The Tyranny of Not Being Accountable to Someone

One of the most important things in real estate or any business is being held accountable. This can be especially difficult as an entrepreneur or "your own boss" as so many of us desire to be. But I can't stress the importance of being held to account for your performance.

For example, when I first set up shop in Kansas City, I was alone and it was very easy for me to put certain things on the back burner. One was slacking on the number of bids I got when looking for new contractors. Sometimes I would and sometimes I would only get a second one if I didn't like the first, which would delay the whole process. But it was more comfortable because I didn't have to tell someone no (assuming I liked the first bid). However, when my brother joined me in KC, we agreed that we would get at least two and preferably three bids when working with contractors we hadn't worked with before. When I had to be held accountable, all of a sudden it started getting done consistently.

While it's best to have someone to actively keep you honest, even simple goals and tracking systems can help. I initially set a goal of a certain number of offers per week, but didn't track them. Eventually, I created a google doc that not helped with organization by keeping a list of all my offers, the list price, their counter and my strike price, but also kept me on top of that goal. Just making that program increased the number of offers I was making.

Finally, it is hugely important to keep your employees or contractors accountable. You don't want to micro-manage them, but we've had maintenance guys buy their lunch on the company card, contractors do sloppy work or not do items on the bids, leasing agents waste ridiculous amounts of time by setting up showings too far apart across town, etc. Make sure to hold them accountable, such systems keep honest people honest and expose dishonest people.

Just remember, everyone needs to be held accountable, including you.

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