Jill Odom, Author at The Edge from the National Association of Landscape Professionals - Page 2 of 193

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Author: Jill Odom

Jill Odom is the senior content manager for the National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Trust, But Verify: Creating Responsible AI Guardrails

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 […]

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Develop Strategic Leaders with the NALP Executive Leadership Program at UVA Darden

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 […]

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Profit Carnage: The Financial Truths Killing Your Business

Are you running the business based on your bank balance and intuition, or do you know your actual job-costed financial data? ā€œOwners 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 […]

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What Safety Metrics Actually Predict Future Incidents?

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? ā€œWhile injury rates and claims data are important, they only tell the story after an event has […]

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Determining The Smartest Places to Leverage AI in Your Landscape Business

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. ā€œThe real separation between struggling and thriving happens back at the office, in how well the work gets managed and how well knowledge […]

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Creating Effective Front-Line Incentive Plans Ā Ā 

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. ā€œBase pay buys the job,ā€ says Joe Socolof, COO of Landscape Workshop. ā€œIncentives don’t buy effort; they direct attention. A […]

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The 101: Calculating the Cost of Capital for Your Landscape Business

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 […]

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Tree CSI: How Forensic Analysis Reveals the Real Cause of Tree Death

It’s common for a forensics team to be called in to investigate the questionable death of a person, but are you taking the time to conduct a forensic analysis when a tree dies on your customer’s property? ā€œConducting forensic analysis on dead, dying or failed trees can give a plethora of information and insight into […]

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Stop Being the Bottleneck: How AI Helps Multiply Your Expertise

When you started your landscape business, chances are you didn’t create it because you loved working on spreadsheets at 9 p.m. It’s because you wanted to be outdoors, running equipment and creating beautiful spaces for customers while providing for your family and your employees’ families. Yet night after night you’re still creating estimates and responding […]

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Building a Talent Pipeline by Connecting with Schools at Every Level

If you want to reach the next generation of landscape professionals, you can’t just wait until students are graduating from college to begin sharing the numerous career paths the industry has to offer.   To build a sustainable talent pipeline, you need to build relationships with every stage of education so students are aware of […]

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