World's Simplest Management Secret

Forget what you learned in those management books. There's really only one way to ensure that everyone on your team excels.

Management books have it all wrong. They all try to tell you how to manage "people."

It's impossible to manage "people"; it's only possible to manage individuals. And because individuals differ from one another, what works with one individual may not work with somebody else.

Some individuals thrive on public praise; others feel uncomfortable when singled out.

Some individuals are all about the money; others thrive on challenging assignments.

Some individuals need mentoring; others find advice to be grating.

The trick is to manage individuals the way that THEY want to be managed, rather than the way that YOU'd prefer to be managed.

The only way to do this is to ASK.

In your first (or next) meeting with each direct report ask:

• How do you prefer to be managed?
• What can I do to help you excel?
• What types of management annoy you?

Listen (really listen) to the response and then, as far as you are able, adapt your coaching, motivation, compensation, and so forth to match that individual's needs.

BTW, a savvy employee won't wait for you to ask; he or she will tell you outright what works. When this happens, you're crazy not to take that employee's advice!

Unfortunately, most individuals aren't that bold, which is why it's up to you to find out how to get the best out of them.

And you'll never get that out of a management book.

There is no one-size-fits-all in a world where everyone is unique.

Read more:

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Geoffrey James writes the Sales Source column on Inc.com, the world's most visited sales-oriented blog. His newly published book is Business to Business Selling: Power Words and Strategies From the World's Top Sales Experts. @Sales_Source

Is property building management a professional?

Have separate board 

WE refer to the letter “Leave it to professionals”, (see article below) on the issue of strata management.

Building management is not a profession: it is a multi-disciplinary management function encompassing a wide range of skills such as engineering, architecture, accounting, law, vocational skills, etc.

It cannot and should not be the exclusive domain of any particular profession like registered valuers.

No country has laws that specify that only registered valuers admitted as property managers pursuant to Section 21(1)(a) of the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act, 1981 (VAEA Act) can undertake property management.

To put things in perspective, the Building Management Association of Malaysia (BMAM) is not objecting to registered valuers managing stratified properties.

What we are strongly opposed to is the creation of a monopoly favouring registered valuers if the Bill is signed into law in its present form.

The Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents is offering to open a sub-register for non-valuer managing agents to be admitted as property managers.

We are not accepting the board’s proposal as it would only further entrench its monopoly over property management, given that the admission, suspension and even eventual deregistration of non-valuer property managers will be at the sole discretion of the board.

We are calling for the establishment of a separate multi-disciplinary Board of Building Managers under the jurisdiction of the Housing and Local Government Ministry with regulatory support from the Commissioner of Buildings (COB).

There are more than 4,000 stratified projects (80% of them residential) in Malaysia at the moment, and about five million Malaysians belonging to the low and middle income groups live in them.

Since the common properties and facilities in the flat and apartment premises cannot be sold or subdivided and are meant for the exclusive use of the residents, all that the owners need is a building manager to maintain the common areas and facilities, and not a property manager whose portfolio includes leasing, collection of rent, promotion of sales, etc.

A building manager appointed by the joint management body (JMB) or management corporation (MC) upon mutually agreed terms and conditions of scope of work and remuneration would be significantly cheaper than a property manager whose fees are subject to a schedule under the VAEA Act.

The building manager is only expected to carry out his duties and responsibilities according to the terms and conditions of his appointment as well as the instructions of the JMB or MC Management Committee.

All fiduciary responsibilities, particularly the management of the Building Fund Account, are undertaken by the JMB or MC pursuant to the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act, 2007 and the Strata Titles Act, 1985.

These records are submitted to the COB every year after the annual general meeting.

PROF S. VENKATESWARAN
Secretary General
Building Management Association of Malaysia

Leave it to professionals

THE public deserves an unbiased understanding beyond the shadow play leading up to the third reading of the Strata Management Bill 2012 in parliament.

The proposed Act stipulates that a managing agent for stratified property must first be free from any potential conflict of interest (i.e. independent) and secondly, a registered property manager.

The Act replaces the Building and Common Property Act, which did not emphasise that such functions are to be performed by a registered property manager.

The key problem is that property management at present is also practised by an unregulated group and such parties are not accountable to a regulatory body unlike registered persons i.e. property professionals or chartered surveyors.

The new Act aims to rectify this disparity by uniformly regulating all property managers of stratified properties.

Under the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act (VAEA), a Registered Property Manager must possess:

1) An academic qualification from an approved institution of higher learning or recognised professional examinations; and

2) Pass the Test of Professional Competence set by the regulating body.

These robust standards and established processes are aimed towards registering professionals of sound qualifications and adequate competency levels.

A registered property manager is continuously subjected to a code of conduct, professional standards and various stipulations under VAEA to ensure they discharge their duties in a manner that serves the public adequately and to the highest possible industry standards.

The registration of property managers and firms is undertaken by the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia (board).

The board, a governmental regulatory body under the purview of the Finance Ministry, was set up in 1981 to regulate Estate Agents, Valuers, Appraisers and Property Managers in Malaysia.

It is legislatively empowered to deal with complaints from the public and take disciplinary action against any errant registered persons or firms, including stripping them of their licence and barring them from further practice, amongst other possible disciplinary measures.

Given the established competency requirements and standards imposed on registered property managers, I cannot see beyond reasonable logic for such professionals to utterly fail in their professional duties to a joint management corporation, management corporation or individual owner.

The board, in the spirit of laissez-faire, has opened the registration of property managers to include these non-regulated practitioners.

Property management was always the domain of property professionals but only in recent history, primarily property developers and others have set up property management businesses to rival property professionals for the property management trade but in an unregulated fashion, taking advantage of the limitations of statutes. This is where the battle lies and the public should take notice.

If a non-regulated practitioner wishes to practise as a property manager in efforts to legally comply with the greater standards as demanded by the new Act, I cannot see why they should shy away and not readily subject themselves through the established process and competency test in order to become a registered property manager.

The process is not designed to penalise individuals but to assess if a candidate has the required level of competency, in order to be accountable to the public as a practising professional.

The merit of regulating the property management profession far outweighs any self-serving agenda, and the public must insist for high standards in lieu of the nation’s Vision 2020 agenda.

To the lawmakers and members of Parliament, my plea is to make the right decisions in cognisance of standards, accountability and professionalism.

The last thing we want is a mushrooming of “urban slums” in our beautiful country.

A. PADMAN  Kuala Lumpur - The Star, Nov 5 2012

Related posts:
Managing strata properties in Malaysia
Poor services from JMBs, Unlicensed Property Managers and Lucrative Trade!

America's problem: Money politics seldom supports reforms

“Money politics” has become even more prominent in the U.S. presidential race this year.

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court removed the limits on corporate donations to political campaigns and ruled that corporate donations are a protected form of free speech. As a result, this year’s congressional and presidential elections have become the most expensive in U.S. history, with billions of U.S. dollars spent already.

While rich people are throwing loads of money into the presidential election, ordinary Americans are worried about their own financial conditions.

Over the past 20 years, the income of middle-class Americans has been on the decline, and the income gap is becoming increasingly wide.

A poll has found that most Americans believe that too much money has been spent on the elections, and political contributions will only enhance rich people’s influence over the policy-making. No matter who is elected the U.S. president, he is bound to pay more attention to the needs of the rich than those of the poor.

Rich people are enjoying greater influence in politics, while the rights of ordinary voters are being damaged, which runs counter to the U.S. constitutional principle of “political equality.”

The economy is the decisive factor in this year’s presidential election, but the two candidates have mainly attacked each other, and failed to introduce specific plans for solving the country’s economic problems when it comes to debates on economic issues.

The weak U.S. economy is a result of both the global financial crisis that broke out a few years ago and the country’s own political problems. All Americans see on television is the ugly partisan strife and politicians’ lack of courage to carry out reforms.

The U.S. president needs great public support to lead the country out of crisis, and should figure out whether he rules simply for the sake of ruling or acts only after carefully considering the people’s immediate and long-term interests. Americans should remember that money politics seldom support reforms.

Read the Chinese version: “金钱政治”砸不出变革动力; 
Source: People's Daily; Author: Zhong Sheng

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