Landscape Management, November 2016

MARISA PALMIERI EDITOR Contact Marisa at 216 706 3764 or mpalmieri@ northcoastmedia net Louisville quotables LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET November 2016 4 HEADQUARTERS 1360 East 9th St Suite 1070 Cleveland OH 44114 EDITORIAL STAFF Editor Marisa Palmieri 216 706 3764 mpalmieri@ northcoastmedia net Associate Editor Dillon Stewart 216 706 3756 dstewart@ northcoastmedia net Art Director Tracie Martinez 216 280 6127 tmartinez@ northcoastmedia net Graphic Designer Courtney Townsend 216 363 7931 ctownsend@ northcoastmedia net Digital Media Content Producer Kelly Limpert 216 363 7933 klimpert@ northcoastmedia net ADVERTISING STAFF Publisher Bill Roddy 216 706 3758 broddy@ northcoastmedia net Associate Publisher Craig MacGregor 216 706 3787 cmacgregor@ northcoastmedia net Account Manager Jake Goodman 216 363 7923 jgoodman@ northcoastmedia net Classified Accounts Manager Chloe Scoular 216 363 7929 cscoular@ northcoastmedia net BUSINESS STAFF Vice President Sales Patrick Roberts 216 706 3736 proberts@ northcoastmedia net Administrative Coordinator Petra Turko 216 706 3768 pturko@ northcoastmedia net Manager Meetings and Events Kyle Castro 216 706 3772 kcastro@ northcoastmedia net Marketing Manager Scott Gebler 216 363 7932 sgebler@ northcoastmedia net Manager Production Services Terri Johnstone 216 978 9622 tjohnstone@ northcoastmedia net Senior Audience Development Manager Antoinette Sanchez Perkins 216 706 3750 asanchez perkins@ northcoastmedia net Digital Operations Manager Bethany Chambers 216 706 3771 bchambers@ northcoastmedia net Web Developer Jesse Malcmacher 216 363 7925 jmalcmacher@ northcoastmedia net MARKETING MAGAZINE SERVICES Reprints Permissions Brett Petillo 877 652 5295 bpetillo@ wrightsmedia com Circulation List Rental Antoinette Sanchez Perkins 216 706 3750 asanchez perkins@ northcoastmedia net Subscriber Customer Service 847 513 6030 For current single copy or back issues CORPORATE OFFICERS President CEO Kevin Stoltman 216 706 3740 kstoltman@ northcoastmedia net VP Finance Operations Steve Galperin 216 706 3705 sgalperin@ northcoastmedia net VP Graphic Design Production Pete Seltzer 216 706 3737 pseltzer@ northcoastmedia net Editorial Directors Marty Whitford Marisa Palmieri 216 706 3766 mwhitford@ northcoastmedia net 216 706 3764 mpalmieri@ northcoastmedia net EDITORS NOTE T he landscape industrys largest trade show GIE EXPO got even larger this year There were 230 new exhibitors a good sign assuming they all have done their research and have deemed the landscape market to be a promising one While the LM team and I were running between the show floor and conference sessions like crazy people as we do every year I jotted down more than a few notes Here are two quotes that got me thinking I think Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps breaks records because he looks at his competition as hes moving down the lane I like to look down the lane Frank Mariani CEO Mariani Landscape During Inside the C Suite Insights Shared by Industry Legends green industry consultant Judy Guido led a panel discussion with Pat Covey president COO Davey Tree Ken Hutcheson president U S Lawns Tim Portland CEO Yellowstone Landscape and Mariani The execs discussed a variety of topics how they spend their time the M A environment and the competitive environment among other things When asked about how they size up their competition Mariani responded with the quote above You commonly hear business owners say We dont look at our competition we focus on ourselves and the client Thats all well and good but I appreciate his honesty in acknowledging that he does consider his competition resulting in a policy of the company touching base with clients a minimum of one time per month netting a 95 percent renewal rate One thing I think we do better than our competitors is relationships he says We just dont have enough higher up women in the landscape industry so we can say If she can do it I can do it Jennifer Lemcke COO Weed Man USA In her talk Women in Landscaping Harnessing our Strength for a Greater Industry Lemcke who discussed her own struggles to find work life balance shared data from a 2012 Harvard Business Review report about why despite being half the workforce and despite research showing women are just as effective as male leaders women dont often make it to leadership positions The reasons the number of women steadily shrinks as you move up the corporate ladder boils down to three things according to an analysis of the HBR study in Business Insider Its either I dont want the role I cannot succeed in the role or I cant have the role There are many factors that play into each of these responses societal personal and organizational Lemcke says she understands the struggles first hand Despite loving her job and having a supportive husband she couldnt ignore her mothers instinct I dont think my husband ever went to work crying because he put the kids on the bus when they had the sniffles she says Still amid labor and leadership shortages in the landscape industry companies that can be flexible and find ways to support and promote female employees will succeed Cross training and systems are a vital component of this strategy Lemcke says We need to build companies so that if someone leaves male or female it wont be a catastrophe