Boy Scouting and The Pandemic

In 2020, my Boy Scout training was invaluable. Moving from Tenderfoot to Second Class to First Class, I learned to ‘Be Prepared’ and we were. If we had not installed a remote desktop server (RDS) and a unified messaging platform some 10 years ago and moved our entire database to the cloud three years ago, we could not have suddenly sent everyone home without notice. For the first few weeks of the pandemic, our offices were dark as everyone moved online but we did not miss a vacancy inquiry, maintenance request, rent receipt, owner’s question or disbursement. Yes, there were bandwidth and load-balancing issues but they were resolved in days instead of weeks or longer. Because we were prepared, we have remained ‘open’ every day.

Moving from First Class to Star to Life, I learned to work with others in my troop. In March, I started a daily e-blast to keep everyone informed on a variety of internal topics. Learning of a glitch in one area, folks in other areas immediately offered ideas & suggestions and, just like my little patrol had done, our staff came up with good solutions to new problems every day and no one took personal credit; it was a team effort. As a result of the pandemic, our approach remains more collaborative than ever before.

Earning merit badges as I moved from Life to Eagle, I learned to ask for help. During 2020, I asked for extra pandemic advice from our accountant, attorney, HR partner, IT vendor, marketing consultant, insurance agent, trade association, regulator agency, janitorial service and many more. The coronavirus has reinforced the value of collaboration.

As we begin 2021, we continue to upgrade our technologies, honestly share internal information with our staff and seek the advice of subject matter experts. We have been blessed with great team members and the opportunity to manage properties for others. We will continue to ‘manage the details’ and do our best in 2021.