Journal of Property Management

PRESIDENT’S INSIGHTS

TRUE GRIT

There are two types of “grit” in my life—“grits,” the food and “grit,” meaning

fortitude. Both have more in common than you might expect in regards to IREM.

What are grits? Quite simply, grits are crushed corn. Requiring only water and maybe a dollop of butter or oil to make, grits were an inexpensive Southern staple during the Great Depression—and are popular to this day.

Simple, inexpensive and essential, grits evolved from a survival food to a comfort food—often embellished with cheese, vegetables or meat—but never falling far from their original flavor.

Similar to slow- cooked, stone-ground grits, ethical individuals become more “seasoned” in the heat of the moment, under pressure. Owners, developers and investors look for these individuals—whose ethics haven’t been boiled away by the recession or other difficult factors—who demonstrate true grit.

This issue of JPM® focuses on the importance of forming and sustaining relationships. For almost eighty years, IREM hasn’t wavered from its original purpose of building a community of real estate management professionals who are dedicated to ethical business practices; in fact, IREM added another global partner in May. I was able to travel to Shanghai to participate in the inauguration of IREM Shanghai Chapter No. 118. “Transformation Nation”

(p. 48) commemorates this experience and offers a unique perspective on real estate management in this redeveloping nation.

Building relationships with experienced brokers and lenders in order to maximize loan terms and amounts is the focus in “Getting the Best Loan”

(p. 28). Ever witnessed an ethically compromised situation or decision? As an IREM Member, it’s your “Duty to Report” (p. 10) these behaviors by filing an IREM ethics complaint. Find out how.

As a real estate manager, part of what separates the wheat from the chaff—or the husk from the corn cob—is the ability to embody the strength, fortitude and endurance of ethical principles in your daily practices. What we offer our tenants, owners and peers, is unparalleled industry know-how with a big ol’ helping of ethics—an essential accompaniment to any sustaining relationship.

RONALD GOSS, CPM (PRESIDENT@ IREM.ORG), IREM

2011 PRESIDENT, IS PRESIDENT OF RPM MANAGEMENT CO., INC., AMO, AND IS A SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, A DIRECTOR AND SECRETARY OF RPM MANAGEMENT’S PARENT COMPANY, RECTOR PHILLIPS MORSE, INC., BOTH LOCATED IN LITTLE ROCK, ARK.