"Central Park Ice" Synchronized Skating Team

Synchronized Teamwork

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”  - Henry Ford

This weekend I got to experience teamwork in an arctic sort of way.  My daughter is the captain of her synchronized ice skating team, called Central Park Ice, and this weekend they held an exhibition in front of the frozen-solid, jam-packed Wollman Rink in Central Park.  The team was newly formed this past September and has been working hard over the past few months to operate as a team.  You see, the coach took a bunch of individual figure skaters and is coaching them to work as a team and look like one as they glide across the ice.  This sounds like something we strive for every day in Corporate America: trying to get many individuals to work as a team.

In synchronized ice skating, the points are not scored by footwork alone.  The judges are looking at many moving targets, including heads and arms, which must be precisely in sync.  This is so much like what we deal with at the office. Sure there are plenty of big picture issue to point fingers at (bad economy, political unrest, etc), but the difference between success and failure for a team is really about executing on a well established plan and getting the details right.

“Lot’s of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”  - Oprah Winfrey

Our girls compete against other seasoned teams from all around the Northeast.  Among several hurdles they have to overcome are the newness of the team, rained- and snowed-out practices at our outdoor rink, and Manhattan-priced ice-time, which leaves them with less practice time than the other teams. So while this year has not been great on paper from a competitive standings perspective, these 14 girls and their coaches are the most optimistic group I have ever seen.  Many people I know might have thrown in the towel by now, but these girls keep going out there and are getting better and better. They are learning from their failures every week.  After a not-so-great placing at their last competition, they added an extra practice and had a judge come to critique their performance.  How often do work groups fall apart and start pointing fingers after failure instead of examining what the team can do better next time?  Let’s learn from this group and work harder and smarter after our failures.

“Teamwork…is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”  - Andrew Carnegie

After many months of practice and competitions against many seasoned teams, I think this weekend it really clicked. This group of individuals realized that the results of the group are dependent upon each individual’s efforts and that they are only as strong as the weakest link.  They have grown over the past few weeks to really embrace that mantra and raise each other up as individuals, and it shows as a team.

Corporate America can learn something from these young girls about teamwork.  They are out there practicing on dark, cold mornings before school and other times when their friends are going on play dates.  They are working together toward the greater good of the team. 

“Anyone who thinks my story is anywhere near over is sadly mistaken.”  - Donald Trump

Last but not least, I can’t resist mentioning that the team mascot (by default) is Donald Trump. He owns Wollman Rink, so in true form his name and face are everywhere.  The girls are inspired by his attitude that “You’re fired!” if you don’t do it.  So maybe that perspective will rub off on our girls as they go onto college and the rest of their lives. I am fan of Trump’s never-give-up attitude, and it seems that it has definitely rubbed off on our girls.

Ideas, Innovation, Implementation

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” — Andy Warhol

Every year at Signature we spend time around the end of the year focusing on new strategies to improve the company, and 2012 was no different.  We just finished up on what we call our SI3 initiative.  (Signature - Ideas, Innovation and Implementation).  During the past 3 months team members from all across the company worked in virtual teams to study what we do and how we can do it better.  Lots of time was spent talking to people in all areas of the organization with two rules in mind: (1) we have no sacred cows and (2) any change is fair game as long as we have buy-in from the people in the field who have to make the new idea actually happen.

This year resulted in some really impressive results with the teams presenting their ideas to the full company last week. Some of the ideas are pretty simple yet valuable, such as buying a paint sprayer for each property or developing a tracking method for HVAC filter changes.  

“We cannot solve a problem by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein

Others were pretty major for our team.  The Team Member Time Team researched and evaluated every scheduled meeting in the organization and then asked “WHY?”.  In one case we had a weekly meeting scheduled due to an implementation plan that was rolled out over 7 years ago.  The Team Member Time Team concluded that this meeting could easily be eliminated or restructured to better utilize Team Members’ time.  

“Ideas are useless unless used.” — Theodore Levitt

The Signature Team once again did a bang-up job of developing effective changes that we can make all over the company, focused on solving the problems in an innovative way, and then made the implementation happen on a company-wide basis. 

Thanks to the whole Signature Team for keeping Signature ahead of the curve.

Thank You

In February of last year, I ran my first 100-mile ultra-marathon.  At mile 76, after 14 hours of running, I was making such great progress and feeling fabulous and the only thought going through my head was how I was going to convince the airline to let me on the earlier flight back home.  But then mile 77 came along, and it was only then that I realized what being an endurance athlete is all about.  For the next 13 hours, I very slowly and steadily walked and sometimes crawled toward the finish line.  Ultimately, I did finish!

I feel that 2012 and the past few years are like my ultra-marathon. In the beginning of this recession it was difficult going, but, like any runner doing a marathon, we trudged on. These past 12 months have been more like the last 24 miles of my 100-miler.  We were tired and hungry for deals and growth which haven’t come back in a big way yet.  We were expecting to be on the plane ride home by now, but instead are persistently pushing forward slowly and surely.

I often tell people that the reason I run ultra-marathons is because it makes me a better businessman.  I believe that the same persistent, never accept no mentality that gets me to the finish line of a multi-day run will get Signature and our team to the next level.

One of the most memorable moments of my 100-miler happened about 22 hours into the race at 5 a.m.  It was dark and cold, and I was hallucinating.  One of the volunteers walked with me for just a few hundred yards.  This small act of support at that most challenging time made the difference between success and failure for me.  That is exactly how I feel about the support that our team members, investors, lenders and partners have provided to us over the past few years.  You have given us the vital support we need to succeed in the long-run.  I look forward to seeing everyone on the finish line, which always becomes the start of our next challenge.

I am thrilled to welcome in 2013 with a newly formed company, Signature Group Investments, a specialized acquisitions group focusing on real estate, as well as related equity, debt and hybrid investments.  Signature Community Investment Group will continue to specialize in the acquisition of multifamily properties with a resident-focused model of property management.  

You have been invaluable in strengthening the Signature brand throughout our growth and expansion.  Thank you for your support in 2012 and beyond.  I leave you with my “Best of 2012” below.

Best of 2012

Best Business Deal:  Facebook’s purchase of Instagram on the eve of their IPO for $750MM.  My 10 year-old daughter thinks Facebook is old news.  I take my technology cues from her.

Best Inspirational Movie:  ”The Intouchables” - Great film about human spirit and the value of partnering with those who are different from us.

Best Book:  Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, is hard to put down.  

Best Business Book:  Any of the TED books.  

Best Blog:  lifehacker.com

Best App:  uber.com - Order a car service on the spot at anytime.

Best Underdog Story:  Evelyn Stevens - I met this fascinating woman, who left Wall Street to compete in the Olympics.  My favorite strategy that she shared with me is that when she is being chased by a competitor in a race she pictures the spreadsheets she will have to go back to if she doesn’t win.  Don’t we all wish we could chase our Olympic dreams like she did?  See more about Evelyn at this link.

Best Vacation Spot:  The highest spot I could get to - In 2012 it was the summit of Mount Shasta in Northern California.

Best Family Adventure:  Back-to-back home exchanges in Lake Tahoe, Northern Utah, Jackson Hole, and Montana. 

Best New Toy:  Google Nexus 7 mini-tablet - It fits in a coat pocket and does everything the iPad does.  Google has managed to give Apple a run for their money with this one.

Best quote from my daughter’s motivational messages she give me for my endurance races:  

         LAME  |_____________________________________X|  AWESOME! (X = *You*)

Best Energy Pick-Me-Up:  22.5 minutes of meditation every morning.

Best Email Tool:  boomeranggmail.com - Use it to remind you to follow up on unanswered emails.  Not that I would ever leave one of your emails unanswered though.

Best Deal:  idine.com - Set up your credit cards, and when you eat you get 10-20% back.  They send a gift card out once a month, which make great gifts.

Best Moment:  Crossing the finish line of my 100-mile ultra-marathon after 27 hours and more than a few hallucinations.

Best Hire:  Bringing my wife into Signature Group to expand our communications program. (That’s why you received this letter.)