Creating a Competitive Advantage and Winning Culture by Competing Fiercely

[00:00:00] Welcome to the MultifamilyBiz PowerHour Webcast Series, where insight meets innovation in the ever-changing rental housing market. Please welcome your hosts and industry experts Kerry Kirby and Ernest Oriente.

[00:00:20] Kerry Kirby and Ernest Oriente

[00:00:24] All righty we are set and ready to roll for our MultifamilyBiz PowerHour educational opportunity for those of you in the property management space and those of you who are what also vendors and suppliers who sell a product or service into the property management space.

[00:00:40] We're delighted that you're here as we get settled in. We're always going to encourage you do what? Find a quiet spot, be able to make and take notes. The more notes that you are able to make and take the more we transfer the knowledge.

[00:00:50] Simply stated, the coach and coaching approach. We want you to be able to take the tools, the strategies and the areas that we cover and deploy them immediately so it's not an accident that there's not something on your screen that would simply create what?

[00:01:04] Many tasking or multitasking. Lots we're going to be covering during our educational webcasts with me is Kerry Kirby, the CEO of the award-winning 365 Connect. He's also the innovator behind MultifamilyBiz, the largest media platform in our industry.

[00:01:19] Kerry, how about some opening words about what's cooking in you and your world and your team at 365 Connect and MultifamilyBiz? I'll say a few words about PowerHour then we'll dive right into our educational webcast here today.

[00:01:33] Absolutely. So first off, I want to thank everyone for joining us today. My name is Kerry Kirby. I'm the CEO at 365 Connect where we deliver the world's most sophisticated, automated marketing, leasing and resident service platforms to multifamily communities across the globe.

[00:01:53] Designed for renters, property management teams in today's changing world, our AI enabled platform is utilized to supplement staff, eliminate redundant tasks and reinvent operational performance to reduce costs and maximize efficiency.

[00:02:12] Our innovations also include MultifamilyBiz, the largest media resource in the multifamily housing industry, providing news, resources and events to more than 1 million monthly friends, fans and followers.

[00:02:27] MultifamilyBiz is also the host of the longest running webcast series in the multifamily housing industry, the award-winning MultifamilyBiz PowerHour.

[00:02:38] Now streaming across an array of channels including Spotify, iHeart Radio and Apple Podcasts just to name a few.

[00:02:47] You can learn how we are leveraging our 20-year legacy of continuous innovation at 365 Connect.com.

[00:02:57] And Kerry, always a delight I heard as part of your update, the focus on AI. Let's all circle back for just a moment.

[00:03:06] Last month what did we talk about? The power and potential of AI in our property management industry.

[00:03:12] Two before that, what did we talk about? Battle of the bots, tech enabled platforms to appeal to today's renter.

[00:03:19] We have lots and lots moving around on AI. We're staying current with it.

[00:03:25] And as soon as we finish an education or webcast, it's no longer current.

[00:03:28] Literally Kerry, that's how quickly the state of AI and technology is moving.

[00:03:34] And you and we and our teams are doing what? Staying current and staying right there with it.

[00:03:38] So love that piece as part of your introduction and certainly a delight, Kerry and I are working together.

[00:03:44] Going all the way back 18 years back in 2007 we first got rolling in.

[00:03:49] It's just been a jet to share some wonderful gold awards and the longest standing webcast in our space and sector.

[00:03:55] By way of brief introduction, my name is Ernest Orienti. My company is Power Hour.

[00:04:02] 29 years we have coached and guided industry leaders in our sectors and their teams in 15 time zones around the world.

[00:04:09] Kerry as you know for the last 10 years, April, May or May June, we literally live and work for somewhere between 6 to 10 weeks

[00:04:18] working with our UK and European clients. Always the delight from that perspective.

[00:04:22] And all of them are focused on what their largest dreams, what's possible, what's impossible and how to accomplish those with both optimism opportunities.

[00:04:32] And Kerry you'll hear some of that during our webcast as well.

[00:04:36] But we have a deep, deep understanding of the property manager world also what it means to be a vendor on the other side of the house.

[00:04:42] Those of you who are selling a product or service.

[00:04:45] In addition Kerry I've shared with you the milestone. We have 20 LinkedIn groups, the largest in our property manager world.

[00:04:53] We surpassed 180,000 that's an annual reach of annualized 10 million plus.

[00:05:00] So we are actively and always engaged in our sector from that perspective.

[00:05:06] And a signature part of the work as you know is our power minute more than 500 topics, more than 340 of those

[00:05:15] one minute already up and live related to sales, marketing and leadership and 400 plus thousand views.

[00:05:23] So really just a joy and delight in this you know we've captured some recently in many, many cities and places where we've not been so that was a lot of fun as each of you are getting settled in.

[00:05:35] Today you're going to anticipate that we're going to bring up the telescope and we'll start our webcast focused on that looking at sort of that longer range

[00:05:43] strategic planning and strategic thinking. We always like to start large and then bring it back to the microscope with some real time action steps that you can make and take today.

[00:05:54] So whenever Kerry and I come together we have three specific goals every single time a we want to share new ideas to stretch and spur your thinking and truly having you think outside your comfort zone and especially as we're going to be talking today about competing fiercely.

[00:06:09] Number two, if you hear something that Kerry and myself as we're bantering back and forth, you know matches with you and your team are doing. We say Bravo.

[00:06:18] We send you a virtual high five and it literally means you're doing what you're matching industry best practices.

[00:06:24] And then the third piece is a stated goal and we call it the serendipitous ideas and even as Kerry and I were bantering before we've been formally got started here,

[00:06:32] even something he said sparked two more ideas that I was quickly making to talk to him in our educational webcast because the serendipitous it just simply means if I am talking about blue frogs and Kerry mentioned something and you think yellow hippos.

[00:06:49] That literally means that you're you could be thinking about pink tomatoes. We love that right. We want to embrace the serendipitous we expect it between ourselves when we're coming together for these webcasts and we want to encourage you.

[00:07:02] And we want to encourage you as well to play outside the box. So Kerry in the world of educational webcast today, right? Talking about what a competitive advantage and a winning culture and competing fiercely.

[00:07:18] Right. That's what we're going to really focus on here today, both from the vendor supplier side, the property management side, and we'll even be bringing it into the site level from that perspective.

[00:07:30] So Kerry where to first related to this exciting topic today, Ernest?

[00:07:36] So let's kick this off with how does competing fiercely lead to team success and a great company culture? How do these two intersect?

[00:07:48] You bet. So let's agree that there's a general balance because both in this point in as we move a little further along we're going to talk about grace and burnout and how to juggle all of that.

[00:07:58] But the big picture, the telescope perspective is we're going to give each of you and all of you a menu to choose from, a rainbow of steps and strategies to select from as you think about where your company is today, where your team is today, where performance is today, and most importantly where would you like to be?

[00:08:19] So I'm going to just start with that simple little story. Some of us have heard it, some of us have not. But that simple story of the teacher who's standing in front of the class and takes an empty vase and puts rocks, some nice big rocks in there says of the class is that vase full of which the class of course says yes it is and the professor says no it's not.

[00:08:42] And then the professor rolls along and then puts pebbles in there. Now you got pebbles in the big rocks turns to the class again and says is it now full? They say of course it is, which professor says no it's not and then begins to fill it in with sand.

[00:08:56] And if we kind of think about our lives, personal, professional, our dreams, our goals, I'll sometimes say Kerry, the day that I plan and the day that I had were wildly different. We're going to talk about that as it relates to competing fiercely.

[00:09:09] But the important point here is that if you want to compete fiercely, then every day is a gold medal performance and every day you've got to put the big rocks in first. Now we can there's many topics about the big rocks. We can talk about those.

[00:09:26] We love family, foundational of course. Of course our wonderful faith and our spirituality, our fitness that gives us the strength to do the things that we do, the food that nurtures us. All of these things are big rocks. That's an absolute.

[00:09:41] And let's also agree that the big rocks in there are all the ABCs of what we do day in, day out. My job and my responsibilities and the meetings I've got to run and the deadlines I've got to accomplish. All of those things we're going to make the assumption that is also part of the big rocks that are in there.

[00:10:00] But today what we're really adding in or what we're asking you to consider is that rock, the singular rock called competing fiercely.

[00:10:09] Just to kind of frame it and so we have a kind of a shared understanding of where we're going because the balance of our webcasts will tie into this component of competing fiercely from that perspective.

[00:10:24] And it always begins with two words, Terry. And this is one of those moments that when we ask this question or pose this question, there's generally silence.

[00:10:35] When we share it with a person or team or an executive or leader or an entrepreneur, we shared these two words recently with the CFO of a $2 billion farmer company that all of you would know by name, one of our clients.

[00:10:50] We shared it with another client, a former managing director of NASA with a $4 billion budget of which there was silence and then a whirlwind of activity behind that.

[00:11:03] But the simple two words are I wish. That's it. I wish.

[00:11:11] What are you most wishing for when you think about where your company is positioned?

[00:11:16] Now let's think about it from a property management company. Where are you today to take stock?

[00:11:22] And then to imagine pulling out the telescope or where you would like to be 12, 24, 36 months forward.

[00:11:28] For those of you from a site perspective same, where are you with your current property and the properties performance and your team and your deliverables and your resident retention and your wonderful Google reviews and maintenance delivery.

[00:11:42] We go down all of those paths. And for those of you who are vendors and suppliers likewise, your products and your services, where are you today?

[00:11:50] What are you most wishing for as you look forward? I wish. And it's not good enough just to wish it, but what's important is what?

[00:11:59] If you have something you really want, you put it down and writing.

[00:12:03] Kerry, in my world of things I have a word doc that I open up at the start of every day that literally is there open for the last 29 years as it relates to power hour.

[00:12:16] As tasks move up, as tasks moves down, the things that link into my best and perfect day.

[00:12:22] And then below that, the specific tasks which includes and included all the prep to arrive here today to be with you and be together with all of those who are joining us

[00:12:32] for our educational webcast. So Kerry, the two words I wish seem so simple, right? But it causes us to pause and think about strategically our business, yes?

[00:12:45] Absolutely. I don't mean it is a word that brings silence because what exactly, you know, if you look out forward, where do you wish your company to be?

[00:12:59] And I was actually having a conversation with someone yesterday. It's an investment banking business and we were talking about how things have changed a little bit in the world of the way companies are looked at today.

[00:13:16] And I think that everybody looks at growth, right? So if you follow anything to stock market, are you hitting your numbers and everything moves on acceleration and numbers being hit and new business being booked constantly and more and more revenue.

[00:13:37] But there's a trend going on where it's more about looking at optimizing performance now in about that bottom line. It's not just growth at all costs, you know, because a lot of companies, especially ones that are, you know, in a growth pattern,

[00:13:57] they call it burning cash or burn cash to get there. So there's a shift going on of looking at how to deliver those companies that deliver really good products that have adoption or what makes them grow, really good services or what's going to make you grow

[00:14:17] and optimizing how you run that operation. So my wish list changes a little bit. So, you know, my wish list is really great products, great services wrapped around it, great support for our customers.

[00:14:40] And I want to optimize everything to just run, you know, like a fine tune machine. Now we know that's not always possible in business, right? I mean, we're going to hit some little bumps in the road along the way.

[00:14:55] But if you optimize it, those bumps are not as hard, a heart of a hit is as it can be. So I think Ernest, that's where I feel and obviously not alone, but that's where people in the market including myself feel that things are going. How do we better perform with what we have?

[00:15:21] And you are right. It's perfectly acceptable to have an I wish for my team, an I wish for my product or service, and I wish for my technology, an I wish tied to what's happening related to AI. So it's perfectly appropriate to have a variety of wishes.

[00:15:39] When we rolled this out to the former managing director, the longest managing director at NASA, he literally said, I've never asked myself that question. One of the most curious people, one of the most interesting people I've ever spoken with.

[00:15:56] And then that night he literally took an entire bedroom in his home and began to postie and add notes and postie and tape. And he filled all the walls with all the things that he was most wishing for. This goes back just a brief two years ago, and then every time we're working together and every time we connected, we come right back to those walls, that picture, that image.

[00:16:20] It was one of the most profound moments because it's the same two words that we've shared for 29 years. It's always interesting to see how people react and how they respond to that.

[00:16:31] And we want all of you to know that this piece, because it also ties back to a great company culture. When you think about the I wish, it's not just an exercise for those at the top of the org chart or those in the middle or the bottom.

[00:16:46] It's bottom to top, middle left and right and top down. It's everybody at the same table just to make certain we have alignment because on one side today's webcast is about competing fiercely.

[00:17:00] And this ties right into the very natural I wish. What is the I wish for how we are competing fiercely? But it's also the recognition that it also ties into our company culture.

[00:17:13] Which then leads us into the next part of our webcast. When you think about Olympians, we have what? The upcoming Paris Olympics this summer.

[00:17:23] Kara, you're going to shortly see that Utah again, Salt Lake City, Park City will be part of the 2034.

[00:17:32] It'll be formally announced this summer. Of course, we're here in 2002, which was a delight.

[00:17:37] But if you think about Olympians, every four years they show up to do what? Earn a gold medal. One shot.

[00:17:44] Maybe four years later or another, but one shot to achieve their larger dreams and goals.

[00:17:50] Some will and some won't. We know those stories. And if you think about Olympians, they have the perfect schedule, the perfect massage treatments,

[00:17:59] the perfect therapy. We're needed the perfect diets, nutrition, equipment, training technology, AI.

[00:18:07] They have everything perfect every single day because that is their full-time job.

[00:18:12] And if you compare it to what all of us do and each of us do, each of you are what? Corporate athletes.

[00:18:18] But last I checked, you're not getting the perfect sleep or the perfect nutrition or the perfect massages every day.

[00:18:26] We're getting catch as catch can. And if you think about that, it's not always easy to deliver a gold medal day.

[00:18:35] And by the way, the gold medal day, a part of that is addressing how we compete fiercely. It links in.

[00:18:43] But if you're struggling to get into your day or through your day or out of your day on the other side,

[00:18:49] you're thinking in many cases or in some cases or in your case or not how to just make it through the day,

[00:18:57] survive the day, just do what I have to do, just what I need to do. We're not often thinking beyond the bounds of what?

[00:19:05] Competing fiercely. Today's webcast is to challenge you to get outside that box and to be able to deliver perfectly every day,

[00:19:15] which is the perfect segue to the next piece. One of the reoccurring themes carry that we do with our individuals,

[00:19:21] entrepreneurs, team leaders, C-level leaders, whether it's a company that has a big bold dream

[00:19:27] or a CFO of a $2 billion company or a leader with a $4 billion budget, doesn't matter.

[00:19:34] It's the same reoccurring theme. What does your perfect day look like?

[00:19:39] This is getting all the rocks in so that we can put competing fiercely right on top of that.

[00:19:45] So imagine for just a second, which is how we sort of go through this exercise.

[00:19:49] Kerry, if we had a camera over your shoulder or my shoulder, what do we do first, second, third, fourth, fifth

[00:19:54] every single day at the start of our day? I'm going to check this dashboard.

[00:19:58] I'm going to look at these financials. I'm going to look at this occupancy.

[00:20:01] I'm going to look at this pricing. I'm going to look at my email. I'm going to look at my LinkedIn.

[00:20:04] Roll through our head. We have those who start with, I pray in the morning.

[00:20:08] I do yoga. I work out. I have my coffee. I walk my dog. Even at a granular level,

[00:20:13] and we have some that literally say at 412, I'm doing 10 push-ups.

[00:20:18] And at 414, I'm doing 10 sit-ups, even that level of granularity.

[00:20:24] And we give the exercise to each of our Power Hour clients, and we let them interpret,

[00:20:30] we share with them samples, but we let them interpret what it means for them

[00:20:34] because there's no right and there's no wrong. But if you imagine, in my case,

[00:20:38] here at Power Hour, I have 27 steps that make up for the perfect day

[00:20:42] every single day at the start of every day. And then below that, exactly in the order

[00:20:48] of what the very next and next and next items are, those are the deliverables specific to today.

[00:20:55] And embedded in that list of 27 includes competing fiercely. That's where it lives.

[00:21:03] And it doesn't mean that we have to, at every minute of every day, compete fiercely.

[00:21:09] It means that we've embedded it in our psyche. We've embedded it in our best and perfect day.

[00:21:14] And that's the very essence of what this is about.

[00:21:17] Your best and perfect day, this roadmap, means that each day is 100% successful

[00:21:24] as you started. Now we know that the day will take on a life of its own,

[00:21:27] but the start of every day gives you the foundation to build a rock solid pyramid

[00:21:32] to then build and build and build the next steps going forward.

[00:21:35] It also means you have more resiliency. It means that you're ready for the days,

[00:21:40] twists and turns. And once again, the day that we have planned versus what actually happens,

[00:21:45] we know can take its twists and turns. But Kari is part of the deliverables for today.

[00:21:50] Myself and my team knew exactly in the exact order of every single thing that needed to happen today,

[00:21:57] leading up to our educational webcast. Baked in, perfectly delivered every single time.

[00:22:03] That means today, the end of today, myself and my team will smile and say,

[00:22:08] today was one more gold medal day 29 years of that here at Power Hour.

[00:22:15] Now, let's take a step back. Let's talk about another concept related to this

[00:22:22] because it ties to competing fiercely and that is our genius work,

[00:22:26] the highest and best use of our time. Embedded in those 27 steps here at Power Hour

[00:22:32] includes what is the highest and most important tasks that I'm going to be doing today

[00:22:38] especially related to competing fiercely? How is that embedded in your day?

[00:22:45] How does that link up with your leadership assessment and your leadership style,

[00:22:50] some of the things that we've talked about in prior educational webcasts,

[00:22:55] playing to your strength, introvert versus extrovert, patient or impatient,

[00:23:01] multitasker or not, highly attentive to detail or not. All of those have strengths

[00:23:06] and related blind spots. There's no right or wrong, but understanding those

[00:23:11] lets you again compete fiercely. There's another principle related to this

[00:23:16] and that is that if we're going to compete fiercely, we're going to go slow enough

[00:23:21] to strategically understand where our competitors are, where our company culture is today

[00:23:29] and we're going to move slow enough to plan strategically

[00:23:33] and we're going to move rapidly to deploy once we agree to what we're doing.

[00:23:38] If I'm on a site perspective, I'm moving fiercely to best compete with my two other

[00:23:43] competitors in my Coldus Act. I'm looking to push back at the numbers.

[00:23:47] On the property management side, I'm looking potentially to acquire buildings,

[00:23:51] acquire assets, add investors or potentially acquire other property management companies.

[00:23:56] All right? On the vendor side specifically, I may be doing the same.

[00:24:01] I accelerate my products. How do I enrich my services? How do I acquire competitors?

[00:24:07] So there are those pieces. We go slow to go fast, but we do not run over others on the team.

[00:24:13] We need to bring everybody along and understand the team cadence.

[00:24:18] It requires us to be nimble, to encourage creativity, to look for innovation

[00:24:24] like you heard Kerry talk about a few minutes ago, be open to new ideas,

[00:24:27] to have a growth mindset, and even if there's a challenge or an obstacle

[00:24:34] or adversity, Kerry will sometimes say in a client meeting,

[00:24:38] is that a pebble or a mountain? Which is it? All right?

[00:24:41] And let's filter it to that. And if it's a pebble, don't make it a mountain.

[00:24:44] If it's a petable, let's roll that over. Hey, but it's a legit mountain.

[00:24:47] Let's acknowledge it and decide what we're going to do to bring it back

[00:24:52] to a pebble, the voice of reality. And when all of these things are working together

[00:24:57] as we think about competing fiercely, we think about our company culture.

[00:25:02] It's what I call and what we call the wind at your back,

[00:25:06] that no better feeling. Kerry, when you're out running and that wind in your face,

[00:25:09] you know it. But when it's behind you, you go, God, I can feel like I could run forever.

[00:25:14] It's behind me or I can ride my bike. I can ride forever.

[00:25:17] The wind in your back, there's no greater joy. It's leadership, nirvana.

[00:25:21] It's company culture of joy and celebration. And we are not only competing fiercely,

[00:25:28] but we're taking mind share, market share, and market penetration,

[00:25:33] which is exactly what happens when the wind's at your back.

[00:25:37] Kerry, your voice, your perspective related to these principles

[00:25:41] in our first part of our webcast.

[00:25:43] First off, Ernest, if Park City does not put you on the Olympic skiing team,

[00:25:47] they will hear from me because nobody sees what Ernest does.

[00:25:51] I just want to put that out there.

[00:25:54] Wow. I'm making it out of the duly noted. That's fairly different.

[00:26:01] But I think you hit the nail on the head and I never thought of it that way before,

[00:26:06] but we are corporate athletes and you're absolutely right.

[00:26:10] And if you talk to anyone in professional sports, they say what you see on a basketball court,

[00:26:19] on a football field, whatever you're watching, a baseball field,

[00:26:24] that's such a small segment of all the preparation and all the work

[00:26:30] that it took for me to be standing on that very field or court.

[00:26:37] So companies are no different in the things that we do and the things that we have to accomplish.

[00:26:44] Preparation is key. Talk to any attorney on a court case.

[00:26:49] It's like preparation is everything. That's where I win or lose.

[00:26:55] It's preparing everything. It's that presentation.

[00:27:00] And we do these every month, Ernest. It's an hour.

[00:27:06] But the preparation, the research, the things we want to deliver, that's not an hour.

[00:27:13] It's a lot of work to come here and know what we're going to say and when we're going to say it.

[00:27:18] And anything else shouldn't be any different than we do,

[00:27:22] whether it's your vendor and you're building a product, you're trying to make your service better.

[00:27:27] You've got a pitch with a company that you want their business,

[00:27:32] be you a management company or pitching some owners or institutional investors

[00:27:38] or your vendor in your pitch in a management company.

[00:27:42] It's all leading up to that moment because you get that little piece of time to get your point across.

[00:27:50] How can you do it as efficient and consistent as possible and make it compelling?

[00:27:58] It's no different than an athlete. They get picked in the draft because they worked hard,

[00:28:04] they've performed, they meet all that criteria,

[00:28:11] and that's how you get selected and it's no different business.

[00:28:15] You're exactly right. And in business you get selected to be promoted.

[00:28:21] You get selected to accelerate your career path.

[00:28:24] You get selected to increase your compensation or you do not if you are not delivering

[00:28:30] as a corporate athlete. Hence the nuggets we've shared in the first part of this educational webcast.

[00:28:40] And we're hoping again for those of you that are joining us both live and those of you

[00:28:44] that will listen to this webcast long after we finish up,

[00:28:47] that there's a lot of meat and a lot of granular steps in the telescope, in the menu,

[00:28:52] in the rainbow of what we've shared but recognize that these are the golden nuggets for you.

[00:28:58] So Kerry, that carries us right into the second part of our webcast.

[00:29:02] What question is on the table for the second part?

[00:29:05] And so Ernest, where is the balance between leading with grace versus burnout?

[00:29:14] So let's agree that this is where the rubber meets the road.

[00:29:21] That burnout is real. Here we are focused on a great company culture balancing it with what?

[00:29:28] Competing fiercely. And it not only is burnout real, but if we don't address it

[00:29:35] and address the symptoms of it then we're never going to achieve the growth on one side

[00:29:42] and be able to compete fiercely on the other. So let's talk about a couple of those pieces.

[00:29:47] The first is what we call the ceiling of complexity, the realization

[00:29:52] that there's only so many hours in the day. It links to genius work, yes no doubt.

[00:29:57] But it also goes back to, let's go back to that vase and the big rocks and then the pebbles

[00:30:02] and then the sand and then let's add the water on top of that. So it's 32 ounces

[00:30:07] or it's 52 ounces or 100 ounces, whatever it is, whatever you call it, a typical day.

[00:30:12] And if we think about it, the 32 ounces what happens when we put 33 ounces?

[00:30:18] One ounce spills out. What happens if we try to put 42 ounces, 10 ounces spill out?

[00:30:24] Okay, 52 ounces? You get the visual. Think about that visual for just a second

[00:30:29] because that is the very essence of what fatigue is. That's the very essence

[00:30:33] of the tale of the dog or I'm chasing my tail, right? We know all those descriptors.

[00:30:38] The day I planned and the day I had two different things. I'm drained. I'm done.

[00:30:43] And even further is the psychological. I'm never caught up all caps.

[00:30:48] I can never win. I'm not even getting my promotions. I just got a poor 360

[00:30:54] or a poor annual review. I didn't get my compensation balance. I am burning out.

[00:31:00] Okay? Each of us and all of us have had those moments in our professional career,

[00:31:06] myself and Carrie included where we just pause, looked at the mirror and said,

[00:31:09] self, am I winning or self, I'm failing. Okay? Those are the little whispers

[00:31:14] of what's called the think talk in our brain burnout is real. Okay?

[00:31:19] So let's acknowledge that. So this is kind of where we get rolling along

[00:31:24] when we're working with those on the property management side,

[00:31:28] Carrie or the vendor side and individual, a team, an organization.

[00:31:32] And we really settle in and we say, listen, the first thing we need to do

[00:31:37] is we need to look at where the gaps are, where the issues are,

[00:31:44] where the root cause is and how to bust those gaps. It can be something as simple.

[00:31:50] We were literally working with a group yesterday and they've migrated in some new software

[00:31:55] and they're still struggling with it. And this goes back to December.

[00:31:58] And I said, listen, gang, I've had corporate clients that have migrated software

[00:32:03] but were months and months down the road. I said, software migration is like a bell,

[00:32:09] like a bell curve. You start with small, it arches up, lots of work.

[00:32:13] You get down the other side and the work is done. You're still struggling.

[00:32:17] And I inserted the words MDA. I said, I want MDA, massive daily action

[00:32:23] to get on the other side of this. This is completely unacceptable.

[00:32:28] The gap between your prior software that I'm hearing you tell me was so easy.

[00:32:34] And your current one that's not so easy and there are issues but you haven't addressed the issues,

[00:32:39] that I want every single morning until we get it perfect, a stand-up meeting

[00:32:46] for 15 minutes to resolve or to address or field questions across your company

[00:32:52] until your current software is working perfectly and your team is working perfectly, period.

[00:32:59] Every day that meeting happens. And if you need to bring in the software vendor,

[00:33:04] you bring them in every single day until it's resolved.

[00:33:08] And you tee up a shared doc with them and with your team that outlines every single item

[00:33:13] because there's a gap. And the gap right now is as big as the Grand Canyon

[00:33:16] and we're going to bust that gap right here, right now because what you're currently dealing with

[00:33:22] is completely unacceptable. Here's the point in all of this. As leaders, we step over nothing.

[00:33:30] And by the way, you're a leader. I don't care where you are in the organizational chart.

[00:33:34] If it's not working at a site level, if it's not working for ops on the vendor side,

[00:33:38] if it's not working for invoicing, if it's not working for the way we handle financials,

[00:33:42] you step over nothing. It's a leadership principle. Do not tolerate for one minute

[00:33:50] or one hour or one day something that continues to not work.

[00:33:55] Terry is as simple as how many times are you going to get out of your car

[00:34:00] because the remote's not working to get into your garage?

[00:34:04] You pause and go, well, I'll get out today and I'll get out tomorrow.

[00:34:06] And then one day you go, man, this has been going on for weeks.

[00:34:10] Well, I stop and say enough is enough. My comment is the first time it didn't open.

[00:34:17] Your remote didn't open the door. Stop right there and fix and resolve it.

[00:34:22] We call that a problem-free zone. It leads to joy, which is the opposite of burning out.

[00:34:29] But if you don't stop and address those things along the way, the annual physical

[00:34:35] you need to get to your doctor and the remote that's not working over here

[00:34:39] and you need to get gas for your lawn mower, you feel overwhelmed.

[00:34:43] That's a personal example and we have all of these other examples on the professional side.

[00:34:47] Analyze the gaps. Buff the gaps. Do it now and address what that root causes.

[00:34:55] Also, there's another way that we come at this, Terry,

[00:34:59] and that is we have a five-day Excel doc that will send to a new client,

[00:35:03] a new team, and a leader. We'll say to them, every 30 minutes record what you're doing

[00:35:08] for the five days and then tell us the task and rate it on a scale of 1 to 10,

[00:35:13] 10 is genius work. And then tell us whether or not you could delegate this,

[00:35:17] get additional support, or how could you remove this from your calendar?

[00:35:20] It's another way to come at this ceiling of complexity.

[00:35:23] Take – go back to that 32 ounces. If I'm going to compete fiercely

[00:35:28] and work on the strategies from our webcasts, I may have to spill 10 of those ounces out.

[00:35:34] Now I've got 22 ounces that I can go right back up and fill to 32 ounces by competing fiercely.

[00:35:41] So we consider this Excel doc, this five-day exercise, another part of getting to more genius work,

[00:35:48] more joy, and the reduction or eliminating of burnout from that perspective.

[00:35:56] Also, related to balancing grace versus burnout, we are passionate about having shared docs

[00:36:06] for those from a leadership perspective and those who are on their team.

[00:36:11] So let's go to the property management side. If I'm a regional or district,

[00:36:14] I need a way to have a shared doc that I can share with each of my properties

[00:36:18] that everybody has access to. And if they need something, it goes on there.

[00:36:23] We get so lost in in-person conversations, text messages, Slack internal, emails that get lost.

[00:36:31] Hey, if there's 20 emails about what our dog policy is, it's track that out,

[00:36:36] put it on the shared doc and say, we need to talk about our dog policy or dog damages

[00:36:40] or whatever it might be. Recognize that that brings more joy and more grace.

[00:36:46] So we have shared docs carrier, one of those principles that we've utilized for more than a decade

[00:36:51] that all of our corporate clients utilize them, all of their teams utilize them.

[00:36:55] We participate actively coming in and out of their docs so that we can see if it's flowing

[00:37:00] in terms of industry best practices. But it also includes competing fiercely.

[00:37:08] Where is the shared doc related to who are my direct competitors

[00:37:13] at a site level and how do we compare? If I'm a property management company,

[00:37:18] I'm out competing for biz on the fee side. Where's the shared doc that details

[00:37:25] who I'm competing with, what they've recently done, how it compares to what I'm doing,

[00:37:30] and so forth. And if there's vendors and suppliers, exactly the same.

[00:37:35] So a shared doc handles tasks, to-dos, communication, prevents burnout,

[00:37:42] allows us to focus on joy but also gives us the opportunity to compete fiercely.

[00:37:49] And then lastly, the whole point in all of this, you know, burnout is real.

[00:37:53] We opened up this portion of our webcast with that. But let's get to the other side.

[00:37:58] When all of these pieces are in place that we've been covering here in this educational webcast

[00:38:03] and we moved to grace and joy and we moved to the wind at our back, it's fun.

[00:38:09] It's truly fun to be at work to come to work and to work together as a team.

[00:38:15] It's like being a conductor that says I need a little bit more tuba

[00:38:19] and a little less flute but a lot more piano right over here.

[00:38:23] And that means that you are what? The master of your domain, the king of your kingdom,

[00:38:28] that everything is working personally and professionally perfectly like you want it.

[00:38:34] Terry, your comments and observations, it's such a balance right between leaving with grace,

[00:38:39] making certain the deliverables are happening but preventing burnout, yes?

[00:38:45] Yeah, there's a lot of parts there and it's just leaning back on the garage door remote

[00:38:52] for a minute. You know, it's like well what day are you going to get it fixed?

[00:38:57] You know what day is when you pull up and it's pouring down rain

[00:39:01] and you have to get out your car and open the garage door.

[00:39:05] I love that visual, that's right.

[00:39:08] It's like why didn't I get this fixed before?

[00:39:11] And it's like you say the more things linger.

[00:39:15] You and I have had conversations about how you work from a list, I work from a list

[00:39:21] and if things sit on the list, you know, I think you and I both moving them at all times

[00:39:29] like where's the priority but it's always there right?

[00:39:32] It's always on the list. Hopefully we get the garage door remote on the top of the list before it rains.

[00:39:38] Julie noted.

[00:39:42] But the shared dock thing is huge and it's so easy to do now.

[00:39:50] We've got Google Docs, we've got SharePoint and in the other part,

[00:39:55] the only other part I could add to that Ernest, and I know you've got this covered

[00:40:00] but the only other part I could add to that is the ability to assign things to people.

[00:40:07] I think it's huge that you want to assign something to someone else.

[00:40:13] And it's kind of like, okay here's a project, who's going to take this piece?

[00:40:18] Who's going to take that piece?

[00:40:20] And everybody takes a piece of it and performs and everybody's got insight to who's doing what.

[00:40:27] And I have found over time that is the most optimal way for my team to really perform

[00:40:37] is when everybody's got a piece to the puzzle and you need the other piece of everybody else's puzzle

[00:40:45] to build the whole picture.

[00:40:47] And valid points regarding that as far as the shared dock,

[00:40:51] it includes the date of when it hit the dock so we can age it and see

[00:40:56] what the task is done by whom, has it been completed and then what we do from there and from there

[00:41:02] and from there totally spot on.

[00:41:04] I mean that is an absolute, we probably get a whole another education or webcast

[00:41:09] just about the power of that, how to utilize it, where the pitfalls are and so forth.

[00:41:15] It is vital and it truly means, I truly believe and we believe that

[00:41:22] the human spirit really does savor the wind.

[00:41:25] We don't start every day going, I'm going to be curcumudgeon, I'm going to fail today

[00:41:30] and I really want people to yell, shout and be disappointed in me.

[00:41:33] I really want to get fired today.

[00:41:35] I just don't believe that people come from that show them the path,

[00:41:38] paint by numbers what their best and perfect day is,

[00:41:43] the 27 steps, the 12 steps, the 14 steps,

[00:41:46] show them in the shared dock exactly the things that need to be done

[00:41:49] and let them soar and let them share and tell you their wins.

[00:41:54] That's the wind at our backs as leaders and that's Nirvana.

[00:41:59] That truly is and for those of you that have experienced it,

[00:42:02] you know what we're talking about and you never want to leave that space

[00:42:06] and for those of you that haven't and maybe haven't even considered it,

[00:42:09] we're stretching and spurring and stirring your thoughts outside the box.

[00:42:14] It's not only possible, it is more than doable.

[00:42:17] If you're not finding that please reach out, carry myself,

[00:42:21] have a lot to say regarding that.

[00:42:23] And Ernest, the other thing I want to inject here is burnout is huge.

[00:42:28] It's real.

[00:42:30] I go through it sometimes and I think it comes from what you were saying earlier.

[00:42:37] It's like the garage doors, remote spoken, the lawnmower and these gas.

[00:42:42] It's the being overwhelmed with all these different things

[00:42:47] and they're like all over the place and they feel like they're all needed now.

[00:42:52] They all need attention right now.

[00:42:54] And I think the organization of it is a great way to prevent burnout

[00:43:02] and if you're executing down the list, I call it that when I leave for the day,

[00:43:08] I want to leave feeling like I came in and I won the day of what I was supposed to accomplish,

[00:43:17] that I leave feeling accomplished because the last thing I do and I've had too many of those days

[00:43:22] where I leave feeling wow, I'm defeated.

[00:43:26] I got thrown off course so bad.

[00:43:28] I'm so far behind now.

[00:43:31] I don't know where to begin tomorrow and you don't want days like that.

[00:43:37] Yeah, it's a valid point and we do want to end our day with pride

[00:43:45] and a feeling of accomplishment.

[00:43:47] Part of our best and perfect day is the very, very last thing on that 27 Steps says

[00:43:51] and review my calendar for the next day.

[00:43:55] And by doing that, we're already setting the stage for success.

[00:43:58] We're building in whatever tools or prep or research or next steps are related to that.

[00:44:05] We're building resiliency as we start the very next day and truthfully, we end the day happier.

[00:44:11] Medical research says that we end the day happier.

[00:44:14] We go to sleep happier.

[00:44:16] We wake up happier because we know exactly what the steps were in our encounter being very transparent.

[00:44:23] 170 times that we've come together for educational programs working through the same.

[00:44:29] There's 27 steps that power our myself we start our day with, but there's a page and a half of all the steps

[00:44:36] that it takes transparently behind the scenes for you and for me and for us

[00:44:40] of all the things that need to be done behind the scenes so we can deliver perfectly.

[00:44:44] And when I finished up last night, I knew exactly which steps were left exactly in the order

[00:44:50] as today began at 3.30 this morning.

[00:44:53] That brought me joy last night because I was like, yep, I know where I'm at.

[00:44:57] I'm going to sleep with a smile wake up with a smile and start my day and be ready to blast 170 times.

[00:45:03] And you and I and we do this what perfectly every time being very transparent of what goes on behind the scenes.

[00:45:11] So perfect.

[00:45:12] So let's pivot.

[00:45:13] Let's move to our last point our last question for today's webcast.

[00:45:19] Yeah, so Ernest, what's what's the best methods to measure how well your team is competing.

[00:45:27] And I've got my scale out.

[00:45:30] I got a ruler here.

[00:45:32] I got a yardstick.

[00:45:34] Tell me how to how to measure that because that's I think one thing we all struggle with a little bit.

[00:45:41] Yeah.

[00:45:42] So alright, so let's bring out the microscope.

[00:45:45] We started with the telescope.

[00:45:46] This is the microscope.

[00:45:47] And I want us all to consider for just a second that when we think about how to measure how well our team is doing and how we're competing fiercely,

[00:45:57] we think about this principle.

[00:45:59] Imagine we're two boxers in a ring.

[00:46:01] We can see each other right uppercut left jab left jab right uppercut, you know, in a ring as challenging as boxing is we can see our opponents.

[00:46:11] We can see for the purpose of this webcast our competitors.

[00:46:15] They know where we are.

[00:46:17] We know where they are and we're competing fiercely, right?

[00:46:22] And if we think about that from that perspective, if you were to be now blindfolded for the next three minutes and your competitor is not,

[00:46:33] then you would be what?

[00:46:35] You would be flailing.

[00:46:36] And so when we think about our competitors, that's the important part.

[00:46:41] What is it we are doing to measure and to see and to track what's happening with our competitors?

[00:46:49] So the belief of what we measure is what improves, right?

[00:46:55] Is one of those reoccurring themes.

[00:46:57] What sits on our dashboards?

[00:46:59] What we measure in our KPIs compared to what's happening with our competitors?

[00:47:04] Who we're hiring?

[00:47:06] Who are we hiring for that they're scrappy, that they recognize that this is not a country club?

[00:47:12] We compete fiercely in our company.

[00:47:14] We deliver perfectly on all of our day and day out.

[00:47:18] We compete fiercely on the other side.

[00:47:21] And then we also carry, we align that with what?

[00:47:24] We align that with our culture, with our onboarding, with our compensation, with our career advancement.

[00:47:31] All of those other pieces sync up from that perspective.

[00:47:35] So when we think about how we are tracking our direct competitors, we want to sort of have some baseline for some things.

[00:47:46] So what is it that matters?

[00:47:48] Well, if I'm a property management company, where is my portfolio?

[00:47:52] Where is it located?

[00:47:54] How many units are we managing?

[00:47:56] Are they A, B or C?

[00:47:58] By the way, we could have all C portfolio because that's what we're looking for.

[00:48:02] But we can still be competing with others that have C portfolio.

[00:48:08] We could be acquiring or buying assets that match that as well.

[00:48:13] We could be hiring or interviewing those who have also worked for other C-class property management companies.

[00:48:21] It's perfectly fine to stay in our lane, to know what we do well and to know what we do best,

[00:48:27] and play for that and to track that.

[00:48:30] How will you track that?

[00:48:32] Are you tracking it based on your revenue growth compared to direct competitors?

[00:48:36] Are you tracking it compared to market share?

[00:48:39] Are you tracking compared to deals one versus loss where you are at the table?

[00:48:44] Are you tracking it where you weren't even at the table?

[00:48:47] Which by the way means we might be competing, but not very fiercely.

[00:48:53] If you watch what's happening in your portfolio versus your direct competitors that you've identified,

[00:48:59] and you watch their investor news or you watch their press releases

[00:49:03] or you watch their posts on LinkedIn and you realize that three deals were done

[00:49:07] or three acquisitions were made and you were not a part of any of those discussions.

[00:49:11] That is not competing fiercely.

[00:49:15] Let's go back to the property side from a site level perspective, right?

[00:49:19] I'll always remember the story.

[00:49:21] I was in San Diego, Kerry, 1988, so what, 35 years ago?

[00:49:27] There were three buildings built by the same builder in the Little Bitty Residential Coldest Act.

[00:49:33] Each were 200 units, three different owners, three different management companies,

[00:49:38] and it was wild to walk into each of those and to hear the difference.

[00:49:43] Literally with the same amenities, same services, same floor plans, one had a waiting list,

[00:49:48] one was, you know, business usual, and one was saying we're in trouble.

[00:49:52] Same Coldest Act. Like how could that be?

[00:49:55] And I always draw on that because it just baffled me to consider what they were doing to compete fiercely.

[00:50:04] And the group with the waiting list had it all in spades.

[00:50:07] They were complete aces and all that they did to deliver magnificently for the residents,

[00:50:13] which is why they built proudly a waiting list and proudly wanted to share that with me

[00:50:18] as I walked into their leasing center.

[00:50:21] So, and then for those of you that are vendors and suppliers, same piece.

[00:50:28] Which companies have similar products and services to you and your team?

[00:50:34] Which deals are you getting? Which deals are you taking from your direct competitors?

[00:50:41] Which deals were done by your direct competitors that you are not even at the table?

[00:50:48] And so this is where we pause, Carrie, and realize that, you know, sort of think about

[00:50:52] what we've been building on here. I wish our best and perfect day,

[00:50:56] Gold Medal Day, genius work, go slow to go fast, right? Gap analysis.

[00:51:01] You know, we walk away all the way through that because you have to have all the foundational pieces

[00:51:05] in place so that you can elevate and truly look at that big rock in that vase

[00:51:11] and say, so if we've got all the basics of day in and day out, we can now focus on competing fiercely.

[00:51:20] Fiercely. We have a vendor or supplier that we work with in Texas

[00:51:24] and they have a large list of competitors. And one by one, we've either been acquiring

[00:51:30] the competitors or closing their doors because we've been soaking up the market share

[00:51:34] with all the strategies to do and make sense.

[00:51:38] One of the biggest ones is right from my book, Smart Match Alliances.

[00:51:41] We've been adding in and bolting in Smart Match Alliances for this particular vendor

[00:51:46] to which I'll often say it's like adding those to your sales team, but they're not on your payroll,

[00:51:52] which is this unbelievable win. And we literally were in meetings this morning

[00:51:55] and then we're talking about we picked up a million dollars here and another one, five here

[00:51:59] and another 300,000 here and we're just so giddy that it's, you know,

[00:52:04] literally outrunning competitors. And that is the spirit, but you have to get all the basics in place

[00:52:10] because you can't just focus on the competitors. You know, if you've got a piece of software

[00:52:14] that's not delivering and you can't get the report that you need.

[00:52:17] And it sounds so basic, but if we don't take care at home base,

[00:52:20] then there's no other way to play. You can never get to competing fiercely from that perspective.

[00:52:26] So when we think about competing fiercely, we think about what we measure

[00:52:32] is what improves what we're measuring and how it relates to our direct competitors

[00:52:37] and then as specific as possible. Now, I don't want to skip over, Kerry.

[00:52:42] There's other things that we also do with direct competitors. No doubt we watch their website.

[00:52:45] No doubt we watch their social media. No doubt we watch their LinkedIn posts.

[00:52:49] No doubt we watch who's coming and going in their company.

[00:52:52] We might be watching their website SEO from that perspective.

[00:52:56] We might be watching their marketing newsletter. We might be watching who's been added to their team.

[00:53:03] I mean, all of those things, obviously trade shows and how they show up at the variety of association activity.

[00:53:11] All of those things matter and we watch all of those things as well.

[00:53:15] So it's a very comprehensive look related to what's happening in the marketplace from that perspective.

[00:53:20] So Kerry, from your perspective, what is it that we should be thinking about in terms of how we measure and what we're competing for?

[00:53:30] Well, one thing that you and I have talked about a lot is competitive advantage.

[00:53:36] What is your competitive advantage against your competition?

[00:53:41] What do you have that they don't have? And also, keep an eye, what do they have that you don't have and play on your competitive advantage to go and win that business and move it.

[00:53:58] And I think the best measurement, obviously, where we started at is always we're winning business.

[00:54:08] We're not churning clients. We're winning business. We're adding and it kind of goes back to where we started at was things tend to measure out in revenue.

[00:54:22] And of course, we need revenue. We need to grow our companies to keep fueling the machine, elevating people, bringing wages up, hiring all the things we want to do.

[00:54:37] But I think the most important thing is that your teams engaged. They're into your products.

[00:54:44] They are watching, but not overly focusing on what others do. We all have competitors and anything we do.

[00:54:55] And you don't want to obsess over it. You want to look, you want to know, hey, it's there. You want to keep an eye on it.

[00:55:01] You want to make sure you're doing what you need to do to compete in the market against who those you compete against.

[00:55:08] But also, I call it heads down. Let's focus on what we do best. Let's create the best products in the market and let's find the gaps that maybe those competitors are missing.

[00:55:24] Somebody's always missing some piece somewhere. What are they missing that they're not serving these clients with?

[00:55:32] Maybe that client has got to go somewhere else to get some piece that you can easily snap into your platform to your point, Ernest, bringing in an alliance, a smart match alliance,

[00:55:46] which I love to do is bring in a partner that can easily integrate into your platform.

[00:55:53] And then you have not only a product, but they have a product because they have more functionality underneath what they do and their product gets sold with yours.

[00:56:06] And maybe yours is an easier sell for them. And now, as you said, you just acquired a new Salesforce that you don't have to pay.

[00:56:13] Yep. And what you're talking about is, well, we consider USP our unique selling proposal or proposition. What do we have? What do they have?

[00:56:21] What are they missing that we have? Where's their Achilles heel? Where's their weakness?

[00:56:27] And then we also call that disrupting the status quo, which means status quo is just keep what I got.

[00:56:33] I'm in a happy camper. I don't need to change anything. Status quo means nothing is changing because we have not either addressed enough pain on one side

[00:56:41] or enough profit or upside on the other. And so without disrupting the status quo, we're not going to move that forward.

[00:56:50] This is just not going to happen. So as we pause and come around the bend, lots that we have talked about today related to competing fiercely.

[00:57:02] We want you again to think about the telescope and the microscope, right? The telescope is the I wish.

[00:57:09] The granular is what we measure and what we focus on, that's the microscope. You need both to compete fiercely

[00:57:18] and you need to bring that along and pass that through your company culture from that perspective.

[00:57:24] And as always, every time we come together, we bring you educational opportunities related to our space and sector,

[00:57:30] an opportunity to have tools and strategy and a thought process that you can literally take right from this educational webcast

[00:57:37] and deploy immediately. So we love to know what else you see in the marketplace, where the challenges,

[00:57:43] where the opportunities. We love to have you come into the award-winning 365 Connect

[00:57:51] and see all that they're doing with their resident portal. On that side there's a reason why they win award after award after award.

[00:57:57] Come into multi-family biz. It's literally the largest media platform in our industry.

[00:58:02] Come into our site, powerhour.com, our 29th year and our 35th year working in the property management

[00:58:10] and vendor side of the house. We always look forward to being connected with each of you.

[00:58:15] Terry, some closing words as we wrap up here for today.

[00:58:19] Well, Ernest, as always, great topic today. Go into it more. I think we're going to have to circle back around on some burnout topics

[00:58:29] as well as competing. There's so many things nested in here that I feel like we need to come back and focus on.

[00:58:38] So I'm certainly looking forward to that as well.

[00:58:42] Always a pleasure and delight for each of you and for all of you.

[00:58:46] Come back into multi-family biz. The tab is called Webcasts. There are literally topics that relate to AI that we've covered recently,

[00:58:54] team relationships and retention.

[00:58:58] Literally as we look at some of the planning and trends for this year,

[00:59:03] a whole host of areas where we talk about digital accessibility rules and regs

[00:59:10] and navigating the web events. So there's lots and lots of educational opportunities.

[00:59:15] 170 are there. You could literally spend weeks and weeks pouring your way through.

[00:59:23] And we hope that you'll let us know how you're enjoying these topics

[00:59:27] and what you'd like us to cover going forward.

[00:59:29] As always, a pleasure to be connected and we'll see you next month. Take care.

[00:59:37] Thank you for listening to the multi-family biz Power Hour Webcast series.

[00:59:42] With your hosts, industry experts, Carrie Kirby and Ernest Orienti,

[00:59:48] be sure to visit multifamilybiz.com, the largest media platform for the multi-family housing industry,

[00:59:55] delivering news, events, resources and more.