The caption above is a fairly care-worn expression. I'm all for efficiency, but sometimes the 'don't reinvent the wheel' philosophy squelches improvement and innovation. Until now I've considered this blog 'out there,' available to all who want to look at it, and this is true. However, I have decided to speak directly to my very own audience - LCS customers. This blog will become more of a client newsletter than what I would term a conventional sort of blog.
New Initiatives at LCS
Last year was a year of transition for the company. For me personally, there was a transfer of the daily management of a number of our customers' properties into the capable hands of two new managers - Cheryl-lyn Carlson and Linda Redwood. Both of them are much more skilled at execution than I am. This has led to the idea that we can work collectively at LCS in a way that plays to our individual strengths.
Mine are communication and administration, as well as working with numbers. Toward the end of 2010 we implemented some new ideas into our budget process. The first is including the five-year reserve fund plan in every budget we produce with our clients. This will allow us to track, throughout the five-year period (rather than a more conventional year-to-year 'snapshot'), the health of the reserve funds our customers are responsible for.
The second initiative is to try to engage the treasurers and presidents of our board customers in the budget process. This involves having me draft the operating budget and meet with our treasurers and presidents to review the draft, complete our annual performance review face-to-face, and discuss the renewal of our management relationship for the coming year. By engaging board members in the process, the resulting presentation of the draft budget by the treasurer places authority in the proper hands and will enhance the budget approval process.
Some of my time has been freed to take on the challenge that I've been waiting for since I started the company ten years ago - inventing a better wheel. I had a vision in my mind a few years ago of a conveyor belt with identical boxes passing by, and realized that this was a good representation of condominium management. It was also a great 'think outside the box' moment for me. I'm tinkering right now with this idea: "we don't think outside the box, we think - what box?"
My darling husband, with his trademark dry sense of humour, told me that we run the risk of people thinking that we're so stupid we don't even know there's a box. While that may be so, my thought process was that we're only limited by the boundaries of our imaginations in creating anything, and the containment of a box just doesn't fit with that.
I am an avid reader, and keep track of an annual quota of 60 or more books that I read. My passion for books is coming to the fore as I study all manner of business books on customer service and running a small business. I see some elegant symmetry in this, as our board customers are essentially running the business affairs of their condominiums, so the benefits should flow directly to our customers in a very real way. I'm about to tackle one with very direct relevance: Small Giants: Companies that Choose to be Great Instead of Big. That's what we aspire to - being a small giant, as much of an oxymoron as that appears to be.
Next week I leave for Montreal to attend the Canadian Society of Association Executives' two-day Symposium for Chief Staff and Chief Elected Officer. I am attending under the auspices of the Real Estate Institute of Canada, for whom I assume the role of President of the National Board of Directors in May. I have often harped on the similarities between non-profit governance and the governance of condominiums, and hope to bring back information that will enhance the services and support we provide to our board customers.
The Symposium addresses the following topics which all have relevance to condominium governance: the special nature of voluntary organizations; the partnership of the chief staff and chief elected officer; the partnership with the board; and, leading an innovative organization. Under these general topics there will be discussions on board governance, sustaining knowledge and defining value. One of the things that I love about the condominium management business is the idea that what benefits LCS could also be adapted to have a direct benefit to its customers. Looking at condominium governance from this vantage point - that of running a business - opens up a vast wealth of resources and ideas.
Earlier this month I compiled a comprehensive sample of all of the policies that we've developed over the years for our various customers. This will be of huge value to our managers and will enable them to provide you with policies that can be customized to your individual needs.
I am also busy working on a number of ideas that will, I hope, transcend the way we're operating and interacting with our customers. Stay tuned to this blog for updates!
