, check out reverb10, it’s inspiring.

My hope is that it does not come across as noise and my aim is to be brief in nature with each offering. Great thing about our blog is that it’s opt-in and/or opt-out. We totally understand. My additional hope is that we add some value and provoke some good discussion or good cause for sharing. Or even more compelling; your opting to take on the #Trust30 challenge.

In any event; have a compelling June. Make it a relentlessly awesome one.

Your taking the #trust30 challenge contributor,

M

Mouth of Truth

Part three of a seven part leadership series.

I will never forget the day I walked into the corner office and disclosed to our owner that I approved spending a large sum of money on attorney fees for a commercial eviction case. Was I nervous? No

Insist on Realism

Worse than nervous is how I really felt. I was disappointed in myself but very comfortable communicating the situation. Why? Realism. The individual I work with and for had the following words for me, “Mike, consider this an expensive education. Now, we don’t want to have to many of these but it’s not the end of the world.” I can’t say I would have been as staid in my response had I been in his shoes. It did, however reinforce the value in being real.

I think it fair to say that a good number of people, in or out of the multifamily space, work hard to shade or avoid reality all together. Why? Short answer – Fear. Fear of confrontation. Fear of looking stupid in the eyes of others – especially those in superior roles. Fear of being labeled.

How to Make Realism Real

It starts with Brand YOU! You have to be realistic with yourself!

No matter your role in the organization, you have to insist that realism is central to every conversation.

If you are the leader,  get out and ask people at all levels what your property management organization is doing right and what it is doing wrong.

Listen.

Take notes.

And, take that feedback and make meaningful changes.

Your working to stay real contributor,

M