The ‘6 Bs' of Property Management

By
Steven Sessions

We are so fortunate to work in the real estate industry at a time when there are so many opportunities and challenges. Never have there been so many opportunities to increase our knowledge, improve our talents and abilities, and truly make a difference with our tenants, our properties and our communities.

Conversely, the challenges we face today are real, complex, and even frightful. The present business environment remains very tough with corporate misdeeds, reduced earnings, and downsizing/bankruptcies hanging over us like a dark cloud. There seems to be a steady erosion of the moral and ethical underpinnings of our society. How bad have things gotten in America? The Joseph son Institute of Ethics reports, "Nearly half of all high school students steal. Seven in 10 admit to cheating on tests, and 92 percent said they lie." Sadly, they have been taught ever so well by their parents, schools, politicians and corporate America. It feels as if we are wading through a swamp of distortion, diversion, and deception. But, we should not despair, as, for the most part, these problems can be easily handled because they largely involve behavioral decisions that can be made and followed. That is the key!

I have"6 Bs," scrawled on a Post-it stuck to my computer screen, which defines what traits I am looking for in people who work with me. I will address each of them and their implications because, as we conduct ourselves in the world of property management, these are the traits that make a successful, valuable person in business today. Believe me, these traits are what every owner, tenant, vendor, contractor and fellow employee wishes to see in a property manager. So here are my "6 Bs" for property managers that if followed can and will make all the difference in the world:

• Be honest. In all our dealings, we must be honest with ourselves and with others. Remember, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it." We must never lie under any circumstance. In the next years of our lives we are going to mess something up. We all do. Here is what we should do. Admit it and move on. Do not lie. Do not hide anything. There will be people who will want you not to tell the truth at work. There will be people who you will see who will get ahead from lying. These people are wrong and they will be discovered. A liar is always caught in the business world. When liars are exposed they are finished. Trust is everything, just everything. We will never get tangled if we apply this one test: "Do nothing that would make you or your family unhappy if your statement or act was put on the front of the Rocky Mountain News!"
• Be teachable. We are in the most competitive age the world has ever known. We need all the education we can get. We cannot bluff or cheat each other without bluffing and cheating ourselves. Take no shortcuts. Individual development requires much effort and sacrifice. We need to pursue our education through self-discipline and planning. No matter how old we become, we can acquire knowledge and use it. Each of us, regardless of our constraints and circumstances, can find a way to study and grow. Too much time is being wasted on mindless drivel that inhabits TV, sports and videos, when our lives could be dramatically enriched through learning. Education also makes a much more interesting person!
• Be aware. Be aware of your surroundings. Have an eye for change and the ability to adapt accordingly. Look for things that are not right. Remember, things that go wrong are predictable, and if they are predictable, they are preventable! See with your own eyes and hear with your own years. Get belly-to-belly with your tenants and vendors and listen to understand. Property managers need to come down off the mountain as frequently as possible. We should not be wed to our swivel chairs. We need to be active-personally involved in the front lines, personally monitoring our properties, and taking every opportunity to listen to the heartbeats of our tenants and vendors. Further, this "B" readily applies to security measures, collections and every other facet of property management. 
• Be of service. There are opportunities for individual service all around us. Frequently we are engaged in various committee or group service projects, which are surely needed and commendable, when quiet, personal service is also urgently needed. A kind greeting, a smile, a little boost or charge of encouragement adds momentum to those we affiliate with. It has been said, "next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is psychological survival—to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, to be appreciated."
• Be tenacious. Adversity and rejection are just part of life. It is par for the course! It really is what life is all about. The key is how you handle these difficult situations. What does tenacity really mean? Go to the Tattered Cover and buy Endurance by Lansing. This is the memoir of the great Ernest Shackleton who triumphed over the most unbelievable set of circumstances in a battle to get his crew from one end of the Antarctica to the other in 1915. Whenever I find the rejection around me overwhelming, I reread this book and remind myself that my trials are nothing, just nothing. As Thomas Pynchon V said, "You wait. Everyone has an Antarctica!"
• Be nice. Unfortunately, there is a tendency with a few—and only a few property managers that when they get a little authority and power, as they suppose, they abuse it. They become authoritative, condescending and downright mean- spirited. "Perhaps such littleness is like litter on an otherwise lovely lawn; we must not be judgmental, of course, but we cannot help noticing. Come to think of it, maybe we should all look first to our own lawns."

And that about wraps it up! Any of these traits can help us, but we need all six to truly succeed. This coalition of traits will make us unstoppable in the world we are going into. Without them, we will go nowhere.

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