Sticking Together Often, when new leadership takes over, there is a transition period where mistrust and cynicism lead to executive personnel resigning. But when Bill Donges, the COO of the Lane Co., joined the firm, the employees didn’t have the same fears or worries. The reason was simple: Donges made sure that there was open communication and that any major changes in the company would have full support from the board and executive level personnel.
In fact, Donges created an executive team, bringing all the leaders of the companies subsidiaries – Lane Management Corp., Lane Investment and Development Corp., Lane Realty Construction Corp., Lane Asset Management Corp., Condo Lane, and Lane Affordable Housing Corp. – together.
“Now, the executive team meets and focuses on how we can eliminate costs and improve our efficiencies across all the companies,” says Donges. “The thing that I point out is it really comes down to each of the key managers of the company being leaders and embracing the new vision, and they have.”
In addition, the inclusive atmosphere and the team approach has “clearly defined everyone’s role and is allowing each associate to expand and grow to their fullest potential – a very satisfying endeavor,” says Marc Pollack, president of Lane Investment and Development.
Questions That Get Answers Asking questions and challenging the way employees do things is something that Bill Donges, COO of the Lane Co., does well. “He brings a fresh perspective, and he’s open to new ideas and embraces change,” says Chris Lee, president of CEL & Associates, a multifamily consultant firm. “The fact that he comes from other industries helps the company to look at things in a new way. He asks ‘why?’ He doesn’t accept status quo.”
“I think one of my big strengths is that I ask really dumb questions,” explains Donges. Because he is new to the industry, he can ask questions like, “Why do we do it that way?” and “How come we’ve been doing it for so long?” Donges admits, “It’s hard to fool people. I’ve been through it too many times. When I ask a question and I don’t get an answer that sounds logical, I’ll just keep asking until I finally get to the root of the issue.”
While the managers’ first impression of Donges and his ideas were less then welcoming, they realized that the challenge has only made the company better. “He is no-nonsense and to the point,” says Loretta Easton, senior vice president of development at Lane Investment and Development Corp. “It’s great that he seeks other’s opinions. I respect the fact that he puts himself right in the middle of this business on a daily basis, so he can truly understand how it works rather than just watching it from above.”
For example, when Donges joined the company, he kept asking about safety standards. “Where I come from [chemical and manufacturing businesses] safety is measured in charts on walls in every building,” says Donges. “It’s important that everyone goes home every day with their fingers and toes, but safety also is a huge cost issue.” So, the Lane Co. has set a goal to lead the industry in safety, and will be measuring and charting safety standards.
But safety isn’t the only part of the business that will be getting measured. “We set up key performance indicators that are reflective of how we are handling our clients,” says Donges. “‘How quickly are we returning phone calls? How many bad bills do we have?’ – simple measurements in each department that actually reflect the way we respond to clients. And we are starting to see the change in mind from people focusing on more internal issues to more issues that are important to the client. We’ve just started, but it’s pretty exciting to see the change in thinking, and it’s how we are going to become best in class.”