The BIG FIX is more than a Podcast…
It’s also a book for when you find yourself newly appointed to lead a team or a department that’s been failing for while.
As you do, you are about to attempt one of the hardest things you will ever do, especially if your team has been failing for a while and has tenured team members. I’d argue that it’s harder than burning it to the ground and starting over from scratch, but most of the time that’s not an option.
And that’s when you need a BIG FIX!
The BIG FIX was written in the context of a Maintenance Department within the Property Management Industry, but the principles for leading a BIG FIX will translate into any setting. After all, I spent the first 35 years of my career relying on many of the principles covered in… THE NONPROFIT WORLD. And if they worked there, they will work anywhere you find yourself.
The BIG FIX includes documentation from the first 18 months of our BIG FIX experience at Invest West Management after President & CEO Chris Barber handed me the Maintenance Department keys in the company started by his father in 1979. As Chris joined the team in 1999, Steve had built the company to 300 single and multi family doors also servicing 3 HOA’s. After focusing on the HOA department for several years, Chris took over operations in 2008 and then became majority owner in 2017. As of 2024 the company has grown to 800 Single Family Doors, 1100 Multi Family Doors, 106 HOA’s with 8000 doors, 450 storage units, 50,000 ft2 of commercial spaces, 58 full time employees and 17 remote team members from Mexico, Nicaragua, Kenya, South Africa, Philippines, and El Salvador.
While the maintenance department supported the success of the ever growing rental department, it failed to turn a profit. Some stats to note:
In 2022 our department ended with XXX in revenue, but landed XXX in the red.
In 2023 our department ended with XXX in revenue, but landed XXX in the red., better than the previous year as they functioned without a Director.
After being hired in January 2024, my department was already XXX in the red by EOM March. But BIG FIX payoffs take a minute to show up in the financials and on the scorecard. And every month from there on we experienced strong gains in both!
In 2024, our department ended with __________in revenue and landed _______ in the black.
BIG FIXES are possible, but they don’t happen by chance or because some hot shot shows up with a magic wand. And while they do require sound business strategies, the more important component to a BIG FIX is the strategic rhythm established by the leader as he guides the team out of disfunction while garnering personal buy in to the fight for a collective success.
This book articulates key principles that made our BIG FIX possible in less than one calendar year, and launched us int an even bigger year two. And our best is yet come… and I’m believing that yours is too! Happy reading, and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you with your FIG FIX.