Skip to main content

What a pisser!

by the author of At Least Some PR

What if you hear something or someone described as a real pisser?  

In dictionaries, pisser has two totally contradictory meanings. Pisser can describe something that's very unpleasant or something extraordinary.

So if you happen to use pisser to describe something extraordinary, in all likelihood someone will have the word's other meaning in mind.

Communication is complex. It's not an exact science. Sometimes it's precise. Sometimes it's clumsy.

Now think about everyone communicating HOA information. Volunteers on HOA boards. Property managers. Sometimes vendors doing HOA work. Hopefully what they're communicating is precise. But what if it's clumsy?

Organizations like HOAs are vulnerable to problems caused by communication. Problems are costly. They soak up time. A real pisser of a problem, requiring hours of your property manager's time and maybe legal counsel can be real costly.

Maybe communication isn't an exact science. But it can be carefully conceived.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Houston!! We have an issue!

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.

What Homeowner Associations Can Teach Governments About Spending

by Harvey Radin People in government should take field trips to well-run homeowner associations. To experience fiscal responsibility first hand. To see how elected leaders in some homeowner associations -- HOAs -- are actually spending public money prudently and efficiently. Like governments, homeowner associations collect money to fund a host of community needs. Homeowners residing in HOAs pay dues to their association. This is similar in a way to government taxation. So, if there are roads in an HOA property that are not city-maintained streets, a portion of the money homeowners pay in dues may be set aside for the upkeep of these roads. Governments use tax dollars for public parks maintenance. Homeowner associations have what's known as common areas, landscaped parcels of HOA property that are often maintained by the homeowner association. Some HOAs assume responsibility for roof maintenance on homes, and painting maintenance. Some have recreational facilities that are mai

Heaven or Hell?

( Editor's note: There's an article in a North Carolina newspaper, "My descent into HOA hell in North Carolina." And there's this article with a distinctly different message about HOAs.) Here's Why HOAs Are a Big Deal by Harvey Radin Would you believe that homeowner associations outnumber U.S. cities by a huge margin? There are more than 300,000 homeowner associations and only 35,000 U.S. cities and towns. HOAs also outnumber the giant retail store locations, fast food restaurants, megabank branches and coffee chain locations. The biggest fast food chains have 7,000-14,000 restaurant locations. Megabanks have 4,000-6,000 branches. The biggest coffee chains have up to 24,000 locations in the U.S. and other countries. Homeowner associations are a big deal. Not only because of the surprisingly large number of them, but also because many of them are multimillion-dollar properties. And many are managed and governed by volunteers, by homeowners who are e