Landscaping and baseball are similar. To win at baseball you have to grind it out every day—through injuries, bad weather and long days and nights. You have to work hard all year through the fall.
The same goes for landscaping and any contracting field—you must finish the year strong in order to reach your true potential and maximize year-end profitability.
Whether you are a Cleveland Indians or Chicago Cubs fan, or just an interested onlooker, you can learn valuable lessons from how each team competed in the World Series and how each manager (Cleveland’s Terry Francona and Chicago’s Joe Maddon) led their teams.
Lessons:
- You must be in it to win it: Your team must still be selling and producing work at a strong pace.
- Each player must support and believe in one another, grinding it out together every day.
- Individual goals must be set aside for the common goal.
- It helps immeasurably if you enjoy your position and enjoy the work.
- Don’t give up when you have a tough day. Work through the struggles with a positive attitude.
- Put your best effort forward every day. The minute you step on the field—or into your yard or on a job site.
- Keep perspective. As Joe Maddon says, “don’t ever let the pressure exceed the pleasure.”
- Be relentlessly positive.
Jeffrey’s breakthrough idea: Don’t compare your company to other companies; improve on your past record, and celebrate the wins.
Take action: Communicate every day to your team; inspire them to believe in one another and finish strong. Give them ongoing feedback on their successes and good efforts. Motivate them, in Terry Franconia’s words, “to leave it all out on the field.” –
Jeffrey Scott, MBA, author, business coach, hall-of-fame consultant, is the expert in growth and profit maximization in the lawn and landscape industry. He grew his company into a successful $10-million enterprise, and he’s now devoted to helping others achieve profound success. More than 6,000 read his monthly newsletter.
To sign up, go to www.jeffreyscott.biz. He facilitates the Leader’s Edge peer group for landscape business owners. His members achieved a 27 per cent profit increase in their first year. To learn more, visit www.GetTheLeadersEdge.com.
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