2019 Multifamily Innovation Digital Magazine

THE SEEDS
OF INNOVATION
BY: PATRICK MORIN, PARTNER, TRANSACT CAPITAL PARTNERS
THE TEN OF US were gathered
around the conference table
and all ten were excited but
nervous. Nine were nervous
because they were getting a
new boss - me. I was nervous
because I was getting a new
team and the expectations
from my boss, were high. The
problem at hand was twofold:
fixing a below market occupancy
problem at a few of our
properties and creating a sustainable
competitive advantage
in some very tight markets.
After a speed-round of introductions
mixed with a bit of
(self-deprecating) humor over
jobs we’d all held or companies
for whom we’ve worked, one
could feel the positive, creative
energy in the air.
a competitive force in the
the multifamily space?
We don’t need to be the
biggest, but we need to
be different. In leasing
apartments, we need to
do things that the market
doesn’t necessarily
expect.”
The question - that
question - turned out to
be a seed of innovation
planted in a very fertile
garden and that garden
was a culture that we, the
team, created together.
Innovation, like gardening,
is a process and
takes time. People and
companies don’t just
wake up and suddenly
become innovative. Create
the right environment
and ideas grow faster,
stronger, more plentiful,
and in more varieties.
team to at least one non-industry
conference. Any
one. The Next Gen Summit,
the Consumer Electronics
Show, Comic-Con, heck,
even the National Goat Milk
Farmers Association. It
really doesn’t matter. What
we’re looking for are ideas
that multifamily hasn’t seen,
yet. A well-established
idea in another industry
might be cutting edge in
ours. The objective is to
have the team temporarily
immersed in a completely
different environment and
just inventorying ideas
that they can bring back to
the team. Don’t judge the
idea(s) at the event - just record
them - and bring them
home. Challenge the team
to figure out how to make
use of the ideas!
“Congratulations! You
failed!” Not all seeds
germinate. That’s OK. The
kernels from ONE ear of
corn, when replanted, can
yield a field of new plants.
The important thing to
communicate to your team
Taking advantage of the momentum
and wanting to focus
on the bigger picture, I posed
the second of the the two
questions above to the team:
“In what ways can we become
Here’s how.
Expand the idea gene
pool. In addition to the
top-tier conferences like
Multifamily Leadership,
NAA, or AIM, send your
1 2