CEO MONDAY MORNING MESSAGE: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Follow up on my last blog post

http://www.inc.com/articles/201109/general-stanley-mcchrystal-leading-like-a-general.html

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Nickolas Jekogian
CEO
Signature Community
917-763-3500
www.ASignatureCommunity.com
Blog -http://www.nwjceommm.blogspot.com/

"Si³" Signature: Ideas, Innovation, Implementation!
Send ideas to: ideas@asignaturecommunity.com

Monday, September 26, 2011

My Leadership Lessons c/o the US Army and Navy.

My Leadership Lessons c/o the US Army and Navy.

Last week was a very military oriented week for me. I had the opportunity to attend my friend Sean's retirement ceremony from the Navy at one of the most secretive places in the United States. Another night I had dinner with General McCrystal, the man who ran our wars in the Middle East for the past 10 years. Both experiences gave me the chance to think about leadership and how important my role as a leader is to the success of our company and everyone involved.

Sean progressed from an an enlisted man to the Chief Master Sergeant, the highest ranking possible for a solider who was not trained in the Naval Academy, and spent a total of 21 years in the Navy. Sean fought wars for us, kept our Presidents safe and did countless other things that we may never be allowed to hear about or want to hear about.

So this ceremony, his retirement, should be about him - right? Wrong. This ceremony was about the enlisted men and women, the young sergeants, and the lower ranks. This ceremony was about his wife and son who made great sacrifices for their country. Sean pointed out that his success was not about himself but was about the many people who supported him and made him look good. He talked about his hardest days as an officer like when he needed to punish a good soldier for making an honest mistake and his best days when he would see his reports excelling. As part of the ceremony he gave his direct reports some of his medals as a symbol of the success they helped him attain. The other special part of the ceremony was the tribute to Sean's wife and child. The military knows that when a solider is out on the battlefield it is not just him making the sacrifice. His family is also very much involved. I cannot imagine the fear and concern the family must have endured all those years of Sean's service. The Navy made it a point to commemorate those sacrifices.

"The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and will to carry on." Walter Lippman

My dinner with General McCrystal was just as impactful. The General oversaw more than one million troops in one of the most important war efforts of our time. There is much controversy as to whether we should be in Iraq, but this does not negate the fact that the General is responsible for every one of those young soldiers' lives and all the civilians living in a war-torn environment. The General stressed the soft sides of leadership rather than a strict organizational management chain. Understand your enemy, understand what is going through the minds of your soldiers, know how people will see your success or failure in a mission. This was the anti-art of war speech. This was a roll out the Kleenex sit down and have tea and get friendly before engaging in battle mentality. He had the amazing ability to separate himself from his position as the leader of the world's largest and most powerful army to one of an empathetic friend to discuss your hopes and dreams with. He spent more time understanding what the leaders and people of the chaotic middle east countries hoped for as opposed to the strategy involved in destroying the enemy.

"You must love soldiers in order to understand them, and understand the in order to lead them." Henri Turenne

So how do we at Signature Community bring these lessons to our community? Our success is ultimately tied not to what I do and say but to what our team members project at our communities. Everyday their actions are the difference between our success and failure in these turbulent economic times. Furthermore, I as a leader and all of our managers must understand what makes our people tick. What are their hopes and fears? What gets them up in the morning and happy falling asleep at night? What motivates them? I know that the General and my friend Sean were motivated knowing that their efforts were protecting the United States of American and all its ideals. I personally cannot and do not wish to take on such a burden but do feel that what we do at Signature Community is to create a safe and caring community where residents can feel at home. Hopefully they are better because they have lived with us. That is my goal in our efforts to make Signature Community the greatest place to live.

I know that Signature Community team members don't usually have the opportunity to protect their country but I hope they do realize that what they do out there everyday is protecting the lives, dream, and hopes of the Signature Community residents.

Thanks for the team effort that is Signature Community.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Teaching Residents how to fish!

Teaching Residents how to fish!

"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." Henry Ford

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/07/how-the-great-reset-has-already-changed-america/241200/

Above is an article by Richard Florida who is one of my favorite demographic writers. His insight into what is happening to the job base of the United States is, in my mind, spot-on and a serious problem.

We at Signature Community see every day the great divide that is being created between rich and poor in our country. In some parts, students entering some of the best schools in the country are renting our apartments. Their parents drop them off in Mercedes and pay their rents on our auto-pay system. At the other extreme, we have residents in the heartland areas of the US who are struggling to make a living. There is nothing in the middle. Just as Florida spoke of, we have residents that were originally working in factories or construction at decent-paying stable jobs. But since those jobs are diminishing in the US, they are now working in the service industry and making wages that are less than sufficient to support a family.

"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." Theodore Roosevelt

At Signature Community we realize the importance of finding residents that can afford to pay the rent and still have money to buy food, clothing and support their family. We also understand the reality of the US economy at this time. So we have embarked on a program that we call Signature Success, which we feel will change the way that residents value living in Signature Community. We are creating the first ever apartment community-based skills training program. Not only will a Signature Community resident get a great place to live, but those who need it will get the encouragement, support and resources they need to retool and reset their careers, make a living wage and enrich their self-esteem.

"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime"—Author unknown

We had our first event in El Paso last week. Fifteen residents came to hear about a career training and support program called Project ARRIBA. Many said they are looking for better careers or to reenter the workforce and welcomed the opportunity to learn about the free resources in their community. We expect Signature Successto be one of the most valuable Signature Community Rewards ever offered. We will keep you informed of our progress. Please let me know if you have any ideas for Signature Success.

Thanks for helping Signature Community spread success.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

What motivates you?

"A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning." Pat Riley

Dan Pink is one of my favorite thought-provoking writers. His book "Driven" was instrumental to my understanding of people and motivation. Take a look at this summary video.

Money is not a real motivator. Much more important are autonomy,  mastery  and purpose.

I am motivated by the purpose we have created here at Signature Community. I see the opportunity to change an industry from one that treats tenants as second-class citizens to one that offers residents the opportunity to create and be part of a special community.

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Raymond Chandler

I personally see the purpose of creating the greatest lifestyle living brand at Signature Community as a lifelong endeavor and great goal.

What motivates you? Please share your stories either in public or private. But please think about what really motivates you personally to be part of the Signature Community.

Thanks for keeping us motivated at Signature Community.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Stepcase Lifehack 12 Hours to Better Time Management

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/12-hours-to-better-time-management.html

Nick Jekogian
Signature community
917 763 3500