People first

While artificial intelligence, technology and software will continue to play more of a role in your business world, people and communication still matter, maybe more than ever.

That was the overall message at our 2025 Technology Conference which took place in July in Las Vegas, Nevada.

With the green industry continuing to invest in technology, the people using the technology have to know what they are doing, and management has to fully believe in those people.

I thought one of the more eye-opening comments was from presenter Marion Delano, director of technology and marketing, Level Green Landscaping.

He said: “You can have all the data in the world, but if you’re not setting up systems or frameworks to comprehend it or a culture to use it in a productive way, then it’s not going to do you any good.”

Speaking of AI, I was surprised at the number of attendees who were tired of hearing about it. I get that you can get fatigue on a topic, but this isn’t a topic that should be ignored.

Another takeaway from the event was to make sure you have buy-in from your people, or at least the employees who will be using the technology. Too many times, I’ve heard of companies introducing new technologies and either didn’t get any feedback or very little because they rushed the purchase. That results in a waste of money and time.

Finally, you have to promote or hire a technology champion and leave them alone. They have to focus on researching and implementing new technology and can’t hear any noise influencing their work. They need to hear feedback, but it should only come from a few select people who are collecting that from a wider audience.