Landscape Management, January 2019

Grow with Grunder Attack 2019 head on A t the start of every new year I like to take some time to reflect on the best insights I gleaned from industry colleagues over the past 12 months Heres the hard won wisdom Ill be focusing on most intently in 2019 I have never seen young people so interested in company culture This intel came from Phil Allen Ph D a professor of landscape management at Brigham Young University I asked him what it takes to recruit and retain talented students like his to work at landscaping companies like mine They want to work at organizations that feel like family are fun and provide a clear path for growth Allen says Companies that dont know their visions and missions from top to bottom are going to have difficulty attracting skilled graduates he cautioned Do you know your vision Can you articulate and repeat it in a single sentence Growth brings prosperity but the demands it brings to manage and deliver are very real All the ambitious owners I know are eager to grow their companies But as Mike Rorie who grew GroundMasters into BY MARTY GRUNDER The author is president and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Co and The Grow Group based in Dayton Ohio Reach him at marty@ growgroupinc com PHOTO ISTOCK COM OLIVIER LE MOAL If you find yourself constantly frustrated with your team take a good long look at the workplace youve created the largest provider of commercial landscape services in the Ohio Valley before selling it to Brickman more than a decade ago stressed You have to grow smartly If you dont have the people the management and the systems in place to take on more work you wont succeed Worse yet youll do real damage to your reputation and erode the accomplishments you fought so hard to realize Opportunity is the greatest motivator Bob Grover president of Pacific Landscape Management PLM told us this when we toured his facility in August as part of our annual National Association of Landscape Professionals Field Trip PLM has accomplished extraordinary growth while staying true to its values How By continuing to put its people and their aspirations first by investing in ongoing training and education providing opportunities for advancement and setting up a scholarship fund for its team members children If you find yourself constantly frustrated with your team take a good long look at the workplace youve created In Grovers experience as in mine when you take a genuine interest in your team they will take a genuine interest in delivering for you The economy is going to change have a plan and be prepared Frank Mariani is CEO of one of the largest privately held LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET JANUARY 2019 64 landscaping companies in the country When Mariani speaks I listen And what he has been reminding me during the prosperity of 2018 is that the economy will inevitably change Smart companies have a plan in place for good times and bad Sit your leadership team down this month and start talking through what youll do when the economy shifts It may not be fun but it is necessary if you want to survive and thrive Its all about the people I recently asked Michael Hupf CEO of Lifescape Colorado what he thought was the most important factor in running a successful landscaping company Hupf grew up on a farm in Nebraska worked as a CPA with Deloitte and earned an MBA from Stanford before buying Lifescape and growing it from 3 million to 15 million in annual revenue I expected him to tell me financials are the key to success but instead he said it all comes down to the people Sure his background enables him to really understand the business side of things but without a dedicated team you just wont win To go deeper into the insights these industry leaders have to share please join us at The Grow Groups GROW 2019 conference in Denver Feb 20 22 Its going to be an amazing event I promise See you next month