 Jeez, what a time the past 30 months has been. Lessons learned people? I certainly hope so. I can tell you that I have seen & felt those lessons and they have been ingrained into the pathways of consideration I give to everything in our little world. During the past 30 months we have collectively experienced a hereto unimaginable degree of chaos of circumstance in the Landscape & Nursery industry, the severity of which few if any of us had anticipated. As those months have become years, all of us have been wondering; When will times change? From my chair the question must be “when” and not “if”. I believe that the great degree of multiplicity imposed upon us by our lives amongst the masses requires that with the passage of time, circumstances are continuously blending and creating new scenarios that themselves are usually short lived. The inescapable reality that change is a reliable constant in our lives yields the certain knowledge that difficult times will change for the better as surely as the best of times can become something rather different. Ok, that was a lot but in these musings there is a vital lesson and that is this; The successes and failures of the day are brought about by macro issues in combination with the individual choices we make along the way. If we stagnate we lose the opportunity to flex with these changes and so become either accidental beneficiaries or, more commonly, victims saying things like “it wasn’t my fault”. Whether or not change will occur is not at issue; rather, how we will be impacted by the change to come; that is the challenge of our days and one each of us undertakes simply by living or in this context, by being engaged in business. From my perspective, we, on a daily basis face a rather simple choice that imposes a widely diverse range of implications; will we choose to be victims or will we choose to become beneficiaries of the times? I firmly believe that you and I will choose our futures by the choices we make each and every day. I move through my days with the sure knowledge that my future will be an echo, a direct reflection, of a past that I create each & every day. With each daily choice we create and shape the tomorrow that we will live and in our chairs as business people those choices become individually more vital when every little gain or set back has immediate implications. That immediacy had not been a reality during many of our years serving the industry but in the past months and certainly today it sure seems to be the case doesn’t it? If that is a given and we are micro focused, who is thinking longer term? Managing and Leading It’s easy to be a manager when times are good and mistakes are quickly buried in a healthy flow of cash but the measure of our mettle is truly tested in times when our foresight and the choices it engenders are almost immediately effectual. So where will we go today; do we tread lightly and cautiously as a firm policy? If so, how cautiously do we proceed; to the point of stagnation? Can we grow our businesses out of the difficulties of the day if our choices in policy & daily application are mired in a mindset of retrench and retreat, retreat, retreat? If we choose that path as a singular mindset where does it lead? By my thinking that answer is easy; it leads nowhere except perhaps to another career. That doesn’t work for me; I love what I do, I think I am pretty good at and I enjoy coming to work every day so my mindset is on the creation of new degrees of success via my willingness to endure risk and to trust my instincts. How about you? Questions such as those and many similar ones are bred by the fear of outright failure that time’s like these can heap upon our mentalities. If your mind is sitting in that hole, how can you expect to find new success? You can’t can you? It is mandatory to my nature to be optimistic and so I refuse to become so separated from my own self confidence as to step forever backward and miss the development of any small measure of growth that must soon return to the industry we serve. I encourage all of my friends industry wide to adopt the same mindset; it’s productive and it’s a step toward the more prosperous tomorrow we all seek. If nothing else, it’s a thought worth kicking around. I lead Groundworks and our teams in Florida and Texas. I choose to look to the horizon, past the storms of the day and guys, I see a path back to growth emerging from the uncertainty & economic sludge of our recent past. When viewed in the moment, the vista before us has been barren and downright frightening at times but if you can stand back for a moment and look further out in front, that same view changes dramatically. I believe that our survival of these times is a powerful reminder of the strength our teams engender and of the commitment we have all made to the industry we serve. I believe that by our survival of this nightmarish recession in our country & industry we position ourselves to be better managers and more considered business people. We position ourselves to be beneficiaries of the times instead of victims. Today I see a consolidated Landscape & Nursery industry now more cleanly populated by committed professionals whose attention to quality and integrity in the years past has been their saving grace during this period. Our industry has been and continues to be weeded out people; hundreds of companies have been shed from the supply side and even more on the service side. Though some babies have been lost with the bath water, for the most part, those lacking integrity, the poor performers, the people who got into the industry without any real knowledge of how to do what they did have failed and left the stage. Do you think that’s a bad thing? Think again. The size & capacity of this industry surged during 2003-2007 to meet the outrageous demand our housing bubble cascaded upon all of us. Production went nuts, service companies popped up everywhere and capacity grew at an unprecedented rate to meet the demand. Because of the ease of entry into our industry, all manner of “professionals” who were committed to absolutely nothing other than pocketing a profit became our mutual competitors but when the party suddenly & abruptly ended, those same types destroyed value, decimated prices and in their death throes dragged all of us into the mire. Ok, it is what it is but the dying has for the most part been done, the dead are basically buried and flowers are starting to grow on the graves. I guess it’s a sad thing for many but the bodies are in the ground and there are a whole lot less of us to service whatever demand we encounter. If your business is profitable or even just surviving today, you are tough, you’re honest, you’re resilient and you are very good at what you do. So what will happen to your business as demand gathers any steam at all? Grow my friends, grow and become rapidly more profitable. I believe that if your company is alive today, all you need to do is stick to your guns, maintain your integrity and continue the mission. It may not be fun, it’s probably not all that profitable right now and it’s easy to be discouraged but you people, you survivors, are the core & reality of this industry; you are valuable, you are viable and mark my words, all you need to do is to survive this time and you will very soon find yourselves stepping into a period of unprecedented opportunity that is even now solidifying from the wreckage. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow We built this business from absolutely nothing starting in 1986 operating from a closet in my house, using a borrowed pick-up truck and $750.00 dollars in capital. Any of you that know me also know that I am a committed professional in my field. I don’t lie, I don’t cheat and I don’t make excuses for anything. I own my team’s success and I own their failures. I am the bottom line here in every respect and I will die that way, someday. I am a bit of a dreamer and I suppose a bit of a self inspired visionary. I create our plans & strategies instinctually and then find facts to support my instincts. I am not afraid to take risks when it feels right to me even if the current “facts” don’t appear to support the choices and you know what, I am expanding right now. I am instinctively & factually drawn to a compelling state of optimism right now and I am moving in many directions to enhance my businesses regional position even though the timing of these choices is not all that well supported by the current circumstances. I believe that the choices I am making are essential to our futures and are sensible from the perspective of what I see as the near and mid-term future of our industry. I trust my instincts and I am willing to risk my butt if necessary to lead my people to the next phase of our success together. I well remember the many times during the birth and growth of this company when I had to look inside myself, trust those instincts and steer into the open sea with a crew depending upon me to know the way. These were days of choices that could have left us in safe harbor but that would surely have led to mediocrity and stagnation and I am just not that kind of guy. My responsibility to myself, my family, and my associates along with the promise I made to my employees guaranteeing strong leadership and growing professional opportunity all combine to compel me to act even though such bold action may seem outwardly unjustified at times. I choose to lead my friends; it’s not always easy and it’s almost always risky but as small business owners that is our lot in life when we decide that mediocrity just isn’t good enough. Here at Groundworks we are done consolidating and we are done retreating. We have learned many valuable life & business lessons and today we are faced into the wind moving toward our greatest success. This is where the rubber truly meets the road for a small business owner; you have to choose where you want to be, how you want to get there, what you are willing to do to make it all real and then you just have to act. You may fail but it’s an absolute truth that he who dares wins and today people, today and right now, I believe that the moment is upon you to choose; to dare and to lead your people back to real prosperity or to continue to live below decks holding on tight without actually being the steering force that your business and your people need. I believe that the tide is easing and portends a turn soon to come. Today, if you see the changes gelling as I do and sense the unprecedented degree of opportunity that the recent past has set before us, trust yourself, trust your people, trust in your commitment to quality and integrity and trust your instincts. Where are we at in the industry today? We are survivors who have been depleted but not defeated. Demand has not yet begun to grow much but there are many signs of new life and as growth does materialize, the reduced capacity of the industry will force margins up for those with the ability to service that demand. A few months of improving demand operating at reduced cost will do a world of good for your balance sheet and your confidence. We are committed. Here at Groundworks we have spent the past 30 months consolidating and positioning just like everyone else but we never lost sight of the potential this period of consolidation portends. Groundworks has been strategically planning and we are now investing in the creation of new business units that will allow us to better serve our customers across the southern United States. We leverage our regional presence though broader availability, unique service offerings, the creation of synergistic product lines and the implementation of enhanced customer service initiatives. Our initiatives are multi faceted; we seek to grow our business but to do so via means & methods that serve our goals while also acting to support and enhance the businesses of our friends & allies. Landscapers Partner Services, Texas American Tree Farm, Ecotreat International and our new Groundworks Palm Station units each serve various segments of demand ranging from wholesale to retail to export. In every operation, attention to good value is the primary focus and a steadfast commitment to quality and integrity drive our daily lives. As we work our way through 2011, I am excited to see the changes happening around me within our business and in the industry we serve. I encourage each of you to recognize that tomorrow is a far bigger place than today and that tomorrow, anything is possible where we commit to its creation right now. I am committed, my teams are committed and we place ourselves before your scrutiny and challenge you to challenge us; we are committed to providing you with a level of service unlike anyone else can and we will not stop until you are 100% satisfied. That’s a promise people; I make it to you and I hope you will take me up on it. Continue the mission with the sure knowledge that we are right in there with you; we are your friends & family and we are here, all the time, just waiting to climb on board with you to back your play. George P. Nottingham President Groundworks of Palm Beach County Inc Groundworks Texas! |