It’s What’s Inside That Counts

August is sort of a bittersweet month for me. It’s the time two of my kids are getting ready to head to college and my youngest is deciding whose bedroom he is going to try and steal while they are gone. We are trying to cram in every bit of family time together, competing with summer jobs, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. Life used to be much simpler. But amongst the chaos, an August tradition for us continues to be watching the Little League World Series together.

I coached little league for over a decade; now that my kids are older, I miss it … a lot. Hours and hours of fielding drills and batting practice, teaching skills, instilling confidence, and showing young people how to be good teammates and treat umpires with respect.

Everyone wanted the latest and greatest technology—the newest bats and training gizmos as well as apps to keep score and track everything like we were Billy Beane in “Moneyball”. But success on the field almost always came down to one thing: The players on the field play the game, and the team with the most talent wins.

I think it’s the same in business, especially self-storage. The common denominator is the same; the team with the most talent wins.

We’ve all seen the self-storage industry evolve over the last decade. Over that time, there’s been a keen focus on technological advancements such as developing sophisticated revenue management systems and state-of-the-art digital marketing platforms. As we look to the future, the search for innovation continues. Given this rapidly changing landscape, who wins?

With all the change we’ve experienced, one thing never changes: the need for good people. This is a people-centric business where we deal with not just our customers’ belongings but their emotions. Successful operators have skilled store teammates who find solutions for their customers’ needs by providing professional service. Their efforts are enhanced by talented teams behind the scenes who design and perfect processes to create a smooth and seamless customer experience. And so, despite recent innovations, our people remain the most critical key to our success.

While we actively invest time and money on cutting-edge ideas and technologies, we can’t forget that it’s the people who make the difference. It’s as important–if not more so–to actively work on hiring, developing, recognizing, and incentivizing the team that makes you win. Your team is out there every day interacting with your customers and working to drive your business forward, so investing in the right people can pay-off exponentially.

At CubeSmart, our brand tagline is: It’s what’s inside that counts. To us, this speaks to our customers about the experience and service we provide to them. An experience that focuses on the details—cleanliness, security, and personal care. Internally, it speaks to our belief that, just like on the baseball field, what really counts is our people.