“Organizations tend to “do what they have done” until someone asks why. Don’t let drift dominate over a planned way forward,” wrote the retired state association executive of the Wisconsin Housing Alliance (WHA), Ross Kinzler. He also asked via LinkedIn that “Has Your Organization Lost It’s Way?” The typo aside (we get typos too), it’s an apt if tough question for numbers of manufactured housing businesses, locations, and organizations.
At various times in Kinzler’s tenure at the WHA, he vacillated on his public/private thinking about the national association that has drawn pushback from a variety of people inside and outside of that body; but that’s not the point of this article.
Rather, the focus in this column is question of organizational drift as it relates not only to associations, but to companies and/or individual locations. In almost any case, there is the possibility of doing more good, honest business.
“If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you will keep getting what you’ve always gotten,” said motivational guru Tony Robbins. The Quote Investigator says that has at times been credited to the innovator and American success story, Henry Ford. But a known version in print of that quotable quote is attributed to an esteemed counselor who spoke at a woman’s conference, as shown below.
What the Zillow Group Report MH Data Tells Manufactured Housing Pros
Only dispassionate, science-like objectivity will turn possible obstacles into opportunities. The Zillow report informs manufactured home professionals that a small fraction of housing shoppers seriously consider a manufactured home. That percentage has shrunk in the past two years. The finger pointing is linked below, along with the hard data and analysis. But for those who see the glass as half-full instead of half-empty, there is plenty of room for growth. That’s the good news.
The challenge is to bring to the table a new approach that allows manufactured home professionals to connect to those opportunities that clearly exist.
Publisher and consultant L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach held a panel discussion at an industry event that included Barry Noffsinger, an industry finance manager who gave a talk on fishing in the right pond. That gets to part of the solution. Noffsinger made an argument that went something like this. When you target the conventional housing shopper, you get a more credit qualified buyer.
That’s common sense, isn’t it? So, why is so little of it occurring in MHVille?
Depending on the research source and data-set that is pondered, somewhere between 7 to 8 million plus housing units are needed in the U.S. Manufactured housing can fill the bill. With a proper understanding of the enhanced preemption provision of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act (MHIA), and a willingness to go beyond the conventional methods used by many industry firms, the opportunity for retailers, communities, and developers to expand is surprisingly healthy.
For those keen on doing more, there is no need to recreate the wheel that has already been built and successfully field tested, learn more at this link here.
Another report later today will underscore more third-party data that point toward significant industry opportunities. Check back for that installment of today’s reports. To avoid organizational drift, to get a different result, one must start by opening the mind to different ways of attracting more customers who are well qualified. That’s a common-sense way to do more good business. Stay tuned to the next edition of manufactured home “Industry News, Tips, and Views Pros Can Use,” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (News, analysis, and commentary.)
Soheyla is a managing member of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. Connect with us on LinkedIn here and here.
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