- Joined
- Aug 31, 2007
- Messages
- 493
Wow, it`s been a crazy few months for me, but there`s something that I wanted to share.
A little while ago I read "Outliers" by malcolm gladwell, and I don`t know how many of you have read it and I know that I should post this on the book list thread and hopefully I will remember to do that, but for now it`s part of my success story.
for those of you who haven`t yet read it, you should, and those of you who have will understand what I`m talking about when I refer to the section on "Korean Airlines" and how it changed my thinking about how I communicate with people. For those of you who haven`t read it, the jist is that Korean airlines had a higher than average percentage of crashes and when all the data was analyzed it was determined that the problem was not in the fact that the planes were more faulty or that the conditions were worse, but in the way that the cock pit crew communicated. That due to cultural traditions, the subordinate crew took on a very subordinate role with the pilot to the extent that they were very hesitant to point out mistakes in judgement. It was thought that after deciphering some of the recovered black boxes that if the crew has spoken up more aggressively that perhaps the accident could have been avoided. They found that the subordinates did not speak up and state things, but often suggested or implied information as to not be impolite to their superior. An american company was brought in and the crew was retrained to "behave differently" and the accident rate dropped significantly. Sorry if I`ve given away too much of the story, but there`s tons more stuff in there like that.
This concept forced me to look at my own situation and how I could comunicate better with my team. What I realized is that during the 12 years that I worked in film as an assistant, I had to deal with many very BIG personalities and I learned early on how to suggest and imply information and that it was best to not demand, insist or assert myself. It worked well for me for those 12 years and I became very good at it. But now, I am no longer an assistant, I`m the boss, so why am I still suggesting or hinting or implying at things? I`m responsible for overseeing $100`s of renovations (of my own money) so why am I still speaking like I`m an assistant. Sometime things don`t get done the way that I want but then I realize that I don`t say "I want it done this way", I suggest it like, "I think it would be good" or "do you think that..." or "don`t you think that..." or even sometimes "it would be nice.." , so I`ve made a conscious effort to state what I mean instead of implying it. I`m retraining myself to be in charge.
Up until now, I`ve pretty much been able to get away with using my own money to finance my projects and not needed jv partners. I have one, my best friend and her husband, but other than that I don`t think that I`ve ever really asked someone if they would be interested in jv`ing with me. I`ve told people that I`m looking for jv partners and left it at that. So, I`ve just been going along for the last little while thinking that I really should start jv`ing because I`m running out of my own capital and racking up a huge amount of mortgage debt so now I`m having to come up with large down payments. I`m not a salesperson. I hate the hard sell. It`s not my personality to go out there and sell myself, I`ve always thought that that my track record will speak for itself so I`ve never really asked, never tried to sell a deal, until recently....
I had a property that I had just finished renovating, I had tenants interested in renting and I was (kind of) looking for a jv partner to come in on it with me so that I could pull some capital out to do the next one. My agents suggested that I list it for sale, so I did but I figured what the hell, I`ve got nothing to lose by asking and I sent out a mass email to about 15-20 people stating that I was looking for a jv partner on this and outlining the deal. Within a few hours I had 4 responses, at least 2 of which I think will lead to solid jv`s in the future. I say in the future because I ended up selling the house, I got an offer that was just too good to refuse, but I learned something really important...If I come out and ask for what I want there`s a much greater chance that I`m going to get it.
so from now on I`m making an effort to clearly state what I want and stop implying, suggesting, insinuating.
I guess it could also be deemed a success that I was able to "flip" a house (although that wasn`t my intention when I bought it) during a recessionary market and I guess it could also be seen as a success that I managed to line up 2 future jv`s, but the real success is that I`m retraining myself to communicate what I want. That is something that can`t be quantified.
A little while ago I read "Outliers" by malcolm gladwell, and I don`t know how many of you have read it and I know that I should post this on the book list thread and hopefully I will remember to do that, but for now it`s part of my success story.
for those of you who haven`t yet read it, you should, and those of you who have will understand what I`m talking about when I refer to the section on "Korean Airlines" and how it changed my thinking about how I communicate with people. For those of you who haven`t read it, the jist is that Korean airlines had a higher than average percentage of crashes and when all the data was analyzed it was determined that the problem was not in the fact that the planes were more faulty or that the conditions were worse, but in the way that the cock pit crew communicated. That due to cultural traditions, the subordinate crew took on a very subordinate role with the pilot to the extent that they were very hesitant to point out mistakes in judgement. It was thought that after deciphering some of the recovered black boxes that if the crew has spoken up more aggressively that perhaps the accident could have been avoided. They found that the subordinates did not speak up and state things, but often suggested or implied information as to not be impolite to their superior. An american company was brought in and the crew was retrained to "behave differently" and the accident rate dropped significantly. Sorry if I`ve given away too much of the story, but there`s tons more stuff in there like that.
This concept forced me to look at my own situation and how I could comunicate better with my team. What I realized is that during the 12 years that I worked in film as an assistant, I had to deal with many very BIG personalities and I learned early on how to suggest and imply information and that it was best to not demand, insist or assert myself. It worked well for me for those 12 years and I became very good at it. But now, I am no longer an assistant, I`m the boss, so why am I still suggesting or hinting or implying at things? I`m responsible for overseeing $100`s of renovations (of my own money) so why am I still speaking like I`m an assistant. Sometime things don`t get done the way that I want but then I realize that I don`t say "I want it done this way", I suggest it like, "I think it would be good" or "do you think that..." or "don`t you think that..." or even sometimes "it would be nice.." , so I`ve made a conscious effort to state what I mean instead of implying it. I`m retraining myself to be in charge.
Up until now, I`ve pretty much been able to get away with using my own money to finance my projects and not needed jv partners. I have one, my best friend and her husband, but other than that I don`t think that I`ve ever really asked someone if they would be interested in jv`ing with me. I`ve told people that I`m looking for jv partners and left it at that. So, I`ve just been going along for the last little while thinking that I really should start jv`ing because I`m running out of my own capital and racking up a huge amount of mortgage debt so now I`m having to come up with large down payments. I`m not a salesperson. I hate the hard sell. It`s not my personality to go out there and sell myself, I`ve always thought that that my track record will speak for itself so I`ve never really asked, never tried to sell a deal, until recently....
I had a property that I had just finished renovating, I had tenants interested in renting and I was (kind of) looking for a jv partner to come in on it with me so that I could pull some capital out to do the next one. My agents suggested that I list it for sale, so I did but I figured what the hell, I`ve got nothing to lose by asking and I sent out a mass email to about 15-20 people stating that I was looking for a jv partner on this and outlining the deal. Within a few hours I had 4 responses, at least 2 of which I think will lead to solid jv`s in the future. I say in the future because I ended up selling the house, I got an offer that was just too good to refuse, but I learned something really important...If I come out and ask for what I want there`s a much greater chance that I`m going to get it.
so from now on I`m making an effort to clearly state what I want and stop implying, suggesting, insinuating.
I guess it could also be deemed a success that I was able to "flip" a house (although that wasn`t my intention when I bought it) during a recessionary market and I guess it could also be seen as a success that I managed to line up 2 future jv`s, but the real success is that I`m retraining myself to communicate what I want. That is something that can`t be quantified.