HOA Strategic

"For years, Chris Lehane has known how to wage political war inside the Beltway," according to the New York Times. And now, Airbnb "has appointed Mr. Lehane as head of global policy and public affairs, a role in which the online room-rental company said he is expected to make Airbnb's voice 'heard loud and clear by policymakers,'" according to the Times article. The article describes Lehane's "long political career, including more than six years in former President Bill Clinton's White House grappling with the many scandals the administration confronted." In a 2014 New York Times profile of Lehane, he is described as "a pugnacious political adversary, known for thoroughly researching his opponents, who advocates going into so-called 'warrior mode' to defend his clients..." In an article late last year about the sharing economy, wired.com described Airbnb as "the poster child of sharing" noting that Airbnb...

Two dinosaur sculptures in the front yard of a home located in an HOA in the Houston area just made ABC 13 Eyewitness News. The homeowner said "she's been contacted (by the HOA) and asked what her plans were" for the dinosaurs, a T-Rex and a Velociraptor. The homeowner's "plans are directly tied to their plans," according to the TV-news story. "She says she is prepared to contest any request that they be removed. It's about creativity, not conformity." Here's the thing about media coverage of just about anything...of organizations like HOAs, business firms and all the rest. It's the question of whether or not -- to what extent -- media coverage might influence situations and outcomes. When organizations -- and their policies -- are in the news, will media coverage influence policy decisions? Keeping in mind, of course, the key role of governing documents in policies and procedures.

"I did not expect to have to deal with a rooster," said the president of a Florida HOA in an Observer Media Group story. Affectionately known as Randy the Rooster, "right now...the rooster's gotten the better of us," said Daniel Knauf, president of the Park Trace Estates Homeowners Association. Randy has been digging up landscaping and showering much mulch on the street, according to the story. And roosters are known for crowing loudly, often much too early in the morning. "Although Randy has a reputation as a troublemaker, he's also got his share of supporters in the neighborhood." A story like this could have been bad news -- negative publicity -- for a homeowners association. But this news was A-okay, because the HOA president's observations established a positive tone. "I don't want to go after the rooster, because he's cute, and people like him," said Knauf. According to the story, "Knauf is searching for a sol...

There's a real art to answering questions. Whether you're on an HOA board or you're a property manager or HOA attorney, responding to questions has its moments. Because questions come at you from all directions, some even from out of left field. So how do people who frequently have to tackle questions go about answering the really tough ones? Here's one example. Former White House press secretary Jay Carney, who's now an Amazon executive, had to deal with tough questions about a New York Times story that was critical of Amazon's workplace environment. Carney was interviewed on CBS This Morning . The story described a number of alleged workplace issues like this, for example: An "internal phone directory instructs colleagues on how to send secret feedback to one another's bosses. Employees say it's frequently used to sabotage others," according to the article. Also in the story, a former worker said: "Nearly every person I worked wit...

How serious is this on CBS-TV in Sacramento? When you tune in to find out that "Residents in a North Highlands neighborhood woke up to find locks on their water spigots after their homeowners association turned off some of its water without warning." There's more in the tone-setting beginning of the story . If you go through the whole story on TV or read it online, you eventually find out -- at the end of the story -- that "The HOA says the locked spigots are in the outdoor common areas and that water systems inside the homes are not affected." Maybe if this was higher up in the story and not at the very end, the tone might have been different? Not quite so dramatic, perhaps, but different? Want to know what gives PR professionals serious heartburn? The order in which everything is reported in stories, because this sets tone and influences opinion. But the playing field can be leveled. For more about this, contact hoastrategic@gmail.com .

Someone we know who resides in an HOA shared this way of saying something, with the goal of avoiding hurt feelings and/or angst. As he was heading out for a walk, a group of people seeking to share their religious beliefs were going door-to-door in the neighborhood. A couple of people in the group walked up to our friend, wanting to talk religion. Our friend said: "I have other beliefs that don't focus on religion." The point was made, carefully and gracefully. So often in communication -- particularly HOA communication -- making points carefully and gracefully is important in avoiding hurt feelings, angst and -- equally important -- confusion. (Do you have questions about HOA communication? Contact us at hoastrategic@gmail.com )

What a political analyst said about presidential candidate Donald Trump just goes to show that running the country is a lot like running a homeowners association. "As egomaniacal as some pols can be, they are by the nature of their jobs forced to acknowledge their boundaries," said political analyst Jon  Keller in a WBZ-TV (CBS Boston) story about the first GOP presidential debate. Keller went on to say: "Even the president of the United States can't always do what he wants, or, as Trump would put it, 'get things done.' He or she must deal with the co-equal branches of government, with an often-contentious media, and ultimately, with the will of the people themselves. This is a humbling experience that forces even the non-humble pol to do their homework and be ready to explain themselves." Isn't this what elected HOA leaders have to deal with on a regular basis? Board members have boundaries. They have to sort things out with everyone residing in...

It's challenging, getting the media to run good news about an HOA, but it can be done...carefully. You need to identify something good going on -- something newsworthy -- because capturing the imagination of editors and reporters can be extremely challenging. There's a lot of news and publicity competing for coverage. Recently, we've seen some examples of positive news where HOAs honored emergency responders and other public service workers for addressing community needs. Sending a press release to your local newspaper or other media may get attention, or there may be an opportunity to contact a reporter by phone or email -- maybe someone you already know -- to discuss what's happening at your HOA. But before you make contact, you need to think through a number of things: Just about any time you're in touch with a reporter, generally everything's on the record. What you say or write can be used in a story. Even something mentioned casually, off-the-cuff....

"Your rifle's for fighting, guns are for fun ."

A Houston HOA is blamed for disappearing ducks in a TV news story . Children love them, they throw some bread to the ducks, says a local resident. The HOA Board says ducks were lawfully and humanely removed "because of overpopulation" and "cited health concerns." Duck and goose droppings have been linked to E. coli and Salmonella infections in humans. According to the TV story, a resident started a petition to stop the removal of ducks. Experts with Fish and Game departments and other wildlife organizations support what the HOA Board said in the story about health issues associated with duck and goose droppings and other problems resulting from feeding wildlife. "The notion that waterfowl cannot survive without human intervention is false," according to the Audubon Society of Portland. "Feeding waterfowl can quickly lead to overpopulation problems..."and dietary and nutritional problems for the birds."

You'll know if you've experienced pharmaceutical advertising. There's the voice-over at the end of ads, at warp speed, spewing out warnings -- disclaimers -- about products. Pharmaceutical companies obviously are exercising an abundance of caution. How far would HOAs have to go to exercise an abundance of caution, like pharma firms? Will associations someday need disclaimers like these about hypothetical tripping hazards and foliage crises? In our HOA, there may be, on occasion, ever-so-slightly uneven pavement on sidewalks in common areas as a result of an unanticipated circumstance. While every attempt is made to keep sidewalk surfaces as level as possible, sometimes as a result of a slight, unpredictable, possibly overnight shift somewhere -- maybe in the earth beneath sidewalks perhaps brought on by an earthquake or similar occurrence -- a slight change in sidewalk pavement could occur. Doing what civilizations have done for generations to avoid tripping may be hel...