25 Sep A process driven business

Don’t let the processes define the people – let the people define the processes.

Topic – The best and worst of growth

Mentor – Megan Jaffe

• Study the flow
• Rituals and routines
• People need to engage

Property Management Matters with Tara Bradbury – Tara encourages you to ask “RUOK in PM?”

Transcript:

Kevin:   Megan Jaffe is our guest all this week. Megan’s had phenomenal growth in her Ray White Remuera office in New Zealand in Auckland, and it’s a market that is changing, Megan, isn’t it? We all hear about how well the economy is going there and how well the real estate market is, but you’re also going through a process of change, I understand.

Megan Jaffe:   Well, there’s a changing market, and we’ve built a business which is process-driven, so we’re independent of market conditions, and that is powerful. But then there’s the changes that are happening related to technology, relating to … it’s a global community that’s being built, and we’re lucky we get to talk to lots of people around the world and innovate and swap ideas. So it is rapidly changing, however, the fundamentals don’t change at all. It’s about us being trusted advisors, delivering great service, being reliable, and being responsive to our clients’ and customers’ needs.

Kevin:   Yeah. I guess when you’re planning for this kind of growth, and this is really what we’re talking about, you’ve got a lot of things that you need to take into consideration, take into account as you plan for this, like people, like processes we talked about yesterday and also technology. Can you take me through some of those considerations?

Megan Jaffe:   Absolutely. So probably the number one thing I’ve picked up working with some great people as we’ve built over the years is looking at the cadence or the flow of what we do and how we build inside the company. So cadence is a really neat word that I picked up from a chap, Shiron Sibatha, because it was like an aha moment. It’s what we were focused on, which was the flow of all of the work, strength, and passions that we have running in our company. So both as a company and for individuals within the business, we look at the daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual plan, and then just the flow patterns that come through with our rituals and our routines that are happening inside the individual business and then collectively as a company.

Kevin:   Could I just ask you there, Megan, about … I think you referred to, was it flow patterns?

Megan Jaffe:   Yes.

Kevin:   Could you just explain what that is?

Megan Jaffe:   Oh, so it’s the cadence. For example, working with a salesperson, I’ll meet them once a week. We organise an ideal real estate week with them. A lot of people do that, however it’s the rituals and routines that they’ve built in their day over seven days a week building back into their business plan with their goal. So, in a day, you’ve got your morning routine, your evening routine, you’ve got your private time, your business time, but it’s really building it so that you’ve got good flow each day of the week. Building out … basically, it’s the rituals of your life to live a good life, which is not only efficient, but it’s effective. So you’re getting the balance between the business, your family, and then your health, and your overall well-being.

Kevin:   If I’m understanding what you’re saying here, Megan, a lot of people think that we have processes to drive people, but what you’re saying is that you’ve got people who drive processes. In other words, the processes are put in place to support the people.

Megan Jaffe:   100% because our business is about people. So you can put process in place, but people aren’t well, if they’re not engaged, they can have all the process in the world, but they’re not going to do what they should be doing. So we focus on our people, our people’s well-being, and if they are in a good space, they’ll then do all of the things that are mapped up into processes. But I see a lot of companies that focus on process, tell people what to do. They’re not happy, so they’re not going to do it anyway. We flipped it right around because peak performance is about the whole person. It’s not just about the business piece. It’s about what’s going on inside with the people that you’re working and living with and then also the work you’re doing on yourself. So a huge piece of work we do here is on people and what they’re doing to take care of themselves and their families before they even get in the door.

Kevin:   Just walking around your offices, I did some time ago, it occurred to me that each of the individuals in your office or each of those teams, and they’re very clearly-defined teams, they all have their own personality. You walk into an office, it’s a different structure. There are different types of people there. They’re talking about different types of things, but it all suits their particularly model, Megan.

Megan Jaffe:   Well, there’s no cookie cutter here because you are a different person to the person in the room next door. Your level of ambition is different, so we tailor a programme. All the structures underlying are the same, but your ambition, we will help you to achieve your ambition, but to make sure that you don’t crash and burn along the way ’cause there’s no point having success if you lose relationships along the way or if you don’t like yourself or if you end up leaning on some form of support like drugs or alcohol in order to just get through your work. So, I do feel a strong sense of responsibility for those who are in my care to take care of themselves overall ’cause you know, you gotta put the oxygen mask on yourself first, then out to your family, then out to your workplace and the people that you work for and with. Then after that, if you’ve got time for friends, that’s wonderful. So we really do encourage and support people to look after themselves so that they can live full lives and ultimately, have some joy.

Kevin:   Wonderful journey that you’re on, Megan, and I thank you for sharing these thoughts with us. Megan comes back again tomorrow morning. Our guest is Megan Jaffe. Thanks, Megan. Talk to you in the morning.

Megan Jaffe:   Okay. Thank you very much.