 Hi, I'm Rusty Komorian. This is Beyond the Lines. I am very grateful that I am able to feature such a wide spectrum of amazing guests on my show who inspire all of us to strive in reaching a higher standard for ourselves. And I want to thank you for tuning in today. We are broadcasting live from the beautiful Think Tech Hawaii TV studio in the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu. This show is based on my book, also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence and finding greatness. Today's special guest is the general manager of the very prestigious Hokuwa Kondo, and he was honored in 2015 as the top Kondo general manager in the world. He is Dwayne Komine, and today we are going beyond Kondo's. Dwayne, how's everything? Good. Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me for number 47. Congratulations. You know, yeah, you're my 47th guest. This is my 47th episode. Now, Dwayne, I know you for many years, but I want you to tell me about your youth. My youth, I grew up in Hawaii, Kai. I went to Cocoa Head Elementary. Then I went to New Valley, and then I went to Kaiser High School. And from there, I did no college, and then I started my career. But did you play any sports or do any other activities? Yes, I did. I played sports. I was short-lived, but I did play sports. And of course, I am what I do today. Yeah, and Dwayne, your family, I know your family, and your wife, Leona, and your three daughters, can you tell me about them? Yeah, I have three daughters. I have my wife, Leona, Simone, Asia, and Jeanne, and I have three granddaughters, one in the oven. I've got six girls in the house. And what did Leona win some years ago? Ewan, Mrs. Hawaii USA. No, excuse me, Miss Hawaii. Yeah. And does that make you Mr. Hawaii? Somewhat. I don't turn around when people call me that. Dwayne, I want to ask you this because I have no idea. What was your first job that you ever had that you got paid money for? Interesting. I was a newspaper boy. I had approximately more than 300, 400 papers to deliver in a day. And I realized delivering 400 papers in a day, three hours a day, was not cutting it for me. So I decided to hire friends that were close acquaintances and I would pay them. I mean, not that much, but I'd buy them a plate lunch at lunchtime, so they didn't have to eat cafeteria food. So we were able to deliver that many papers. And of course, that led me to winning the Newspaper Board of the Year Award, which... Wow. That's a follow suit, you know. I had no idea. So you had a business going on back then? Yes. Wow. Amazing. Also, Dwayne, I want to ask you this too. I know that you're a passion. You have a passion of playing drums. When did you start playing drums first? Well, that's interesting. When I first started playing drums was, of course, I started playing on the table in my classroom, I think it was the fourth grade. You had the wooden tables and you'd do this and eventually the teacher would just yell and say, knock it off. So I elevated to pots and pans that my mom saw at home. And of course, I used the wooden sticks and I broke those wooden sticks, of course, needed to say they weren't very happy, but I started at a young age. Yeah. Why do you like playing drums so much? And then which performers have you performed with? I like playing drums mainly because my father wanted me to play the violin. I don't see the crossover there. So I performed with... More recently it was with Roland Casamaro. Over 25 years I performed with Frank DeLiemont, I performed with Danny Couch, Rick Wood, many others. Wow, that's legendary. So over 30 years. Yes. Wow. Dwayne, and then you started getting into working at condos. Is it true that you were a janitor? Yes. I was a janitor at a building at Crystal Park where the old stadium was. I came into that position because my brother had offered me, because he was in property management. So I was actually... I wasn't doing anything in the daytime because I played music at night. So I had no problems working in the daytime as a janitor. And of course my funny friends would pass by every morning and throw things in the yard and then make sure that I would sweep it up, you know? And now you're the legendary general manager of the Hukua condo and we just showed some pictures about the footprint that the Hukua building is currently at and then how beautiful that building is. But after you were a janitor, was it true that friends would make trouble with you? They continued to come by and throw rubbish at their food, their lunch bags. And they'd always laugh as they drove away. Of course, I wasn't too happy about that. That's so mean. I remember them today. So after that first job working at that condo, where did you go after that? Well, I kind of like the business so I applied. My brother got me to apply at the Ikuai Tower. From there I worked on a hands-on resident manager, meaning that I worked in the yard. I worked with the employees. And from that point, I really liked what I was doing and playing music. I decided to enhance my education so from that point I went to Royal Capital Plaza, which was the first condominium in the Kakako district and under the AIDS CDA ruling. So from Royal Capital Plaza I was asked to go to Nauru Tower, which was run by Nauru Phosphates Ruralities Development. And from that point I was recruited by Kobayashi McNutton Group to open up Okua. Wow. You've really went through a lot of places. And it's so amazing how you started as a janitor being, and now you're the general manager of one of the most prestigious buildings in Hawaii. And you're part of the Institute of Real Estate Management. And that's a great organization. I remember a few months ago I was a guest speaker for them. Tell me about that organization. It's a well-organized organization where education and just getting facts and learning about your career. I started about 30 years ago and the class or the organization had about 15 students. And I became the president. And when I left a couple years later, I left with about 300 memberships. Wow. It increased for the certification that's known nationally. And what is ARM, A-R-M? Accredited Residential Manager. Again, it's nationally recognized. And most people in the industry prefer an ARM that they would like to hire or interview. Yeah. And Dwayne, let's talk about Okua again now. When you became general manager, I mean obviously they had McNutton and Kobayashi. They wanted that vision of being the top of the highest standard of luxury living. Tell me about that situation in the beginning. Well, when I got hired by the Kobayashi McNutton team, it was very trying. I had to put condo living and resort style living together. And I knew a lot about condominiums, but not so much in the resort style living. Anyway, I went to many resorts to bring back home. And mind you now, I had a little book and a little phone. For myself, there was nothing, and I went searching. And I found a perfect partner, which he had represented the hotel side, been in the business for a long time as well. And we merged together, and I was able to bring the condo and the resort. And we brought it together almost by accident, and we created that lifestyle. And because you guys, I mean, they might have had the vision, but you're the one that has to execute it. Now, at that time, that was the highest standard of condo resort living. And right now, some of these newer condos are really emulating what you have done at Hokuwa. How does that make you feel? That's great, but we'll always be remembered as the benchmark of Kakaako. The Kobayashi-Magnatin group has changed the face of Kakaako. We have brought the bar, the bench, high. Other expectations. Of course, it's challenging for us because we continue to strive to be number one, and so far our property values reflect that. Yeah, and I know that you love your team, you know, that you have, and you have great empathy for them. But I want to know, Dwayne, what is your team culture like? Well, my team culture, first of all, I have a retention of almost 95% from nearly 13 years, original employees, and they continue to work at Hokuwa. I create an environment where I'm not the boss, you know, I'm just their friend. And normally, when I discipline, or they have to be disciplined, they're more bad about what they did than I do, and it moves on. So in other words, it's a more of a, they're not scared. I want to keep an open door policy so that they can talk and share what their problems are and so forth. So for the most part, they're very trustworthy, their integrity is amazing. I will put my job at first in front of my own employees. Well, that's why you're a great leader, Dwayne, and you have so much success because you do those things, and you have that empathy for them, and they know that. Now, in 2015, you got honored in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the Real Estate Management Excellence Association, right? Yes. Tell me what happened there. Well, that was very surprising to me. This is the inaugural, for this particular award, and I was nominated out of three other candidates. And frankly, those were heavy hitters. And it's international. Yes. So we had Canada, we had Japan, we also had New York, and myself. So we went to this convention where it was like the Grammy Awards. So you sat on this amazing thousand people inside there, or more, and per table, and so forth. And then, you know, the time for the award to be given out, and I remember this very... I remember it like it happened yesterday. You'll announce through your picture, and announce, we are on the telecom tower, and this is... And the winner is, and it came dead, silence, dead, silence. And I was... I had my eyes closed. I got to bring this home. I got to bring this home, please, you know. And I heard a little chuckle, you know. And the announcer, she said, she had a little chuckle, and then she said, hello. And I still didn't realize that I won, because I'm trying to figure out, that's not my name, you know. So anyway, we brought it home, and brought it to the industry. And, you know, of course, we made a bigger impact for our industry and culture that we do here in the state of Hawaii. We're very proud of that. It's not my award, it's the industry's award. Wow, that's amazing, Dwayne. And then you got honored by the city council for that. And how did you feel getting honored with them? For me, I didn't feel... It was for me. I felt it was for the community and the industry. But I didn't mind taking pictures and bringing the trophy home, you know. But, yeah, it wasn't about me. Yeah, no, totally. And that's, again, you're very selfless. I mean, that's a sign of a great leader because you want to give the credit to everybody. I mean, you're only as good as your team, right? Yes. Yeah, and Dwayne, and what I find fascinating is your brother, Ron, he's also a general manager. Yes. Tell me about that. Well, my brother, Ron, we do have different ideas. And my brother thinks he's gotten me the job at Okua for an hour or so, or in the industry. Yes, he did. But I always remind him, he got me the key to the door. I had to open the door. He doesn't believe that. He's probably watching this and saying, that's not true, you know. So I thank you, Ron, wherever you are. You gave me that lucky key. Thank you. And he's a general manager of 1350 Alamoano, which is an amazing condo as well. Yeah, he's a great manager as well. And a perfect fit for that building. They like him there. He's won numerous awards and involved in the organization too. And Dwayne, you know, out of everything that you do, I don't know how you do it all, but you were the president of the board of directors for many years for the Miss Hawaii USA pageant. Tell me about that. That was very interesting. At first I was offered the position, and I didn't want to take it because I didn't want the D word, you know, the drama, you know. But having three daughters, I understood the challenges women go through and having a female dog as well. Grandma used to live with us. All female dominated. And I thought the fishes I used to have were female stews. I don't know. So, you know, I took an active stance with that and I left just recently through the health reasons. And I think my four years did an impact for the women in the state of Hawaii. Yeah, Dwayne, it's amazing. I mean, I'm having fun talking with you today, but we're going to take a quick break. And then when we come back, we're going to continue going beyond condos. You're watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest, Dwayne Comine. We'll be back in a quick minute. Aloha, I'm Wendy Lo and I'm coming to you every other Tuesday at 2 o'clock live from Think Tech Hawaii. And on our show, we talk about taking your health back. And what does that mean? It means mind, body and soul. Anything you can do that makes your body healthier and happier is what we're going to be talking about. Whether it's spiritual health, mental health, fascia health, beautiful smile health, whatever it means, let's take healthy back. Aloha. Aloha, this is Winston Welch. I am your host of Out and About where every other week, Mondays at 3, we explore a variety of topics in our city, state, nation and world and events, organizations, the people that fuel them. It's a really interesting show. We welcome you to tune in and we welcome your suggestions for shows. You got a lot of them out there and we have an awesome studio here where we can get your ideas out as well. So I look forward to you tuning in every other week where we've got some great guests and great topics. You're going to learn a lot. You're going to come away inspired like I do. So I'll see you every other week here at 3 o'clock on Monday afternoon. Aloha. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My special guest today is the general manager of the very prestigious Hokua Kondo and he was honored in 2015 as the top Kondo general manager in the world. He is Dwayne Komine and today we are going Beyond Kondos. Dwayne, I know you read my book and you like a bunch of stuff that's in there. What do you like about it so far? Well, honestly, Bessie, I read the book a couple times and I shared with you earlier that when I was in the hospital, I read a lot and it brought to my mind a certain subject which is the four Ps and I really understood it as almost the way I read my building and I really appreciate what you wrote about that and how that those four Ps makes a difference surrounding yourself with the industry, the people, the people that you work with. It's an amazing piece that you wrote. The book is awesome. Oh, thank you. You give me a ticklish feeling inside. I know you like that. No, but you know when I look at you and I see you at work with your team, it's all about standards, a standard of excellence. It's all about details. You're all about that, right, Dwayne? Yes, sir. I'm about details. Details is very important. The small details, the service culture, I mean, in Allah, meaning no mistake, we kind of run our operation that way like a football team. When it drops the ball, we lose the ball. You can do 99 things right and you do one wrong thing. Everyone's only going to remember that one wrong thing. Absolutely. You can never do that one wrong thing. Sometimes they get complaints from people. It's a resonance for some people. They come home in that two-minute engagement in the lobby and their comment is, hey, I've never seen anybody over here or I've never seen people doing whatever they're not supposed to be, but you judge your whole entire day on that two minutes. Two minutes in judgment. I can tell you all what we did the last past 12 hours. But it's a good thing. It's a learning experience, too. What I like too is you train your team to expect the unexpected. And you guys deal with emergencies, I mean, lawlessly. I don't remember the count, but yes, you're correct. I believe there's about two or three people that we've saved their lives. One had a heart attack on the driveway on the street, hit another car, he was out. We brought him back to life just enough time for the ambulance to come. And he came back. He came back to see us as well. And he had tattooed on his arm our logo. Remembering that this is the team. And just recently, my wife had bumped into another fellow person that we saved. His brother said, my wife wanted to thank me for allowing his brother to live. So they go to extensive training in classes and so forth. We won many top-class awards. And in my book, Dwayne, I talk about the principle of welcoming adversity, looking forward to challenges. What's been your greatest adversity that you faced in your life? It's a really good question. Adversity, you know, think about it, you know, adversity. And then when you think about it, the way I think about it now, my adversity was overcoming the information that I received or finding out that my wife had cancer, which frankly floored me. I didn't know how to react. I was lost. I was seeking help. I didn't know anything about cancer. But she was so resilient. I mean, she was strong as could be. I wish I was a little bit more stronger for her, but I was pretty much taken back and I needed help to run the ship because I couldn't think because your loved one is, you know, has cancer. What do you do? You know, what's the next step and how do you do about this? So big support from the team, big support from the developers, as well as the ownership, family and friends. I was with you during that time period. I remember that. I mean, we both cried together and it's so great now that Leona made a full recovery. Yeah, she did. I remember when I was speaking with you, I remember, I didn't have to say anything. I just started and you really felt. Oh, yeah. It was a feeling. Some months ago, Dwayne, I mean, adversity at that same level, if not more, with your experience for yourself. Yeah, so we were given obstacles throughout life and you know, of course, on November 19 last year, I will never forget that date. It was hospitalized. I was found unconscious in my apartment and if I wasn't nobody following me, I probably would never probably have woken up by my employees and some close friends of mine, you know, they immediately took me to the hospital not knowing what had happened to me. My wife in the mainland so frankly, there was nobody there, you know, so I learned a lot about being alone and not knowing what to do and you know, it's one of those tiny things in life that what do you do? Yeah. But I learned what I had to do. I had liver complications liver complications, meaning that I had cirrhosis where liver is damaged by alcohol. I didn't realize that I was a functioning alcoholic. I looked in the mirror one day and I realized I was a functioning alcoholic and I take full responsibility for that. I take full responsibility. I look forward. I don't look backwards. I just wanted to make a change in my life since then in about three months I changed my life drastically and the way I think the way I operate my offices, the way I operate my leadership with the team and the community has changed my outlook and I have nothing but respect for my doctors that had a hard time diagnosing me. How long were you in the hospital for? I was in the hospital for nearly three weeks. I stayed at the clinical hospital. I stayed at three different wings. They transferred me to three different sides. I promised myself I would never, ever go back there again. The things that I went to, I came out on November 19. I have not had any urges to drink or have any alcohol or any sort. It's been 141 days. I've been sober and I feel great. That's so admirable. I'm so proud of you. Thank you. I feel great. The bad thing is I get up really early in the morning and I start work. The clarity is there and the employees were very concerned too. One of my employees they knew what I was doing. I didn't realize I was doing this, but he took me to the side. He said we knew you drank a lot and he said that we were going to talk to you. They said if you're not going to do it for yourself and you do it for us, the employees and I looked at them and I looked at him and I said wow I didn't realize it expanded beyond family but it went beyond my employees as well as their family as well as the community and so many other people that know the story and what I went through it's a wake up call for many of them. Because you affected so many people that you weren't really aware about how you affected them. And frankly it's a disease that you even know you have or you don't and you can make a choice. I made a choice. I made a really a choice like I said I would never ever go back and to this day I kept my word. Like I said the only thing I like now is I like popsicles. Who doesn't like popsicles? I never had popsicles too and I like chocolates. I just recently was introduced to C's candy. They've been around for a long time. I never knew that. I go to C's candy and they have these big samples and I feel bad because it's so big. It's such a small piece. You're appreciating the simpler things in life. I see that and I see the details now. I see a lot of details and my wife sees it as well. My voice has changed and my attitude has changed and you being in my life and talking with you you were one of my first guests I had that allowed into my house because I was so used to having many people around me all the time. You saw me when I went to that function I was there 10 minutes and I was gone and I went home because I didn't want to be in that environment and most people don't come back but you called and so you called and came over and I did the whole story and you got a better idea. Wow. It's impactful and your story is going to inspire so many people to think about their situation and maybe a similar situation that they could really relate with to you. Before we wrap up I want to ask you one more thing. What's an important lesson you've learned in your life so far? Important lesson that's a good question I guess my lesson would probably be I want to be better than I am but you know it's how to get to that level where I pretty much won a lot of awards I know I did there's actually a ruling that you only can win one every five years they made it for me and I think it's unfair but if you're good you should be able to win every year like restaurants they win every year if you're the best you're the best right but I got a ruling you can't win I hope I'm going in the right direction No that's good and Dwayne it's so great having you not just on the show today but you're in life Dwayne thank you for sharing what you did. Number 47 Number 47 and thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii for more information please visit RustyKamori.com and my book is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all Costco stores in Hawaii I hope that Dwayne and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha