Editor's Focus: June 2000

Not many people would associate the landscape industry with technology, and understandably so. Especially in today’s age of .com companies, video conferencing and computerized navigation in cars, cutting lawns doesn’t scream cutting edge.

I don’t think that’s a real problem if the general public thinks that way. As an industry, we have bigger public perception battles to fight first – pesticide safety comes to mind – before we worry about convincing the public how technologically savvy we are. But today’s contractors better not lose sight of what technology can do for them if they are going to move forward.

I was fortunate enough to write this year’s Crystal Ball Report, produced by the Associated Landscape Contractors of America. The subject was "Implementing Technological Change in Your Company," which essentially relates to computerization – a challenge for much of this industry.

Representatives from some of the industry’s leading companies spent three days discussing nothing but technology-related issues and how they pertain to the landscape industry. What technology exists today for contractors to use? How can contractors enjoy the greatest benefits from technology? How can contractors know how much to spend on computers and software? What does the Internet mean for our industry?

The discussions were interesting and stimulating, to say the least, and made clear that computerization is an issue every manager and owner should dedicate some time and thought to. One of the reasons why we haven’t seen much technology created for the landscape industry until the last few years has been contractors’ resistance to implementing it in their businesses. That mentality won’t work in today’s world where there is greater need for efficiency and productivity.

Technology doesn’t have to overwhelm or re-shape your business if you haven’t become part of the computer culture. Using computers can be as simple as automating your billing procedure. Once you see the potential of technology, I imagine this will be just a first of many steps. And the key is that this first step will be one moving forward. Because although it may not seem possible, not moving forward is equivalent to moving backward in today’s industry.