Have you ever walked into a room and felt an instant connection? That's the magic we unpack in Today's episode with Seth, Brandon and Dan that delves into the lifeblood of any thriving business – its culture. We share the laughter and lessons from our journey to nurture a workplace where the morning coffee comes with a warm greeting and bonds are built over shared playlists. From integrating new hires with a gentle hand to the critical role laughter plays in breaking down barriers, we reveal the strategies that keep our working family connected.
This episode isn't just talk; it's a treasure trove of actionable gems. Discover how our playful 'guess the playlist' game could transform your team's dynamic, or how a simple set of trading cards showcasing personal interests can stitch together the fabric of a tight-knit community. Every laugh, every story, every tip shared by Brandon and Dan is a piece of the puzzle in creating a company culture where employees don't just show up, they belong. Join us for insights that will not only resonate but also inspire you to weave these threads into your own landscape business.
Do you want to grow your business and your profits? Is your business too dependent on you the owner? Improve or implement processes that help you grow. Eliminate stress while improving cash flow. Interested? If so check out LOS. Landscape Operating System with Peer group is for you.
Learn more here https://www.scalingscoresystem.com/los
Have you ever walked into a room and felt an instant connection? That's the magic we unpack in Today's episode with Seth, Brandon and Dan that delves into the lifeblood of any thriving business – its culture. We share the laughter and lessons from our journey to nurture a workplace where the morning coffee comes with a warm greeting and bonds are built over shared playlists. From integrating new hires with a gentle hand to the critical role laughter plays in breaking down barriers, we reveal the strategies that keep our working family connected.
This episode isn't just talk; it's a treasure trove of actionable gems. Discover how our playful 'guess the playlist' game could transform your team's dynamic, or how a simple set of trading cards showcasing personal interests can stitch together the fabric of a tight-knit community. Every laugh, every story, every tip shared by Brandon and Dan is a piece of the puzzle in creating a company culture where employees don't just show up, they belong. Join us for insights that will not only resonate but also inspire you to weave these threads into your own landscape business.
Do you want to grow your business and your profits? Is your business too dependent on you the owner? Improve or implement processes that help you grow. Eliminate stress while improving cash flow. Interested? If so check out LOS. Landscape Operating System with Peer group is for you.
Learn more here https://www.scalingscoresystem.com/los
Speaker 1:
Good morning. We're live here Landscape Talk. Hopefully you're doing well, have a great episode today. Going to talk a little bit about culture and the importance of that. Just as a reminder if you're looking to grow your business, implement processes so your business can run effectively. You can grow your business and grow your profits. Check out LOS. It's an operating system with a peer group so you get to tap into other people's knowledge and grow your business. So check that out. You can scan it in the thing and there's also a link in our episode Today. On the show we have Brandon and Dan.
Speaker 1:
I think one of the things that we wanted to talk about today a little bit is culture, and some of these are buzzwords. You hear the word culture a lot. What does it mean? How do you make it reality? All these things are hard. First, let me say that there's nothing that's just easy without being intentional about something, intentional about something. But you know, I think, dan, you know you had a great, you know example and you know from an interview. Obviously it's a springtime Now we're still interviewing some people, bringing some people on board.
Speaker 1:
I think there's two things you know. One of the we have three pillars that I think, and I love in, you know Brandon's, you know background. He has kind of our, you know some of our core values, you know. But you know, at the higher level, you know we have a saying it's develop, deliver, connect. I think the connecting is kind of like goes with the culture and some of the things that that we'll talk about today, but I think it's a two way street. So I think you know, when you look at hiring somebody, you know what, what do you look for, what do they look for? And uh, you know, dan, maybe you want to explain or share a little bit about your story. Uh, you know with with the individual and then just kind of how it connects to like a little bit how we do things. Uh, you know with with the individual and then just kind of how it connects to like a little bit how we do things and, um, you know, hopefully, people can benefit from.
Speaker 2:
Um, you know some of the conversations, yeah.
Speaker 2:
So you know, a lot of times um, not always, but a lot of times, you know, if I'm interviewing someone or having someone come on board, um, you know, the topic of, like company culture comes up and how that's something important to them. Maybe they're they've worked somewhere else in the past or they're working somewhere else now. That's, you know, maybe it's a, maybe it's a big company, maybe it's not, but it's just like the, the, you know team camaraderie kind of thing, and the relationship between management and the field staff just like isn't there, you know, there isn't like good recognition of of guys that are doing a good job, that sort of thing, so that oftentimes they'll come into the interview and that's something that they mention is like a high priority for them. Um, and so, like you know a couple of things that we we try to do one, like in the springtime, you know we try not to bring on, you know like a, a batch of team members like all at once.
Speaker 2:
We try to kind of like phase them in a little bit, like we have, you know, our core team kind of coming out of the winter. Um, and then, as we're bringing some new people on in the spring. We kind of do it a little bit piecemeal, just so that we, you know, have plenty of time to like get them on board, get them trained, um, have time to focus on them and incorporating them into the team that we have already just make sure, like you know, it's a good fit for them, it's a good fit for us, you know, and the team gets to know them a little bit. That's always, that's always important to have. Like you know, when you, when you work with guys, that that you like, that you actually get to know a little bit, it just makes the day so much better. So we try to do that a little bit like phase people in.
Speaker 1:
I think that's a great point, that the connection is, you know, a pillar. I think you know we'll talk about these different things a lot, but it's one thing you know when you're a company, there's a couple of things. It's one thing to identify what you need to do, and then the other thing is you have to, you know, actually do it. So I think you know we fall into the category, I think, a lot of times, of like we know what to do and now we just have to hold ourselves accountable to doing it. So, like, connection is a, a are, you know, a priority for us and we're always working to, to improve that and and do that. So I guess you know and I love the phasing in because I think there's there was times before where you bring in 20, you know you have 20 people you know all at once or something like that, and you really you know, when you look at attrition, a lot of times you would, you, you actually couldn't connect with the people, so then they feel lost. Or I can think of even going to networking events or whatever. When you don't know anybody. You're actually just looking for somebody to just like talk to you, kind of. If that's not your personality. Now. Some people just talk to everybody, but you know, I can just think of going into a company. You don't know where anything's at, you don't know anybody. Everybody else is making, like you know, joke here and talking about things and you're just kind of isolated. So I think that's really, you know, really important.
Speaker 1:
I guess you know for Brandon, what do you think we do well in this area? And then I think the other thing to look at is what do you think you know, what are we still working to improve, you know, in this area? Because I think it's important to look at both. You know people can learn from us both ways to say, hey, this is what we're doing well. Ways to say, hey, this is what we're doing well. But also, hey, you know, we want to get better all the time, and you know this is an area that we want to get better and what can we do to continue that journey?
Speaker 3:
Yeah. So I mean, I think one thing that we do well is, like you know, obviously everyone that's like involved in our leadership team, you know, does a really great job of like trying to take people under their wing as they come in and start. You know people that we have devoted to that. Some of the senior guys have been here for a while, you know. They see someone new, they'll kind of reach out and olive branch and like talk to them a little bit, which I think is good. I think the one thing we want to keep doing and driving forward is just getting that to be everyone, because, like, the more that people talk to you, the more comfortable you get. So, like you know, in the case of like, if they're just one person that's doing it right, or maybe just a limited amount, and then that person's not there one morning or that one moment, you kind of feel lost again, right. So, like you make a connection with that one person, you kind of feel lost again, right. So, like, um, you make a connection with that one person and then all of a sudden, you know maybe they have a meeting that morning or maybe whatever's going on, and they're not there Then then you're back to feeling lonely, um, a little bit unsure, you feel out of place, you feel awkward, right, some people are very like outgoing. That's not a big deal to them, but that definitely, that definitely happens. I can think personally for myself.
Speaker 3:
Um, you know, my, my one son, plays travel, travel baseball, and we were uh, we were really liked him to be on this one team. It didn't work out, um, for whatever reason, and then he ended up getting on this other team, which is fine, somewhat of coaches that we're already familiar with, but, like everyone else on the team is from a different school district and area. My son's the only one from his school, so he knows nobody. And like we vaguely know a few people, but not really, and then they all kind of know each other from before. So it gets real awkward for us. You know I feel bad for my son and I just try to, you know, encourage him to like, you know, hey, just try to talk to people and branch out, and you know, because they're, you know it's like it's a little clicky, right, so like everyone's kind of like just hanging out. If no one reaches out an olive branch, it just continues to get worse and I think the longer that goes, the worse it gets Right. So, like for us, it's like pretty awkward and you know where we could do probably a little bit more to like try to to do a better job.
Speaker 3:
But like when everyone else knows he knows each other, and then you're really kind of the odd one out, it gets, it gets like a little bit uncomfortable and you don't, you don't really like enjoy going there, like oh great, you know we got to go to this. Um, you don't really like enjoy going there, like oh great, you know we got to go to this. And you don't, you know you spend so much time at work. You don't want that to be a place that you don't want to go to. Right, you know everyone, everyone, everyone has work, right, and it's not like yeah, it's my favorite thing to do, but you want to. You want to have a workplace or a place that you're going and you're not dreading going to and you really enjoy and there's people you can talk to. You spend a lot of time there. So that's something you want to enjoy doing and that that for me, is just, you know, a quick analogy on how I experience it, not only you know, outside of work.
Speaker 1:
So we we try to really make sure at our workplace we we connect with people so what are one or two things that that we can do better To continually improve that? But also somebody that's listening can say you know, I might be able to do one or two of those things as well to improve. You know, I think there's the, there's a couple of things, there's all different size companies that listen and tune in Right, so you have somebody that's like a smaller organization and I feel like when you're just a one or two person, you know truck and trailer. You typically don't have those issues because you're spending all day with the people. So, like I think anytime you're over, you know two trucks, three trucks, and even then that might still be small enough that you can do it.
Speaker 1:
But I mean you know anything over like a couple trucks or two trucks. You know what are just two or three simple things and I'll check in with both of you here that you can do To help improve that connectability, because I get you know a lot of people can relate to that when you have a, they don't even know that they're doing it, so you may not even know that you're. You have this, this, this group or this click, but from the outside it feels feels like that, so it would, or maybe just you know maybe two things from each of you that you can do that somebody could implement right away. Today, listening to this show, say, hey, do this just to make people feel a little more welcome.
Speaker 2:
Dan, I'll go to you. Um, yeah, I mean one of the things like especially in the spring and sometimes in the fall, but like people that are joining in so you have a chance to like talk and to know each other a little better. Since you haven't worked together yet, you can kind of like adjust, cruise around a little bit in the spring. If you're a real small operation, this might not make sense, but like having someone that's kind of like designated, like company culture lead, so like we have a guy who came on not too long ago but he's like you said about. Some people are just naturally outgoing. This guy just feel like you know, we haven't asked him to do this, but anytime he's around with the group it's like everybody's talking, because it's just something about. He just checks in with everybody, talks to everybody and that kind of brings it out in other people too. So sometimes you have that person that just kind of naturally helps with that process. So if you have that person kind of designated, it can help with that process.
Speaker 1:
Um.
Speaker 2:
So if you have that person kind of designated it can, it can help with that transition.
Speaker 1:
So I think the I think that's awesome. Um, you know, I, I think the idea is um, you know, assigning that person, um, you know assigning that person like to, to be the person to help. You know greet people, welcome. You know that's a, that's a natural talent. I think that that's yeah, that's really good. Um, so, yeah, what about you, brandon?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I mean, uh, one thing that we do that I think really helps, like the whole bonding thing. And again, this might not be like right away, but we always do like a team day where we we get together and, um, you know, spend some time together as a team, which I think is like super helpful. Um, that kind of helps people like mash and, like you know, peel back the layers a little bit of the onion and kind of just see, um, you know what everyone's about and you know, have a good time and just try to connect a little bit more. I think the other thing is just, like you know, having a culture where, where people are, like you know, understand that it's friendly and just say like hey, you know, this is like we do have people that come in and start, you know, just reach out and make sure you're, like you know, connecting with them. We do the flex and and stretch in the morning, which is like a group activity and people kind of like talk and joke. So, like you know, people can kind of get feel for the mood, to feel connected, I think, with that, because there's there's no like, oh, this screws here, that cruise there. It's just like everyone kind of lines up with their cone cones, um, there's no order to where you need to be, um, and it just kind of creates this like atmosphere, I think, where, like people get to be like involved in the group and you don't have to feel like isolated.
Speaker 3:
And I think also one thing that obviously helps is, you know, just trying to make sure that we, when people come in, we really like walk them through the process, we do the training with them, we spend time.
Speaker 3:
We don't just say, hey, how are you doing Bob, shake their hand and say here's a shirt, see you later. Um, I think, like you know, by spending some time with them, giving a little bit of tlc, doing the training, and then like doing the handoff of them, um, so you know, whatever team they may be with um, and just making sure that you know they have understanding. And then you know the crew that they're joining. You know that foreman kind of like is like a mentor a little bit and helps them kind of get on their feet with the crew, and I think a lot of those things go a long way. And then, and like Dan said, you know, if you have a guy that's naturally good at that you know. Obviously we try to, you know, get people into positions where where they're successful and they have natural talent. So you know he's he does a really good job of that organically.
Speaker 1:
I think the other thing that I, you know, think of is, you know, when one of the things in our flex and stretch, we actually designed it Now this is one thing that we're not doing great now but like the way that was designed at the flex and stretch, which was actually to play music, and I think music's something that bring people together. So I don't know if there's a way that we can incorporate that back into it, but whether we like get people it's like playlists or things that they like, so we can just play it and it's already scripted because like one of the things that's funny, like play it, and it's already scripted because like one of the things that's funny, like I mean, there's guy you know, like I'll, I'll listen to some, do a lipa, right. You know like that's a. You know that's my jam, right, I'll get into. You know, I like a bunch of different things, but you know, do a leap, but can do, if that's even how you say it, I can get down with that, right.
Speaker 1:
So the idea is like, if I play my song, right, people like lat, like that somebody might be in the Taylor Swift. You're like this guy is in. You know this girl, you know, whoever You're like, I didn't think that. So then it just creates this camaraderie. Like, you know, you're a Taylor Swift fan. You went to the concert last week, what you know. You got a front row, so like that's kind of the idea. Or you have somebody that's like DMX you know, that's my jam, you know. So you just kind of start to get to connect with people and then then all of a sudden you're like, oh, I remember that that was back and you, any way that you can create, you know, connections at that time and just make it fun. And I think that'd be something to try to get you know back into the mix, because music does bring people together.
Speaker 1:
And I especially think if it's, if it's like, if you would say like, hey, this is, you know, this is, um, you know tim's playlist. You know he might play billy joel and and like the bgs or like the, the smoky robinson or something. Yeah, I don't know but that, but then that's him, you know, and it's like wow, like whose playlist is this today? Guess the playlist, right, you know, you could do anytime you can, can break that ice with some people, or even if there's some new people, I think that would be a fun game to play is like guess the playlist, or you know, or something. It's not long, I mean our flexing stretches. You know five to eight minutes, so I mean you can play, like you could play one song a day, you know, know, or just something, but I think that would help.
Speaker 1:
The other thing that I thought of, which would be kind of, you know, a little bit goofy, but it's almost like creating trading cards with, like you know, your hobbies or your favorite food, or something that you can know Because I know. Like when I go to a networking event or there's a group that I don't know or people introduce themselves, somebody is like, oh, I like dirt bikes. And then next thing, you know, that person goes over to the person and says, hey, what type of dirt bikes do you have? I ride dirt bikes. Then, all of a sudden, that bond.
Speaker 1:
So I think as a company, in my opinion, you know it's it's trying to foster some of the things that stimulate conversations, like music, getting people's information out there so that people can relate to somebody. It's like, oh, I'm not making this political, but like, oh, you like Biden, me too. Oh, you like Trump, oh, me too. Right. So anything that you can associate with people, with anything, and I think the political thing is just a funny thing. But, like you know, I'm a Chevy guy, I'm a Ford guy, anything. If you had that on the trading card, you know I like cards.
Speaker 1:
I'm in a band. Oh, you're in a band, like I'm. I'm a drummer, you know, I do. I'm a DJ on the weekend. Right To me, that builds culture because it actually it brings people together. So I think those are some great, great ideas and some great things. And I think you know, if you are, you know a business, you know, just just think about these things. So I'll, I'll go to Brandon first, but you know what would be, maybe your takeaway from you know, from today, or something that you would recommend somebody doing in their small business, and then we'll, then we'll switch to the uh, you can't make it up quick.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I mean, I think any way that you can like make people feel comfortable, right. So like that's that's super important, whether you know it's going to depend on your size of your company. But, like you know, if you're bigger you can maybe appoint someone. If you're smaller, it's just getting that. You know that core is like. Sometimes if you're a smaller company, that core is so tight. You know they make it a little hard for new people to come in, right? So like you got to make sure that everyone understands like part of our philosophy here is is allowing new people to come in and not stonewalling them.
Speaker 3:
You know, just and just promoting a culture where where people like you know you want to have as much fun as you can at work because you want to have a good time. You spend a lot of time there, so it needs to be a good environment. Obviously, we you need to be productive and have fun, but we've heard a lot of things over the years where, like the environment wasn't good, management wasn't good, a lot of like yelling and screaming and stuff. So like we've really pushed to have an amazing environment where none of those things happen and people feel welcome. Like that's our always our goal, which in in the industry of like construction type of thing, is not always the case. So you know, that's what's one big thing for us and I think that's I think that's huge Just making people feel welcome, because if you don't feel welcomed, you're not going to want to keep coming back.
Speaker 1:
Right, yeah, awesome. What about you Dan?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I mean, well, just real quick touch on that Just in general, just in life. I've always considered that to be one of the best qualities that a person can have. That to be one of the one of the best qualities that a person can have is just like being having a welcoming personality, just the kind of person that like reaches out to people, just has that kind of energy that like makes you feel very approachable, kind of thing. Like just in life. I've always considered that to be like a top tier attribute that someone can have, um, and you know it's the same with a company, of course.
Speaker 2:
So, yeah, I mean, um, you know, making sure you take, you take the time like factor in time to. You know, have have a little bit of fun here and there. Um, obviously we gotta get, gotta get our work done, but we always try to like, you know, we'll have, like our team days where guys, you know go out to get wings or something um after work or you know, something quick in the morning, like play some kind of like quick game, have some kind of tournament going on, um, so just those those kind of things really help, you know, make the make the experience overall just more fun for everybody.
Speaker 1:
So I think people mention like ping pong tables. I mean those are things like you can get. Um, I mean, we mentioned that pretty recently but, like you know, ping pong table online is like 100 bucks. I mean that would. That would give a lot of trash talking a lot of fun. So I mean, just think of things outside the box, simple, and maybe we, maybe we get a ping pong table and just come in one day and just, you know, check it up, see whoever wins. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that keeps it fun.
Speaker 1:
But you gotta, it takes effort and time. So switch it over to. You can't make it up anything, anything that you've seen recently. If we have one, great, if we don't, great. But I'll just open it up to you know, either one of you, if you had something you just can't make it up.
Speaker 1:
Uh, again, the segment of this is, if it's your first time listening, we pick something that you just see, that you just look and you're like you just can't make it up. You know they can't figure out. They need a manual to use a toilet like a plunger. They strap down dirt. You know we have tons of examples. So if you listen to some episodes, you just like you, just can't make it up. So if you have things or, uh, your company does, or you've seen people when you're out and about, please share them, send them to us. You know we're building a database, that we're going to have a bracket challenge where we'll see who has as the best. But just, is there anything that you've seen recently in the last um, you know a couple of days, or you know that you just like you just can't make it up a couple of days, or you know that you just like you just can't make it up. So I'll just turn it over If you have something great, if not, that's great too, but I'll just check in.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I mean I I can think of one with, like all the rain we're getting right now. Currently it's like a monsoon where we're at, of course, first week of mowing and it's just dumping rain all week. But one of the ones I've seen on the internet before that kind of made me, made me laugh was like people shoveling and scooping like flooded areas of water and then they dumped it over a fence and it was a chain link fence. The water just comes right back through, um, so I mean you can't make it up. You see that everywhere you see people do dumb stuff. But yeah, like they literally were scooping water, flooded water up, put it over top of the fence, like it was going to make a difference, but as a chain link fence, so it just comes right back through you just can't make it up.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, dan, what about you? Anything um?
Speaker 2:
I mean something that that comes to mind from from real. Recently was I had a I I had a meeting just yesterday, just a sales sales meeting. I stopped out at a potential client's house. You know I always try to like sit down with them a little bit, go over, like you know, some of the key questions, get the information we need so we can get them good service. And so I, I go into this, this person's house, and it's it's just kind of like wall to wall with stuff just everywhere and you know she has she has one chair free for her and one chair free for someone else. So like I have a place to sit down, but then, like she basically spends the first like five minutes trying to like you know, explain to me how you know she's not one of those people that that keeps too much stuff. Like I got this chair for someone to use. Like some people they don't even have a chair for somebody to use.
Speaker 2:
So you know she was almost one of them, yeah but, to her credit, I had a place to sit, so it was a nice visit.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, you can't make it up. People that think that they're not the person that does the thing that they're trying to avoid, right? Yeah, that's good. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back at it live. Check out LOS peer group landscape operating system to improve processes in your business. Grow your business, grow your profits. Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you soon.