Perhaps the single biggest predictor for the success of an organization is the skill level of the management team. In general, more highly skilled and successful managers earn more than those with weaker or more limited skills. The more highly skilled also create more value for their shareholders. In quantifying that, it's important to distinguish between salary and total compensation, which includes all benefits. When I last managed a large business more than a decade ago, a general rule of thumb for budgeting was that benefits were an additional 40-50% of salary.
But the most critical part of the analysis, by far, is quantifying the value created by management. When Tom Judson was hired, Bella Vista was in an alarming decline. Facilities were closed and/or deteriorating. Customer service was lackluster. Amenities were outdated and in poor repair. There was little interest in constructing new homes here, or in buying and remodeling existing ones.
To turn this around required a highly skilled and disciplined management team. Additional skills were required to rebuild, remodel, rejuvenate and re-open amenities. The Country Club, Lakepoint, Branchwood, Scotsdale and other clubhouses, playgrounds and facilities are now transformed. Customer service is first-rate in the appearance and dress of employees, and in the skills with which they serve us. The beauty and enjoyment of our amenities, the overall image of Bella Vista, housing starts, and our property values, have all increased.
Our highly skilled management team has cost us marginally more than less capable managers might have cost. They have also dramatically increased value to us as property owner shareholders. To reverse this now would likely lead to a destruction in value for us that would far outweigh the meager savings we might realize on the salary line of a $20 million annual operating budget. Similarly, $11 a month in assessment fees is very small in comparison with the associated effect on property values.
The beauty, value and quality we enjoy for the cost in Bella Vista is unmatched. Let's keep the great momentum we have created. Let's continue to increase the value we all enjoy here and never again allow it to deteriorate to the detriment of all of us.
Ron Stratton
Bella Vista
Editorial on 10/16/2019