Are you preparing for monumental shifts in commercial real estate segment models? Do you even know how your clients’ business models are changing? Or how changes in their industry will impact changes in yours? Working with contractors of all sizes and service offerings across the country, the successful ones have one thing in common: they […]
Read MoreIssues and Ideas that Matter Most.
5 Fundamentals for a Winning Company
As a baseball-loving kid growing up in New York, opening day for spring training was my favorite day of the year. Summer was just around the corner and everything was good. Spring training’s emphasis on fundamentals – practicing routine plays, throwing techniques and form, base running, etc. – isn’t all that different from the basics […]
Read MoreStrategy is King
Customers no longer seek landscape companies to execute tasks or simply be good at what they do. There’s a post-pandemic, pent-up demand for not only re-connecting at a relationship level, but customers are expecting their service partners to serve up a winning return on investment. Landscape businesses that cling to their tactically-driven past could lose […]
Read MoreA Game Plan for Strategy
There are any number of powerful lessons we can learn about strategy. Painfully, they often come after we forge ahead without one. Strategy will always be the way to win the battle for customers. And while most companies consider strategy through annual planning, I wonder if once a year is enough to win the war […]
Read MoreAdvising From Both Sides
There are generally five reasons companies bring in consultants. They include: Needing expertise not available internally; Managing change on important projects; Gaining an objective outside perspective; Attaining additional resources for internal/existing projects; and Backing up management’s opinion. The first three reasons tend to bring more value to the company. The last two–while sometimes may be […]
Read MoreBuilding Blocks for Financial Health
Most landscape companies have managed to navigate the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Thanks to the vaccine, we may see the economy and consumer spending rebound this year. However, it is unclear if the damage done by shutdowns and high unemployment will have lingering effects on recovery. I think it would be wise […]
Read MoreOrganizational health: taking engagement’s pulse
Of the many ways we reshaped our organizations last year, the most important turns out to be how we focused on helping our people and our communities thrive through crisis. The attention we gave to health, safety and well-being – and the high level of communicating we did with employees and customers – made every […]
Read MoreBeyond the virus: 5 Takeaways
After a rough start to an unprecedented year, landscape organizations within our portfolio have not only regained their equilibrium and optimism, but the crisis has provided opportunities for growth. Company founder Bruce Wilson says that 2020 offered meaningful crisis management lessons for landscape business of all sizes and companies that did well, did so by […]
Read MoreAgility is Key to Improving Performance
2020 taught us that no matter how fast we move, business, unlike NASCAR, is not just a series of predictable left turns, but instead a track with multiple twists and turns like an Indy car event. Success demands not only speed, but agility – an ability to navigate the changing landscape at record speed without […]
Read MoreOrganize the Org Chart
Org charts are essential components of business strategy. Yet, as companies go through different growth cycles, their organizational needs change while organization chart models remain unchanged. As a result, there can be a degree of dysfunction and things seem harder to control. This is a symptom, not the cause. With business continuously evolving, nothing stays […]
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