ATLANTA, Ga. – What are the ingredients for the perfect business – an organization with delectably sweet profits, well-seasoned workers and rich customers? What is the foolproof recipe for success, the mixture that makes a business tick?
Turns out, the recipe isn’t a secret. “(Business) is like baking a cake,” compared Bob Clements, an industry consultant. “I can open up a recipe for chocolate cake and all I have to do is take those ingredients, put them in the right mix, and I will end up with a chocolate cake. I can tinker with it, but there is a basic cake mix.
“Business is that way, too,” added Clements, who shared keys to concocting a high-performance organization at a roundtable sponsored by Bayer Environmental Science on Wednesday, June 25, in Atlanta, Ga. Twenty-one lawn care operators swapped their own recipes for business at the two-day forum, sparking discussion of issues ranging from rising insurance costs to employee retention.
No matter the region, customer mix or company size, Clements suggested that landscape businesses focus on the core ingredient: the customer. “The bulk of your time should be spent on retaining the customers you have, and filling in new customers all the time,” he stressed, noting that the least expensive customers to keep are the ones already in the system.
Next, secure processes – “figure out how to get the ingredients together,” he said. “Then what will cook it is the people.”
Clements added that long-term employment no longer translates to umpteen years of tenure. Generation X workers stay with a company an average of two years, and business owners must maximize their investment in their workforce in order to stay profitable, he said. “We have to be able to maximize the human capital we have in our businesses,” he emphasized. “The bulk of money you spend every year is in payroll.”
Here are some ways managers can position themselves to grow their organizations and hone the talent of their “human capital.” Clements defines the following roles for managers in a “high-performance organization”:
Care for vs. caretaker – High-performance managers grow their people so they act on their own in accordance with the purpose of the organization.
Positive expectancy about change – High-performance managers maintain a positive attitude about change and look for opportunities to exploit the competition when change occurs.
Masterful use of people – High-performance managers understand the requirements of the various jobs and place their people into situations that fit the people and their skills.
Clearly defined value system – High-performance managers communicate a value system that allows their people to make rapid and correct decisions.
Require high levels of accountability – High-performance managers hold their people to high levels of accountability to improve discipline and measure individual results.
Establish personal action plans – High-performance managers understand that continual improvement is as important for people as it is for processes.
The author is a Contributing Editor to Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at khampshire@lawnandlandscape.com.