If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to read more books, consider mixing in some business books as well. Many landscape company owners have found these types of books can provide them with valuable insights and concepts to implement in their own operations.
These are some of the business books NALP members recommend checking out.
Traction: Get A Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
Traction explores the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) and covers the secrets of strengthening the six key components of your business.
Chase Mullin, owner of Mullin, based in St. Rose, Louisiana, says that Traction is one of the easiest business books to implement and the most relevant to the landscape industry.
“Traction helped me put together a leadership team,” says Barry Schneider, owner of Surrounds Landscaping, based in Sterling, Virginia. “Traction helped me with scheduling weekly meetings, quarterly meetings, annual planning meetings and setting goals. It was really instrumental in organizing where we had grown from $5 million to $8 million.”
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
This book describes how companies can transition from being good to great and explores examples of ‘great’ companies, as well as why many companies fail to make the transition to greatness.
John Munie, founder and president of Focal Pointe, based in Caseyville, Illinois, says he’s an avid reader of business books and one of his favorite authors is Jim Collins. In the book Good to Great, Collins notes that enduring companies build their strategy around three basic things – What are you wildly passionate about? What can you be best in the world at? What can you make money doing?
Dean DeSantis, owner of DeSantis Landscapes, based in Salem, Oregon, says he had an ‘aha’ moment when he read Good to Great, specifically where the book talks about getting the right people on the bus, getting them in the right seats and figuring out where you’re going to drive that bus.
“That’s been really my focus is trying to understand what is each individual’s natural, God-given talents, and how do I give them more of that?” DeSantis says. “Because to me, if we can focus on those things, then it’s not work. It’s just you’re in your sweet spot.”
The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly
This book discusses how companies can achieve remarkable results by helping their employees fulfill their dreams.
Mark Ables, president and CEO of Ables Landscapes, based in Hollywood, South Carolina, says this book inspired him to hire a dream manager for their company.
“I first heard about The Dream Manager from a business peer group I’m part of called C12 in the spring of 2020 and then I read the book that summer,” Ables says. “As soon as I did, I had a few of our other leaders read it and after agreeing that this was something we wanted to do, we hired Morgan in October of 2020.”
Paul Fraynd, co-owner of Sun Valley Landscaping, based in Omaha, Nebraska, has also read this book and says while they are not big enough to have someone on staff handle this task internally, he started using his local Chamber of Commerce’s GrOW Navigator program.
This program provides a confidential Navigator who can help support employees through anything that might keep them from being physically or mentally present at work. This could include anything from challenges with personal finance, getting a driver’s license, having legal trouble, getting a loan, finding affordable childcare and much more.
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Lief Babin
Extreme Ownership takes Navy SEAL combat stories and translates them into lessons for business and life. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic such as Cover and Move, Decentralized Command, and Leading Up the Chain, explaining what they are, why they are important, and how to implement them in any leadership environment.
Mason Shaffer, with Blanchford Landscape Group, based in Bozeman, Montana, says he often listens to audiobooks while driving to jobsites and Extreme Ownership is one of his top picks.
The E Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
The E Myth delves into the myth that most people who start small businesses are entrepreneurs and the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does that technical work.
Shayne Newman, president of YardScapes Landscape Professionals, based in New Milford, Connecticut, says while he doesn’t have a lot of time to read business books, The E Myth is one that stands out to him.
“I read this book at least three to four times a year,” says Adrian Martinez, president of New West Landscape Management, Inc., based in Concord, California. “Despite reading it so many times, I always find myself learning something new. I believe every business entrepreneur needs this book, whether it’s in his or her bookcase or Audible library.”
