We recently updated our Privacy Policy. By continuing to use this website, you acknowledge that our revised Privacy Policy applies.
In the landscape industry, you are selling labor hours, so it’s natural to want your maintenance crews to complete as many jobs as possible in a day, but it’s critical to ensure quality isn’t sacrificed in the process. Define Your Standards Before your team members even leave the yard, you need to guarantee that everyone […]
Guest Post by Knowledge Tree Consulting Picture the owner of a growing landscape company. At 6 a.m., he is loading the trailer. By 9, he is quoting a job; by noon, he is chasing an unpaid invoice; by mid-afternoon, he is smoothing over a crew dispute; and by evening, he is at the kitchen table […]
If you’ve decided it’s time for your team to go all in on AI, it’s important to approach this technology with a clear understanding of its capabilities, where guardrails are needed and how to message your usage to customers. Avoid Creating AI Slop One of the major complaints against AI is the belief that all […]
If you want to take your leaders to the next level, you have to go beyond just operational expertise. The NALP Executive Leadership Program, in partnership with the UVA Darden School of Business, is designed to train leaders to think more strategically and addresses challenges such as developing and retaining high-performing teams, improving financial performance […]
Are you running the business based on your bank balance and intuition, or do you know your actual job-costed financial data? “Owners usually know how many crews they have, how busy the schedule looks, whether the phone is ringing, but they usually can’t answer what 20% of customers generate 80% of their profit or what […]
Hiring is a costly process, and that’s why a strong system is needed for onboarding. From day one, an employee should have clear expectations and a sense of purpose in their role. The first week can be stressful for a new hire, but having a plan will help ease them into the company. “Write a […]
You wouldn’t want your low fuel light to only come on after you’ve already run out of gas, so why would you want to solely rely on lagging indicators when it comes to gauging your company’s overall safety? “While injury rates and claims data are important, they only tell the story after an event has […]
In the field, almost everyone operates at the same speed. A solid crew will build the same size patio in the same amount of time, regardless of the company they work for. “The real separation between struggling and thriving happens back at the office, in how well the work gets managed and how well knowledge […]
If you want to change what happens on a property, you have to change what the person standing on the property is focused on and rewarded for. This is where front-line incentive programs come in. “Base pay buys the job,” says Joe Socolof, COO of Landscape Workshop. “Incentives don’t buy effort; they direct attention. A […]
When deciding where to invest money in the business, are you taking the time to calculate the cost of capital or going off gut instincts alone? While you may be able to afford the monthly payment on a new piece of equipment, you also need to ask if it is the best use of your […]
