Getting Through Hard Times: How Company Culture Can Make or Break Your Success

Hard times are inevitable. Those in multifamily can attest to that, especially with current market conditions. Alarmed by the invoice on your renewal for insurance? Nervous about the negative rent growth ahead? Suffering at the hands of staffing shortages? You’re not alone.

Running a business is guaranteed to have challenges but there’s ultimately a key component to getting through hard times: your company's culture. Bill Nye, CEO of Bayshore Properties and Owner of Bill Nye Training, spoke heavily of this at ResMania 2024 and we’re going to share a little bit more about how your company’s culture can make or break your success when the going gets tough.

What is Culture?

Culture is prevalent in every area of your life. It is formally defined as the collection of beliefs, values, behaviors, and ways of life that are shared by more than one person.  

Culture can be extremely positive and helpful in times of struggle, but when it’s neglected, it can be like putting gasoline on a fire. As Bill Nye puts it, culture is not built, it’s grown. When the weeds or uncontrollable challenges start to manifest in the garden of your business, the temptation to react is strong.  

For example, when the budget gets tight due to the impact of market conditions, the common reaction is to cut spending in important areas such as marketing, the source of attracting business, or things like training, which equip your teams for efficiency. Some start to grab for control. Others might waste time focusing on the wrong priorities.

The ultimate question lies in what kind of culture do you want to grow?

One of two things exists in a culture but never at the same time: chaos and discipline. Where there’s discipline, there is no chaos. Where there is chaos, there is no discipline. The weeds or the problems will always come. But if you cultivate a culture of discipline, taking the weeds head on every day and without chaotic reactions, they won’t set you back like they would in a culture of chaos.

How is Culture the Key to Success?

In order to understand how culture truly plays a role in your success, you have to understand the makeup of culture. Culture is composed of three parts: what you expect, what you will or will not tolerate, and how you treat one another.

As leaders in property management companies, you expect things like KPIs, metrics, budgets and training to be met. This is your priority as a businessperson.  

What you will and will not tolerate lies in things like your policies and procedures, employee handbooks and company values. This must translate from written word to real action. You, as a leader, must have a strong backbone in this area.

But one of the biggest and most definitive categories of culture lies in how you and your teams treat one another. While you as a leader are trying to hit your numbers and meet budget expectations, your employees are working to take care of their families and their own vision of success that most likely doesn’t relate to the business. Motivation is internal and outside of your control. But inspiration can start with you.  

Take care of your people and they will take care of your business. Things like fair compensation, bonuses, promotions, and recognition over time go a long way in creating a culture of discipline. Taking care of your employees inspires your teams toward success, in good times and in tough times.

Why is this approach uncommon?

While we can talk about what positive culture looks like in multifamily, the reality of it is rare. But why? If it’s the most certain path to success, it should be a no-brainer, right? Here’s why:

1. It’s not a microwave. It doesn’t happen after a few days, weeks or months. It takes time, effort, nurturing and consistency.

2. Leaders naturally get emotional about money. The stress of meeting your business goals or pleasing investors can add the pressure, which often pressures leaders to revert back to a culture of reactiveness and chaos.

3. It doesn’t sound attractive. The work of cultivating positive work culture is like pulling weeds out of the garden. The desire to cultivate discipline isn’t natural, nor is the process exciting.

4. It is easier said than done. Again, the temptation is to react. You’re always fighting a very natural gravitation toward chaotic reactions.

5. The work of cultivating positive culture is NEVER done. Much like any relationship, the process of building and maintaining it is never-ending. If you neglect it, weeds will take over. Even when you pull the weeds day in and day out, the problems will still come. Cultivating positive culture must become a vocation.

When the going gets tough, and it is tough for multifamily leadership right now, the tough get going. It’s how you as a leader handle the tough times that matters. The more effort you put toward a healthy, positive, and uplifting culture between you and your teams, the better your business will be coming out of the tough times. Take care of your culture and you will see mountaintops sooner rather than later.

To learn more about building a culture of success, check out Bill Nye’s website here.

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