Lots to learn from Las Vegas

This year’s Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference took place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. While discussions on artificial intelligence and its place in the industry made up the majority of sessions, topics also included software implementation, battery-powered equipment, landscape design, robotics and much more.

The conference is co-located with the invite-only Top 100 Executive Summit and Awards dinner, which took place July 22-23 at the same hotel. You can read more about both events on the following pages and on our website. Make sure to mark your calendars and join Lawn & Landscape in Arizona at the Fairmont Princess Scottsdale for next year’s event July 22-24, 2026.

Let’s get digital

Investing in technology is one thing — but proper implementation is the only way to see a true ROI.

What good is spending thousands of dollars on landscape technology if no one knows how to use it? Or you don’t get the correct data you’re seeking?

Amer Iqbal, founder and CEO of 5 ways to Innovate, compared it to buying a Ferrari but not knowing how to drive it.

“If you’re not investing in people, you don’t have anyone to drive the Ferrari, and if you’re not investing in processes, there’s no manual to drive the Ferrari and if you’re not investing in data, there is no fuel to drive the Ferrari,” he says. “Each of your neighbors has the exact same Ferrari sitting in their driveway.”

Iqbal served as the keynote speaker for Lawn & Landscape’s sixth-annual Technology Conference this summer in Las Vegas.

He also shared with attendees that a staggering 70% of digital efforts fail.

“Technology alone is not enough to thrive in a digital economy,” Iqbal says.

Instead, he warns it’s all about innovation rather than reliance — and companies should be prioritizing what makes them unique when it comes to technology — their data.

“No one on the planet has the exact same data that you have,” he says. “I think that’s the most underutilized technology we have today.”

Another tip Iqbal gave for getting the most ROI out of your technology is to focus on your company’s area of expertise — and let technology take it from there.

“The way to get maximum return in technology is figure out what you and your team do best and then delegate the rest to technology,” he says.

And using landscape technology the right way can help landscapers overcome four challenges. Iqbal says he sees the biggest challenges facing the industry as:

1. Tech spending is at an all-time high but not everyone is utilizing it to its potential.

2. Increasing interest from private equity and other investors.

3. Labor market is tougher than previous generations.

4. There is more pressure than ever to perform.

"Tech spend is high, but most companies in your industry are using 10- to 15% of the technology capabilities that they buy," Iqbal says.

To change that, you’ve got to be willing to put in the work and play around with the technology. Iqbal uses McDonald’s and their experiments with AI drive through assistants as an example.

“The training data McDonald’s gained completely outpaces any one of their competitors who tries to do this in a lab environment without touching their customer experience,” he says. “Even the biggest brand on the planet is willing to experiment with technology to drive transformation.”

And for those fearful of AI, or that it’s going to take away jobs within the industry, Iqbal doesn’t see that happening.

“Knowledge work will be disrupted by AI and ChatGPT,” he says. “Though, I think you’re one of the industries that will be the protected industries because of that reliance on front-line workers. Industries that rely on a trade or human skills will be the most resilient against AI.

“This isn’t something to be fearful of but something to lean into and embrace,” Iqbal adds.

Power up!

 

Battery-powered equipment isn’t going anywhere and continues to advance.

While it may take a while to rev up your return-on-investment, battery-powered equipment is making its presence known in the green industry — especially since some states and municipalities are starting to mandate it.

To learn the tips, tricks and all things electric, Lawn & Landscape held a panel on battery-powered equipment at the 2025 Technology Conference this summer.

Panelists included Chris Angelo, president and CEO of Stay Green in California; Benjamin Lewis, president of Browder Hite in Virginia; Steven Schinhofen, CEO of Harvest Landscape Enterprises in California; and Greyson Walldorff, founder and CEO of Lawn Capital in Georgia.

From fleeting to full force

Stay Green and Harvest Landscape Enterprises both hail from the Golden State of California — a state which enacted a law banning the sale of new gas-powered lawn equipment since 2024.

Out West, this means it was time to act — and fast.

“We live in California, so now we’re mandated to convert,” Schinhofen says. “We had to make things happen.”

Angelo says his company was prepared for the mandate as they’ve been experimenting with electric equipment for nearly a decade.

“We started about 10 years ago,” Angelo says. “We dabbled with a lot of different manufacturers over the last 10 years.”

And Angelo says the power and capabilities behind the equipment have only gotten better with time.

“The batteries we were using 10 years ago compared to what we are using today — the technology is completely different,” Angelo says.

Lewis says when Browder Hite first started using battery-powered equipment, they really couldn’t utilize it if the grass was wet, but now it makes no difference.

“Battery life is holding up through all kinds of weather,” he says.

Walldorff says Lawn Capital has been fully electric from day one and it’s something he’s always taken pride in.

“Our phrase is zero toxins, zero gas, zero compromise,” he says.

He adds that even his company’s biggest jobs can be tackled without relying on gas.

“We started with the smallest properties and now we’re doing up to 22 acres with all electric,” Walldorff says.

On board with operating it

But besides power, another major hesitation seems to be employee reception of the new battery-powered tools.

“We got a lot of pushback from my general manager at the time,” Lewis says.

“Five years ago, the battery run time just wasn’t there, so we hit pause until about two years ago. Now, the crews actually fight over certain pieces of equipment because they enjoy it so much.”

Lewis says that the crews in the field appreciate the quieter, cleaner machines and that it’s helped boost morale around landscape technology.

“Guys are able to communicate better because they don’t have earplugs in,” he adds.

For Schinhofen, his situation was similar, though he admits trying to make a sweeping change all at once was overwhelming.

“The biggest challenge I’ve seen with the conversion process is actually the employees,” Schinhofen says. “Once they buy-in they tend to like it.

“My thing is all or nothing,” he adds. “The buy-in is very difficult because the guys just want to go, go, go — so I suggest changing over one branch at a time.”

He says that way, you can give dedicated training to each branch on how to properly use the equipment and go over charging best practices.

That training Lewis says is vital because you can’t be everywhere at once to ensure your employees are taking good care of the equipment.

Considering the costs

What might be the biggest hinderance to more companies making the switch to battery-powered is costs.

Though it’s not the equipment that’s expensive, but rather the batteries and keeping them charged.

“The equipment itself is very inexpensive — it’s the batteries that cost a lot of money,” Schinhofen says. “We had to put significant upgrades into the branches and into the buildings.

“We actually built rooms that are specific for it,” He adds. “We had it designed by electricians.”

And it’s not just about having one or two batteries per piece of equipment — Lewis says it takes a whole slew of batteries to keep crews performing all day.

“That’s half the battle — making sure you are adequately prepared in the shop and out in the field,” he says of charging.

“Looking back, it’s kind of comical what we thought we would need versus what we’ve actually needed,” he adds.

Angelo says some looking to make the switch may be reimbursed by their state, like in California.

“We get a lot of rebate money,” Angelo says. “We get about $15,000 back from the agency to invest in one of these large electric mowers.”

Additionally, Angelo says that while electric equipment may cost more upfront — it’s helped save money in other areas.

“Our mechanics now have different tasks that they’re doing rather than wrenching on two-stroke equipment all day,” Angelo says.

Walldorf says while it cost more initially to run 100% electric — Lawn Capital is already seeing ROI.

“The upfront costs were staggering,” he admits. “But overall, I think we’re making our investment back.”

Make it work for you

Once you make the decision to invest in technology, you have to find a way to make it worth the money.

At Level GreeN Landscaping, Marion Delano, director of technology and marketing, sees the business’ operations much like a tree.

“We think of it as a tree — the roots are our field efficiency. Without our roots, the company is not going to be able to function. Our roots need to be very deep,” he says. “For the canopy, that’s like the new growth and the strategic growth. It’s broad.”

Another part of that canopy is landscape technology. But Delano warned attendees during Lawn & Landscape’s Technology Conference that if they get too caught up in the data and software side of things, they won’t see the forest for the trees.

“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, it’s not going to do you any good,” he says.

Delano admits that for many years his father, Doug Delano, the company’s owner, ran the business based off gut instinct and vibes.

But as the years went on and the company expanded, that became harder to do. Enter technology to help make decisions more thoughtfully.

“We had people making decisions based on feel and not data and we really wanted to change that paradigm,” he says. “As we’ve gotten bigger and the company is more complex — we realized we needed to create something that double checks those vibes.”

Delano clarifies that making decisions based solely off data isn’t the way to go, either.

“Making decisions off numbers alone is a dangerous place to be,” he says. “They’re not leading to better outcomes. That’s because it’s not paired with that experience and intuition.”

Over the years, Delano says Level Green has struck that balance between relying on experience and data.

Some quick tips for implementation include:

• Talk to your team

• Pick a technology champion

• Pick one metric to review weekly

• Audit estimates for one route or property

“They’re evangelizing the technology and making it cool, so the team is excited to be using it,” Delano says of the tech champion.

After rolling out technology, Delano says there were a few quick wins that he noticed helped improve things. They were:

• Displaying success —put up TVs in all branches displaying dashboards so employees get familiar with the data and how to interpret it

• Lunch rewards — for “most improved” crews to encourage participation and compliance with the new software and technology

• Sales-op meetings — surface hidden issues earlier such as underpriced items and drive time misestimates

Delano acknowledged there were some bumps along the road, too.

“It has not been all rosy and I don’t want pretend it has,” he says.

“We had people making decisions based on feel and not data and we really wanted to change that paradigm.” — Marion Delano, director of technology and marketing, Level Green Landscaping

Delano shared a few mistakes the company made throughout their journey. Those were:

• Rolling out dashboards to crew before manager buy-in

• Expecting the tool alone to change behavior

• Only rewarding top performing crews every week

“Technology doesn’t change the system — people change the system,” he says. “Think about your challenges and what category they fall into — people, process or tools.”

Building the band

You can’t be a rock star in your business until you learn the basics.

Ever realize that there are millions of musicians but very few true rock stars?

This year’s Lawn & Landscape Top 100 Executive Summit and Awards Keynote Speaker, Mark Kamp, got the room rocking in Las Vegas with his advice on how to amp up your business.

“What rhythm are you playing in your organization?” Kamp asked Top 100 attendees. “How will you remain relevant? Remain consistent? And turn it up every single day to stay heard among the industry noise?”

Having worked with major companies like IBM, Delta and Home Depot — Kamp shared his secrets to success, which boils down to his Four Chords of a Rock Star Mindset.

“Every popular song is made up of some variation of the exact same four chords,” he says.

Kamp encouraged attendees to find their big, unreasonable dream (or B.U.D.) and steer the business toward that.

“What rhythm are you playing in your organization? — Mark Kamp, Keynote Speaker

He adds that most people think that their past determines their present but it’s in fact the future — so working toward a common goal is key to success.

• C Chord — CHANGE — “Rockstars always drive change to achieve their B.U.D.,” Kamp says. “Rockstars change intentionally it doesn’t happen by accident it’s orchestrated evolution.”

Kamp gave the examples of Borders, Blockbuster and other businesses who refused to change and ended up in the corporate graveyard.

“If you don’t create and control your own surroundings, they will create and control you,” he says.

• B Chord — BAND — “You’re going to have to surround yourself with the right people and create the right culture, so everybody works nicely together,” Kamp says.

Kamp talks about how bass players are more often the unsung heroes of the bands. While they may not be up front on the stage in flashy costumes or make-up, they are just as important to the music.

“Some of you make your bands famous while others make it work on a day-to-day basis, but everyone plays an important part and everyone should be honored for their contributions,” he adds.

Kamp has a few suggestions to fine-tune the band. He says to put the band first, honor unique abilities and check your ego at the door.

• A Chord — ACTION — “Taking daily, massive action is the only things to get you to your B.U.D.,” Kamp says.

While most people focus on time management, Kamp adds that in today’s day and age with all the constant texts, emails and social media notifications, it’s about distraction management.

“It gets us off track from the main thing — our B.U.D,” he says.

He also suggests making daily and weekly Top 10 lists and then “auditioning” the items to create one or two items to focus on.

Talent: Catch and don’t release

Recruitment and retention are the cornerstones of culture but also make your company a top workplace destination.

When it comes to finding the best and the brightest (and keeping them committed to your company) there are a few critical things to remember.

These were the focus of a panel to teach attendees how to find great talent, how to make those people stay and how to revitalize that talent to boost your business.

Panelists included Doretha Baily, vice president of people success and culture with Turf Master Brands; Shauntel Deshautelles, chief people officer with LMC Landscape Partners; Phil Steinhauer, CEO and landscape architect with Designscapes Colorado; and Mark Stuhlsatz, vice president of innovation with Ryan Lawn & Tree.

Starting them young

To find success in recruiting, Stuhlsatz says Ryan Lawn & Tree doesn’t wait for prospective employees to come to them — but rather go out and seek them. And the sooner the better. That’s why the company works actively alongside local colleges and universities.

“We have always focused on creating really strong relationships with the colleges and universities around us,” Stuhlsatz says. “Over time, you will start to get more and more students looking to do internships with you and you create a nice pipeline of people interested in working for you.”

Steinhauer says Designscapes Colorado takes it a step further and is actively pursuing high school students and working to grow their interest in the green industry.

“We’ve done a good job in Colorado really working with the high schools,” Steinhauer says. “We’re trying to catch them before they get to college and get them to choose a career in the green industry.”

Make it a full-time focus

Additionally, Steinhauer says hiring a professional recruiter has also helped his business flourish.“Working with a professional recruiter has helped, as a landscape company we’re able to focus on what we do best,” Steinhauer says.

“We’ve probably been working with the same recruiter for about seven years. Recruiting is a full-time position, so it frees up a lot of our time at Designscapes.”

As opposed to hiring a full-time recruiter, Stuhlsatz says Ryan Lawn & Tree contracted out people to help improve onboarding and training — something he says is critical for that first 90-day retention period.

“We brought in learning coaches and it’s just a group of individuals whose job is training and just to help onboard and make sure they’re going through all the orientation,” Stuhlsatz says. “They have someone they can call who’s not their boss…. We want to increase first year retention, and we went from 50% to 90%. That level of increase was unexpected.” For Deshautelles, recruitment and retention are just another part of the sales process.

“Our recruiter is very much embedded in the organization,” Deshautelles says. “Recruiting is customer service and selling. We’re selling a career rather than a product or service.”

She adds having that dedicated recruiter also helps reach prospective and current employees the way they want to be communicated with — which varies among demographics.

“You can’t communicate to everyone the same way,” Deshautelles notes.

Other things to offer

Beyond the traditional bonus programs though, the panelists say there are numerous ways to ramp up retention just by listening to your employees.

“Some of our best retention programs have come from our employees and listening to them and what they’re interested in,” Steinhauer says. “One of the most successful has been Spanish to English and English to Spanish classes… also sponsoring our H-2B workers to get their visas and work toward permanent residency and eventually move on to citizenship.”

According to Steinhauer, candidates submit applications, are reviewed and then the program guides them through the process with assistance on the paperwork and attorneys and other factors.

“After all the fees are paid and their documents are submitted — they’ve been 100% paid into the program. For every year the stay, they get that money back,” he adds. “It’s been an incredible success.” 

The author is senior editor of Lawn & Landscape.