Success Rule #1 - SET GOALS, AND HAVE A VISION

As a follow-up to our recent post entitled “Property Management Published Book - The 9 Laws of Success,” we wanted to post each law as a post in its entirely. We hope you enjoy it.

Success Rule #1 - SET GOALS, AND HAVE A VISION

By Mike Branam

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” - Michelangelo

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” - Zig Ziglar

Jim Cathcart, a noted professional speaker, once said, “Most people aim at nothing in life and hit it with amazing accuracy.” If we don’t specify exactly what we want, we have no reason to complain about what we get or where we find ourselves. I have always been a big advocate of having a game plan, and I make every effort to execute that plan within the desired period of time. For those who know me well, they know that I carry a list of goals in my briefcase everywhere I go, and am constantly taking a look at the list to track my progress. In fact, my wife always laughs when I ask her to block off 2 hours on New Year’s Eve so we can evaluate how our yearly plan went while drafting up new goals for the upcoming year. If it takes me away from college bowl games, she knows how serious I am!

While working with various management groups and talking with business owners, it is clear that those who have experienced success have not done so by accident. Several themes resonated with various management companies when talking about their reasons for success. One common theme continued to surface, and that was the importance of setting goals.

Chris Hermanski, who owns and operates Mainlander Property Management, places a strong emphasis on setting goals. When asking Chris to name a few things that have helped him remain one of the most successful property management companies in the industry, Chris responded by listing several of the themes that will be outlined in this book:

Prepare for change and have one, three, and five year goals

Surround yourself with good, talented people

NARPM - Learn from others

Be consistent and fair with all

Embrace technology

Mary Tungsvik, who owns Around the Clock, Inc. and has been in the industry for over 20 years, also outlines the importance of setting goals. When discussing three areas of priority that have helped her remain successful, Mary outlined the following:

Setting new goals annually

Dedicated people who are passionate about the business

A good business plan

Mark Cunningham, a 30-year property management veteran, has a few goals in mind when discussing how to keep himself up to speed in an effort to grow his business and further develop his knowledge of the industry.

Reading books on business and property management

Talking with other property managers

Continuing to add new services

While it is evident that there are several ways to actually run a property management company, the foundation of success often has recurring themes that reinforce the importance of setting goals, while doing what we can to get better every day of our lives.

Most people I spoke with discussed the importance of having a vision and putting their thoughts into action. Through various discussions, I believe there is a four-step process to getting the ball rolling, which is outlined below.

Have a vision
Put it in writing
Be organized in developing your goal/plan
And lastly, turn the vision into action and evaluate progress