Peter Drucker, the “father of modern management,” allegedly said “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This means that no matter how brilliant your strategy is on paper, it won’t overcome a workplace where nothing works the way it’s supposed to. Many companies are frustrated with a lack of accountability and urgency. These are important cultural factors, but they’re two of many... read more
Everywhere we go, we meet with landscape leaders who are looking to offer a greater service experience, higher quality work and become a great place to work. But simply talking about launching innovative initiatives isn’t enough. Many contractors who want to grow run into the same problem: silos. Ideas get lost in the execution, exposing thornier problems. To overcome this obstacle,... read more
“The degree of one’s emotions varies inversely with one’s knowledge of the facts,” said British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell when explaining logical analysis. Here’s why he’s right when it comes to managing your business. Every day, landscape owners make difficult decisions with incomplete information. With large contracts at stake, issues of urgency—such as client complaints, employee matters, tight bidding,... read more
I often see a disconnect between the corporate values posted on a company’s wall and the way these ideals are executed in real time. Doing the right thing, delivering high quality work, providing excellent customer service, being a great place to work—these are empty promises if your employees don’t walk the talk. The way employees approach their responsibilities—their sense of... read more
Lost customers are always customers, whether they continue doing business with you or not. Most of the time, we forge ahead when we lose a client. We focus on generating new business, ways to keep existing business and simply moving on from the accounts we lose. But ignoring lost business leaves money on the table. Develop a plan to get them... read more
You’ve probably heard the quote, often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt: “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Empathy improves relationships. The ability to detect what others feel and experience has many upsides. “Learn to crawl behind the eyes of the customer” is a commandment I’ve used for many years when discussing how to serve... read more
