Moving From Chaos to Calm

How does an organization move from operating reactively in chaos and under stress to running proactively like a business should and be calmer in the process?

That’s exactly what we talk about in this session with my guest, Tina Larsson from The Folson Group.

There are many ways that a business or organization can start gaining calm and lose the stress – whether it’s being more organized, having the right tools or knowing how to meet more efficiently, businesses and organizations that take the time to focus on making positive change may see tremendous opportunities and growth come their way.

Check out Tina’s list of free tools that she has made available for you at https://www.thefolsongroup.com/free-tools

About Tina: Tina Larsson is the co-founder and owner of The Folson Group, the premier coop and condo cost consultant who helps New York City coop and condo owners as well as apartment building owners increase their property values. Tina is a business consultant and a disruptor in the residential real estate world. She holds a LEED Green Associate designation and is currently on a mission to make NYC greener, more sustainable and more affordable one building at a time.

Connect with Tina on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and online at https://www.thefolsongroup.com/

Transcript (auto-generated; may contain errors)

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Hello and welcome to another episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life & Business. On today’s program,

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We’re going to be talking about how to move your business or an organization, instead of operating in chaos or operating reactively and under stress to operating a business more proactively in terms of what it is that you are

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doing what you want to do, how you want to do it, and some things that really become really important to think about as you move from stress and chaos to operating smoother and operating proactively and staying ahead of the

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curves, and i’ve got a really incredible guest with me today?

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Who’s going to help us learn all about how to move from chaos and stress to operating more efficiently and better as a business, and really focus on what we need to do.

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But before I bring Tina in, let me tell you a little bit about Tina Larsson.

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Tina Larsson is the co-founder and owner of the Falson group.

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The Premier Co-op and Condo cost consultant who helps New York City co-op and condo owners as well as apartment building.

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Owners increase their property values. Tina is a business consultant and a disruptor. in the residential real estate world.

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She holds a lead green associate designation, and is currently on a mission to make New York City greener, more sustainable, and more affordable.

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One building at a time, Tina, Welcome to the show, and thank you so much for being here, and thank you so much for having me, Jennifer, and thank you for that lovely introduction.

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Absolutely. Thank you. So, Tina, let me ask you chaos stress.

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It seems to be that most businesses, and any organization are always running and series of chaotic and stressful moments, whether it’s inflation, whether it’s whatever it is, that’s causing conflicts how do we first of all

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really identified that we’re running in a stressful and chaotic environment as opposed to just this is business as usual.

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It’s always been that way. How do we really figure out that we are running in a chaotic instrumental situation.

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That’s a great question, and I mean I guess that’s just a matter of sitting down and taking thinking about it.

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And so our clients are buildings, and they are actually so.

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Everything in a building it’s basically reactive they only take care of emergencies, because the emergencies are so many that they never have time to get ahead.

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And you remember to ice, and how i’m sure that you’re familiar with the ice and Howard box for you puts what is urgent and and necessary in one box and you have 4 boxes and the least urgent

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you put in a last box, and that one you basically cross out it’s just a matter of putting what what do you have on your to-do list.

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And what are the things that we’re working on and then over time put prioritizing them, and figuring out that we’re really only taking care of emergencies that would kind of like Warren Buffett’s 11

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goals and looking at what is it that you’re looking at doing.

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And when you write down your goals, just focus on the top one and don’t do anything else until you meet that.

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But you really know exactly where you are and that’s kind of what you’re saying in terms of you’re dealing with emergencies all the time.

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You have to really start thinking a little bit differently. So you avoid the emergencies and start acting a little more proactive to stop these emergencies from happening.

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Yeah, but one of the problems that boards have. they have a full-time job.

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So this is actually a volunteer position specifically to them.

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But I mean it goes for all volunteers it’s something that you do in the addition to regular obligations, whether that’s family or hobbies or sports or your job So it’s in addition to i’m going to

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allow Times volunteers. they have this mindset but but i’m a volunteer, so they don’t very often incorporate their regular day-to-day, thinking into their very volunteer precision the Then they kind of

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rely on outside property managers and the supers and they rely on so many out entities that they’re kind of the passive in a way, and if you are passive, no matter where in what position you are if you’re passive,

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then you’re not active right right so I guess if you look at it, because I know many nonprofit organizations, whether it’s a co-op board or it’s a nonprofit organization there’s a lot

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of organizations that rely on that volunteer board to get a lot of things done for the organization.

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So what are some things that maybe we can look at encourage people to use their day-to-day skills and thinking to really make the organization, whether it’s a co-op board, or another nonprofit or even a for profit that

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has a formal or informal board of directors or an advisory board.

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How do we get those people to think more strategically more along the lines of what’s going to really help the organization that they’re working with no matter what that organization is to make that stand out. it’s it’s it I mean

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It’s a great question, and we have I mean we have one of the things that we always tell our clients and the boards that we work with.

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We’re like try to incorporate as many things as many tools, as many technologies as you use in your everyday life.

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Into this volunteer position. So, for instance, very often they said but we don’t know what the next systems and or the new laws are.

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Well, those are not surprises. They had an elevator upgrade it, an elevator, mandatory, elevator, mechanical system that had to be upgraded before December 30 December the 30 first,

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2,019. So, just before the pandemic, and it had been the law for 10 years.

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It was, I mean. it was past 10 years before, and then in the last quarter of 2,019, they were all scrambling, trying to fix this thing because they had to be done before January.

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The first. Well, I mean if you have 10 years it’s not a surprise.

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You have to like. Make a list, Use Google Sheet. make a list of all the upcoming Us.

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You have to inspect your facade every 5 years it’s not a surprise.

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Every prior every time. it’s going to happen every single 5 years, and your rule is only warrant.

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It has a warranty for 20 years it’s not going to be a surprise for 20 entire years, you know, when it’s going to expire, and you need a new roof.

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So there are so many tools that you can, that are so so common sense.

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And what we do It’s not a it’s not we’re not rocket science.

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There we’re just using tools to make sure that things are running smoothly, and Google sheet is a great tool.

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There were times of project management systems, but that’s maybe not everybody using that in their regular day-to-day work, but a Google sheet, i’m, assuming that everybody is using right Google sheets microsoft excel or other

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spreadsheet programs are definitely great to help us map out and plan out some of those ideas and an issue that we need to be focused on in terms of really looking at.

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Where do we go, and what are the things that we need to be paying attention to as we move forward?

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But if we look at the buildings, and you mentioned some of the ideas like elevator, there was 10 years that they had to upgrade the elevator.

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There’s 5 years that they have to upgrade or check the facade to make sure there’s no cracks or falling breaks.

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What have you? Is it the board itself, though that is in charge of making sure that everything is moving forward?

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And having that done, or is there like an executive director who the Board appoints to operate and make sure that these things are happening?

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It is the Board. so deborah doesn’t have to make it happen, but they’re the oversight.

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So the Board makes the decisions and make sure that it happens who actually executed.

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That is typically the property manager unless it’s a self-managed building, then it’s either the board or the super, or a combination.

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They’re off. So the property manager does not make any decisions they just execute what the Board the the board’s decisions.

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So they might put together a team so the building might have for the facade inspections.

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They needed an engineer, they might have an engineer on staff, or that they have been working with for decades, and in that case they just say to the property manager, please, contact engineer we need to do our local 11 or at this bitcoin

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nowadays, Fisp and and they will execute it but it’s the board who needs to then make sure that it actually happens.

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So as we look at the reactive and chaotic and stressful environment that co-ops tend to be working in.

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And when they bring the Olson group and and they have you working with them.

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So these co-op boards start learning through some of the tools that you show them how to start coming up with.

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Well, i’ve got this checklist and i’ve got that option, and I know this is happening.

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How do you make it that much easier for them through all the tools you do bring in?

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Give me an idea how that process works. Okay, So one way that we make them more active and very simple way that they typically will meet once a month in their monthly meetings.

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They make all the decisions they have at an agenda and they have to cover some ideas, and very often what we when we start working with them, they can’t even finish their agenda, because they can’t even get through it, because

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there’s so much on it because they meet once a month. So one of the simplest things that we help them in corporate is to make decisions in between meetings.

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And then in their next monthly meeting, they just say that we voted 4, 4, 4, 4 that we actually, by email, get them into the habit of making decisions in between meetings.

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And we, if they have any questions about our suggestions, or how to do certain things, or how to get them approved, or any other questions.

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We set up a zoom meeting in the middle of the month.

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They can, if not, all of them can make it we’ll be happy to record it, and we can send it to the 3 people who couldn’t show up so that we are incorporating all of these different tools that you would use as

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a business that helps them move along into taking care. of as many items possible, so that eventually, over time, they will work more in a proactive way, as opposed to a reactive way.

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And so that’s definitely good in terms of utilizing the various tools that are available on a business site.

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To help these boards continue operating more efficiently, more effectively, and things on those lines.

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So let me ask, as you look at that you’ve had so many of these buildings were operating chaotically.

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We’re operating in a really messed up situation before the process of working with you.

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You mentioned. So the first meeting they can’t finish the agenda because there’s just so much there, and by the second third meeting. Hopefully, they’re really meeting all of the obligations that they have to do and all of the issues that they

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need to be dealing with. How is the long-term situation then addressed where they now say, Well, 2 years ago, before we brought Tina, and it was helter skelter. and now we’re in a much better situation what

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is that success look like in terms of what happens? Yeah, I mean, as you know, being a coach, you, or as a business woman, you, you know that what happens is that if you do something long enough, it becomes a habit, and then this is just

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a new way that we do things so it’s just getting them into the habit of doing things in a certain way.

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They? So when we come on normally they don’t have any records, and when we ask them, do you have a Google drive you restore everything.

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Do you have a one drive a dropbox Oh, no they don’t have any of that.

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They asked the property manager for data or for documents for their contracts and stuff, and we’re like, but it’s you They’re yours.

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Why, in today’s world when we say everything on our dropbox or on our cloud somewhere, why, wouldn’t you just have it so that you don’t have to bother them? So It’s Ec: So you can be organ you can

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organize it. you can organize it into folders, and how you want it to be set up.

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You can be the the person who then? Oh, this Board member is no longer board.

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Member. you keep them off, and you add a new person because you’re the administrator.

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2. So it’s a little bit of hands-on when it comes to this.

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And now i’ve got your question so What the success looks like so now they have everything in a cloud storage.

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They have everything operating effectively in terms of what it is that you’re trying to do.

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But how is that operating proactively in the future?

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What is the really look like to these buildings and the co-op board and the property managers, and ultimately the residents that are seeing a better operations.

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Yeah, So I mean our ultimate goal is to save the money to increase our property values.

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So that’s our ultimate goal and that’s how we are compensated.

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We’re not compensated for helping them set up a cloud storage.

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We’re compensated based on a percentage of actual savings.

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So we we reduce the cost of all of a long line, long list of online items, anything from elevator service contracts to energy, use electricity, use water, use insurance. Do you name it? And we go through the line items And reduce

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how much they spend. but in that process we need documents.

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So we helped them do that, so that’s kind of like a value Ad. that we helped them set it up on storage, so that when we no longer and most of our buildings take continue to work with us, so it’s not like

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we go away. We’re still there. we have gone through all the line items that we can find.

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But there’s always going to be upcoming projects that they need or repairs.

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So and then we’re there, but we’re not actively working with setting them up, because that’s already been done.

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But they continue to work in a in a proactive way, because I mean who, if they used to have 3, our board meetings, and now they have meet board meetings. Our goal is to get it down to less than an hour 200 who wants to go back to have

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3 h minute meetings right? absolutely. I know If I can get my 3 h meetings down to 30 min.

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I’d much rather go with that hands down and I Think all of our listeners would probably agree to that idea, too, unless, of course, you’re a meeting planner that you’re getting compensated that way.

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But we’re gonna put that one inside or in a furnace, Bernie, be, you know, billing by the minute by the second.

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So let me ask you there’s so many ideas that you work with to help the Board operate more efficiently.

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And there’s so many ideas that really are transferable from a co-op board to a nonprofit board to a board of directors for a small business.

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What are some of the biggest things, though that you have found that have really been successful and helping these boards really make a change that anyone who’s listening that’s on a board right now of some sort, or or thinking about using a board in their own

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business, whether it’s nonprofit for profit what have you?

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What are some of the biggest skills and ideas that you have found that really stand out?

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That can make a huge difference. it’s really and it goes for my business, too.

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It’s and for my own focus, too and it’s really to make a list of just like Warren Buffett said, and work on the first one and then on the second one.

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And then on the third one, and then we’ll get a little momentum, and then we’ll work on the fourth, fifth, and third sixth, and work through the list until we have everything organized and up and running and than to track it I mean it was

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it? Was it successful? did it? Did they have the outcome that we wanted it to have?

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Did we in some cases save enough money? Did it take less time?

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The board meetings. Did they really go from 3 h to 60 min? So there’s all of these different success measurements, though, and measuring results is really important in being able to reach goals? And what are the goals.

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So I mean a lot of people. They operate without a goal and in most boards they don’t really have a good goal, they, and that’s another reason why they operate in a reactive mode.

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And so as opposed to on a proactive mode, because they have no goals.

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So if you have no goals, how can you measure your success?

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And how do you even know what the success looks like? Yeah.

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So a long-term vision, and then try to figure out how we can set that up, and the different various action State steps on how to get there?

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Who or the what are the deliverables, and who are going to be a responsible for each task?

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You may goals, and I would be remiss if I didn’t you our lister right now to voice your goals find somebody that you’re sitting next to or your partner say to them my goal in the next whatever the next day the

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next week, the next month this year is to do this the problem with goals is that if it sits only in your head, it doesn’t really seemed to materialize a lot of us are big on new year’s.

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Resolutions, and we say great i’m going to make a new Year’s resolution.

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I want to lose 20 pounds this year, but but if we don’t actually give it voice, and we only think about it quickly find ourselves on February, the first where the goal is completely nowhere near met, and completely forgotten more

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often than not. And so right now find that person that you can tell that is going to voice your that you can voice your goal to and make it that they are going to hold you accountable if there’s one thing that I as a

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business coach work with my clients on and Tina I’m

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Sure you work with your boards and everything on this as well is that you really need to be accountable with your goals.

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You need to really think what the goal is how you’re measuring it.

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But then also, where it’s going and how it’s being measured throughout the process.

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So the more that you can work with this the better You’re, going to ultimately be when it comes to your goals.

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Tina, let me go back to the Folson Group. and what you do.

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Okay, I know that you’ve got a series of tools and checklists and things on those lines that you make available for people that may want to be checking you out.

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How can our listeners that are interested in learning more, find out more about those tools that you offer?

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And how can they get in touch with you? Okay. So we have a few different tools, and they are on our website.

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And the website is www their folsen group that come and that’s f ol so n as in Nancy it’s not for some person 200, and even though I wouldn’t mind being related somehow with John a cash

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but and so it’s false and group com there is a tool tab there, where you can download your free tools.

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And then i’m very active on linkedin I post a lot of tips when it comes to co-op board operations and just inspirational quotes and all kinds of fun stuff, and that is on linkedin and my

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linkedin profile is Tina larsson that’s L. A. R. S. O. N.

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and then li like in linkedin and we’re going to be including links to all of this in the description.

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So if you missed what Tina said or the spelling it’s going to be in the descriptions so definitely feel free to look at it, and if you’re reading the transcript scroll up a little bit and you saw

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where those links are as well. So, Tina, I want to thank you so much for being my guest today.

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Thank you. And when people that are in the co-op business or apartment buildings, property managers need the additional support, The Folsen group is definitely an opportunity that you can be reaching out to check out their lengths check out their

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tools. Look, Tina up on Linkedin, so you can have that opportunity to find out what more you can do to really start increasing your property value and helping all of the people that are living in your particular apartment building complex what have you

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on that note. This has been another episode of MOJO: The Meaning of Life & Business and until next time, here’s to YOUR success.