Interview with the President
Recent posts have offered an up-close-and-personal look at our new Accounting Clerk and our Office Manager.
This blog, aptly titled “Interview with the President,” does the same for Chris Crigler, the President of CAP Management.
Chris Crigler founded CAP Management 13 years ago. In the early days, it was a small operation, with just a few HOAs. Now, after years of growth, things are a little different. When asked what his job is like today, Chris said it’s largely making sure that he and his staff are creating raving fans in every department and at every opportunity. He also works to make sure that all departments are communicating with each other, and also with homeowners and Board members, frequently. As for decision making, Chris believes in empowering his staff to make the decisions, given they are congruent with company goals. Because Chris has such a large and capable staff, his job really is more that of a facilitator than actually steering the ship himself – a big relief after working so hard for so many years to get the company to where it is today.
When asked why he got into the field of HOA management, Chris said that it’s because he likes to help people solve problems. Even with a common goal, it is not uncommon for HOA members to find difficulty in arriving at a consensus – especially when the trouble they are facing is significant. Members of HOAs can often use the type of help that his academic and professional backgrounds have prepared him to offer. That’s why he founded CAP Management: to help bring about community togetherness in HOAs, in addition to offering standard management duties. The HOAs he wants to help the most, Chris said, are those that were built in the 1970s and ‘80s and are in need of a refreshment. His goal for these communities is to get them to the point where homeowners feel no need to attend board meetings because everything is perfectly fine. Chris is currently looking for such HOAs to partner with.
Prior to establishing CAP Management, Chris worked as the operations manager for a non-profit in Budapest, Hungary, where he helped other non-profits write business plans (this may be why he has done so well guiding CAP!).
When asked if he is optimistic about the company’s future, he said ‘YES,’ because he has such a great team. Many companies put profits ahead of people and really do not care about the success of individual employees. Chris understands that having happy, empowered, and motivated employees (who he’d rather refer to as ‘stakeholder’) correlates directly to the success of his business. After all, how could his staff create raving fans if they themselves were not fans of the company the same? His long-range goals are to have a cohesive company that can manage HOAs in a consistent and replicable manner, with all of its financials in perfect order, with someone always available to answer the phone (no robots!), and property management software in the digital cloud (take advantage of tech!).
It looks like the company is headed in the right direction thanks to the hard work of its President. Thanks for the interview, Chris!