Building a Culture of Pride through Process-Oriented Practices

Ever find yourself tangled in the underbrush of daily operations, yearning for a clear path to efficiency and teamwork? That's exactly where Brandon, Dan, and I were before we unearthed the power of structured processes in the landscaping business. Join us as we embark on a journey from the chaos of unmanaged equipment and the dreaded scramble for trucks, to a well-oiled machine where color-coordinated parking spots and biweekly routines aren't just about order—they're about setting the groundwork for accountability and pride in workmanship. We'll share how the simple act of assigning tasks and recognizing the small wins can lead to a monumental shift in workplace culture, transforming a group of individuals into a cohesive unit that celebrates every blade sharpened and every burger flipped together.

As we navigate through the chapters of our discussion, we peel back the layers of how a strict adherence to processes not only boosts efficiency but also carves out space for personal and professional growth. It's not just about getting the job done; it's about fostering an environment where each team member is held to high standards and rewarded for excellence. Brandon and Dan bring their firsthand experiences to the table, illustrating the undeniable connection between clear communication, accountability, and a thriving work culture. Tune in for a hearty blend of practical advice and inspiring tales that will have you reflecting on the potential for transformation in your own team—whether you're wielding a hedge trimmer or a spreadsheet.

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

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Morning. Everyone here live on Landscape Talk Morning Show. Have a great episode. We're going to be talking a little bit about processes, and the process that we're specifically talking about is sharpening blades, cleaning trucks, keeping things organized, really driving accountability in your organization and how we do it with one specific area, and hopefully it can help you do that. So if you're interested in driving a little bit more accountability with your team, we're going to talk a little bit about some of the things that we've learned when we've tried to do it, when it didn't work, and then, ultimately, what we found to work with our crews for taking care of equipment and really just keeping things clean, organized, sharp all of those things. So if you're interested in processes like this, check out LOS. Los is a landscape operating system that's combined with a peer group where you get to share ideas and learn a lot of this stuff from other landscapers, as well as best business practices. So if you're interested in that, check it, scan the QR code and be good to go. So let's just, we'll dive in today. Maybe you know we're here today with Brandon and Dan, maybe just give an idea of.

Speaker 1: 1:20

I guess the question is a lot of people, a lot of business owners and firms struggle with processes. So, as we talk about some of the things that we're doing, there's different areas. So one of those is, you know, cleaning, prepping, making sure trucks are ready. You know all those things. So you know, maybe, brandon, you could share a little bit about what life was like before processes, because a lot of times people that are listening they might, a lot of them are going to be pre-processed, they're trying to get to that point.

Speaker 1: 1:56

So by sharing what it was like and you know where we sucked and you know things weren't good, and that type of stuff, it helps them say, hey, that's me, that's me. I'm feeling that right now. And then I think it would be good to share a couple of things that we might have tried. I mean, you've been here over the years, maybe things that we tried and didn't work. And then maybe we can switch to Dan, where you share a little bit about what we're doing today and how it's working in that. So I think that would be a good flow, a good short episode, just to kind of map out this in a really specific way for anybody that's looking to do that. So I'll turn it over to you, brandon, you know any thoughts that you have and maybe just you know share some things on your perspective.

Speaker 2: 2:39

Yeah, sure, so definitely I mean some processes. You know things that we sucked at I can think of, you know, when it comes to, like, field staff and things like that. Um, you know, at the beginning one of the things was just like organization at the end of the day was like not good.

Speaker 2: 2:58

So like we had some things in place. We had a dumpster as soon as you pulled in, kind of a fuel tank, growing the fuel up, empty out their trash and stuff. But we didn't have designated parking spots. Sounds crazy, but everybody just kind of pulled in into an empty lot and with the amount of trucks and stuff we had, they had to be front and back, so you know one truck in front of another setup. So then in the mornings if for any reason you know that truck in the front needed to get something or didn't have something ready, they were holding up the crew behind them and then that crew is standing there. They might have everything they need for that day. They don't need to make any adjustments and they're waiting for the other crew to get out. So that was one process that we streamlined got set up, got guys set up in parking spots that they're in the same spot. We color coordinate everything. That's another big process.

Speaker 1: 3:58

I think one of the things that I would just yeah, I think one of the things that we're just maybe trying to focus on today is just the Thursday payroll and like that, just that specific process of you know what was it like before when we were doing like that? Like every two weeks or on a pay week, biweekly, we bring the guys in to do what and why is it important, and what were we like before we did that? So just kind of painting the picture. You know, every two weeks, you know, when it's a payroll week, they wash trucks, they do. You know all the things there. So I want to, I really want to dive down just that specific process and and like, what was it like before we started? You know doing that. You know so for just clarification purposes.

Speaker 1: 4:44

We, we wash trucks, we inspect them, we sharpen blades. You know doing that. Um, you know so for just clarification purposes. We, we wash trucks, we inspect them, we sharpen blades. You know we do all that type of stuff.

Speaker 1: 4:51

But what were some of the things? I mean, I, I can think of one thing we sharpen blades like two times a year. You know it'd be like july. We'd be like, hey, did we sharpen the blades yet and they're like you know, no, and you're like what do you mean? We didn't sharpen blades. So just kind of like some of the challenges that we saw, maybe before we implemented that, and you know maybe some of the benefits that you see from doing that. And then, dan, maybe you know a little bit more about the, you know the process there and what we see, and you know we've implemented some checks to make sure that there's accountability. You know all that good stuff, because I think people are actually looking to say I'm not sharpening my blades. Things seem like they're a mess. You know my trucks aren't clean and everybody really wants this. I think you know you want to have clean trucks, you want to have a good image, but we did too for a long time and we didn't until we did.

Speaker 2: 5:45

So how do you get there? Yeah, so I think it was, you know, basically just setting like, listen, this is when it's getting done and we will be checking up and following up on it, because prior to that we'd be like, hey, guys, sharpen your blades, and then they would kind of just go through the motion and not really do it. They get back later. Whatever it is, and our expectation is it needs to get done on a pay week, no matter what. So, like we're saying, like, carve out the time to make sure, like manage your own time and make sure you have time to do it, because it's going to be expected. We're going to inspect it, we're going to make sure that it's done, whereas before guys would just not do it as often as they should and they would try to, like, you know, alter things. So they would, you know, adjust their deck, their deck height or something like that. You know, we have all that stuff preset. We don't want them adjusted. Just if they do the process, they clean their decks out, you get a better cut. If you sharpen your blade, you get a better cut. Instead of just taking, you know, 15, 15, 20 minutes to do that. Um, they would, they would try to like do other things to get around it. So you know what we?

Speaker 2: 6:53

What we started doing was, um, you know we would do that on a thursday. If we're in on a friday, we would check it. If it wasn't friday, then we'd be in on monday and we'd go around, check it, take photos, um, and then, you know, sometimes award a winner or, you know, base things off of that, highlight the people that do a great job. Um, you know, don't necessarily point out to people that didn't, but, uh, human nature is you want to be praised. So, um, you see someone else getting praised for it. Um, you know it's funny, you see someone else getting praised for it. You know it's funny.

Speaker 2: 7:27

We just did this last pay week. We hit an award for the best. I went around the next day, checked all the trucks and trailers, took photos and then said, hey, this is who. I thought their setup looked the best and we gave out an award for it. And it's funny because this week I see guys spit shining. I mean, they're, they're, they're doing everything they can to clean their trucks and make them look good. So you know that was top of mind. Trucks are looking a lot sharper, looking a lot better or, you know, improves your image and you know people end up carving out the time for it because they know it's important, because we put an emphasis on it.

Speaker 1: 8:04

So and there was some, there's some.

Speaker 2: 8:07

I feel like this week's going to be a tough one because I mean they were they were waxing them babies, yeah, and they, they look good and they even even you know I mentioned just thinking of this, even though we have a process in place doing that award but then also pointing out to people like, hey, it's not just pull out the pressure washer and spray it, it's like get it out and scrub it clean. The windows really go the full way and you know, the first truck I seen back while I was still there did the full nine yards. They scrubbed it down, they, you know, water to it is great, that, that's okay, but like, if you, you know, know there's nothing like a good old hand scrubbing on a on a vehicle to get it clean.

Speaker 1: 8:48

So we're not looking for just a little rinse here, we're looking for the good old spit shine. You know, yeah, get, get it, get it good. I mean I saw windows getting washed inside and outside. Um, yeah, I mean, I think we have a a good competition and and the award too, um, is actually 50 bucks still. Um, you know, for the crew, uh, you know, to a local, you know convenience store, gas station, whatever. So, you know, get your chew, get your cigs, like you know, whatever you need, you know, get your gatorade, your red bulls, your monsters. You know, if you're a landscaper, it's life essential that is super valuable to have. Maybe get two Red Bulls for 50 bucks, or what is it? Monsters and a gallon of gas. What have you seen that's been good in this process? Then? What would you know? What have you seen that's been good in this process? You know what would be good for somebody to know that's considering this or is feeling like the disorganization are you asking me?

Speaker 3: 10:00

yeah, yep yeah, and you know whatever it's fine, yeah, I mean my, my initial thought was just like how, how much easier it is to to get some of these things done when, yeah, there's like a set time to do it. I mean there's other processes that are like this, but like, like you said before, if you just set the expectation of, yeah, get this done at some point in the week, you know that doesn't work as well, because you know you might get back knowing you got to sharpen your blades but like, oh, these crews are heading out already because they did theirs. I'm stuck here having to do mine today because I didn't do it before. And then there's that temptation to like put it off, whereas you know, if you have the team getting back at the end of the day, they're all kind of working together doing the same things. It makes it more enjoyable for one.

Speaker 3: 10:54

We're all there, like you know, work on these things together, um, and just like it makes it a lot easier to just do it in that window of time and not like put it off to the next day or the next day or whatever, um, and like that. I think that's just kind of true in general. There's other processes that are like that, where you know, we've had guys do a certain thing that they're responsible for, but once we, once we set a designated time to do it, then all of a sudden, like it became a lot easier and guys were seeing each other do it, so it made it easier for them to do it, kind of thing. So I think that applies kind of broadly to processes in general.

Speaker 1: 11:30

I really like the point that you made there about, like the camaraderie. You know, a lot of times when you're on, you know we, you know another episode we could talk about some of the culture things that we do, like you know, burger Day or team days or things like that. You know we got a guy wants to cook up you know brisket and bring in a bunch of meat. You know, like you know. So the idea is, like you know, those things are fun and we do them, but, like anytime, you can build things into your like culture, do them, but, like anytime, you can build things into your like culture. And I don't know that we tried it like this. But I like your point, dan, of you know there's a camaraderie at the end of the day. You know, around around the shop, like I was around yesterday and you know they're honking the horn, you know it's like. You know they're just shouting at each other, like you know, I mean in a good fun way, right, but and then, um, you know they I mean in a good fun way, right, but, and then, um, you know they're doing a couple of things around the shop and I think there's just like a, a team building atmosphere that happens while they're doing the process, and I just think it's. It's really good.

Speaker 1: 12:34

I don't know that that was something that I, you know, thought of or expected from it, but it's amazing how that naturally forms when you have some of these things and you're actually holding people accountable. And I always say it seems like counterintuitive because you're like you're holding people accountable to raise a standard and then they end up liking it. They're like this is like, it builds camaraderie. So you know, for people that are afraid to like, hold people accountable, like people like, like it and it actually creates positive energy.

Speaker 2: 13:10

It created, it's created a lot for us. Yeah, I would. I would say that's definitely something like. I seen a quote the other day by Saban. It was like a little clip and it was like you know, why are you?

Speaker 2: 13:19

so hard on your players or something like that, and he said that it's a culture thing and everyone has the expectation, everyone's bought in to a high level standard and everyone wants to be held at that standard. That's what great teams do. So I think I think that's like you know, kind of where this leans into. You know, sometimes you're like, well, you know the group of people I have. You know they're not going to, they're not going to adhere to it or they won't do it, and I think those are just doubts or excuses you're making in your head where you're just going to say Great people want to be held accountable and they want everyone else held that same standard. I can think of places that I've worked before where you know there was a standard but not everyone was held to it, only some. That only creates animosity and people being pissed off. So I think it's you know you got to hold everyone to that standard and that accountability and when you do that it leads to greatness.

Speaker 1: 14:20

So I think that's another good topic to talk about sometime. But you know I love, you know I love that where you commit to like improving and you know I think about things that are difficult. You know I've seen a lot of things over the years but you know there's things that are difficult. But you know, when you have a team that helps you, like rise above, like even things when are, you know, are outside, like comfort zones or whatever, and you just, you like, look back, maybe a couple of years later and you're like you know what I wasn't good at this and like I pushed myself a little bit and I got better. You know I can think of, I think a lot. This is an example I think of.

Speaker 1: 15:01

A lot is in in elementary school or maybe it was middle school, it was typing. So I had a typing teacher and typing was a thing you know. I don't know what they do now, you know I don't know, but you type Right and Her name was Mrs. I think it was like tidy or it was almost like typing, mrs Typing or something it was like really close to the thing. But anyway, the idea was it was like tidy or it was almost like typing, this is typing or something. It was like really close to the thing, but anyway, the idea was it was really hard and the program was like Mavis Beacon or something back in the day I don't know if anybody had that, but anyway, you just remember these things. So but it was like really hard to type.

Speaker 1: 15:35

But there's many times where I think, you know, I probably at least think at least once a year, like I'm thankful for that person that helped make sure that I typed and made me do it, because it changed my life. In the sense this sounds silly, but it changed my life that, like, I can type very fast and it saved me a ton of time. Um and it. It's been helpful in everything that I do, whether it was school, Um and it. It's been helpful in everything that I do, whether it was school, college work, writing papers, books, any of that stuff. It was big and it, it, and she was not the most popular at the time because she made you do it. And I go back to that and I'm like man, that was one of the most beneficial things of you know my, you know education at that point, because it's impacted everything that I've done in the future.

Speaker 1: 16:23

So I think it's like sometimes you don't even understand why people hold you accountable, but like when you have a supportive staff or people around you, things that are difficult in the moment you look back and you're like man, I learned that skill at this place and it helped me get better and I think that's just you know. That's amazing. So as a, as an owner, I look and say like you know, how do we do that for our people? How do they not know what they're learning today? But maybe five years down the road they're like you know what? I learned something there. I learned how to deal with my emotions because I wasn't in check with stuff and I would just like cuss somebody out. You know what, if you, that's a life skill. So I mean I get, I get fired up about that stuff. And you know, I do get messages from time to time from people in the past where they realize that they learn something and then they reach out.

Speaker 1: 17:15

That's really fun you know, or if they're currently in the organization, they learn something. That's fun too, but you know, you don't always see it in the time. It's kind of like parents and kids, right, same thing. So, yeah, anything else with the, with the process, I think one thing maybe. Just comment on the checking, because I think there was one thing that we were doing it, and I think, brandon, you mentioned about the, you know, like the bonus or the award, and it was getting done okay. But when we put that in place, it seemed like it kind of took it to a next level. But you know, what do we do to communicate? So communication is important, but what do we do to communicate what we're checking so that they would know? I mean Dan or Brandon, whoever- yeah.

Speaker 2: 18:04

So we, we communicated that like we will be checking up on, you know, the cleanliness and that you're doing that, doing exactly what we told you needs done. So you know, I think, being you know, very blunt and letting them know like we will be checking to make sure that these things needs done. So, you know, I think, being you know very blunt and letting them know like we will be checking to make sure that these things are done. We want to see like this is what we considered the standard of being clean and we sent out a list of like vacuum out the truck, no draft trash or debris, everything organized, put in the right way. Clean the windows organized, put in the right way. Clean the windows, wash the truck tire shine. You know, make sure it's really clean, looking sharp. And inside the trailers, everything needs to be organized.

Speaker 2: 18:46

Now, that's a that's a daily thing, but you know, take a little bit of extra time to make sure that's done. Make sure your mowers are cleaned and washed they should be getting done as well on a payday, um, and then your decks are cleaned and your blades are sharp. If those things are done, um, you know we're, we're taking photos and we're we're looking at those things and and then the award goes out to the person that does the best job and, um, you know, it's just like it doesn't matter if you're you're in your thirties, forties, fiftiess, 60s. It's just like a kid. You know, in baseball, if you win the drill, or you know in a sport, you win. That makes you feel good and everyone else wants to work a little bit harder to win too. So like they want the chance to win. So that's how I kind of see it and I think that's been like a big game changer and again, you can see results all the time with it.

Speaker 2: 19:43

I seen it this week where guys are just putting a little bit more extra effort and emphasis onto it, like, okay, you know, I want to win too. I want to get my name shout out, I want a gift card to, you know, be able to grab a couple of things from the you know the gas station and be able to to get some stuff. So yeah, I think that's, I think that's huge, huge. A lot of times, you know, just being able to be highlighted in front of the group is like a big deal. You know, getting the shout out in front of everybody, that matters, you know it doesn't. It doesn't always have to be monetary. Monetary is helpful, but it's not like you have to spend hundreds of dollars, you know. I think that I think that's a big thing.

Speaker 1: 20:28

Yeah, there was a couple. You know we have new trucks and we have some older trucks and you know a few of the ones that were a little bit older I saw and they were really shined up and it's like what, what's there, you know what's the thing? Like you can't polish a turd or something. Somebody says that. Somebody. I've heard somebody say I don't know if it's you, somebody says that, but like not that, it's like that bad of a truck, I mean. But it's just like you know they're a little bit older and some of those they just had shined up like really nice, like they were. You know all the wheels were completely black, it was shined up, nice, um, so it's just, it's impressive, you know.

Speaker 1: 21:04

I think that that's that's pretty cool. And then the other thing is like clear expectations are really big. So the checklist, like I saw a couple that did not wet wheel the tires. So like you know, if everything else is in check and you're grading it, like they're going to get, you know they're they're missing out on that, that thing, because that's that's really the curb that helps really with the curb appeal and going out to customers and looking good, like we care. So you know they, they always say you only get one first impression. So you know, I think that that's really really good. So, dan, anything else you want to add to this topic before we switch to the?

Speaker 3: 21:41

Yeah, that's what I was just going to say specifically about having to. Yeah, just, I mean, having the specific checklist I was going to say is important. So, like guys aren't wondering what, what else can I do to try to get ahead, try to get this in good shape? They know exactly the steps, especially early on. Then, once you've done it a few times, you kind of get to know it Like you know all the steps like the back of your hand. But early on it's just like defining what the standard is specifically with a, with something that's really clear. A list you could just go down is always good.

Speaker 1: 22:21

Yeah, that's, that's awesome. So anything recently that you've seen that you know you can't make it up, so we actually had and I'll have to share it. We actually started to get some things coming in. You know you can't make it up, so you know we'll be able to share a couple of those things but again, just to set the standard, you can't make it up.

Speaker 1: 22:37

It's the things that you see that you're like you just can't make it up, like how would they do that? I give the example. Every time you see somebody strapping down dirt. There's a million different examples of you see things in the landscape, industry or your people or our people or whoever's people are doing these things and you're like what in the world are they thinking? You can't strap down dirt. There's a lot of crazy stories out there and we're starting to compile them. Again, we're going to set up like kind of a bracket and then do some giveaways, but we're sharing them just to get a little laugh and chuckle. So anything that you've seen that you're just like, oh my goodness, you just can't make it up.

Speaker 3: 23:15

Well, I mean, the thing that comes to mind right away is, um, you know, we have for all our, our properties. You know, there's always like a point of contact, someone on the property, that's like the person that like gets our messages and everything. We're in regular communication. Um, and you know, one of our guys goes out to do a residential. You know, uh, yesterday I think, or the day before, and to be fair, it's not a residential, he'd been to before, you know, but it's it. He knows the client's name, he knows it's a home, and he, he reaches out and asks, like who's the contact at this place? It's like, well, you know, I'll give you one guess, the contact is the homeowner yeah, yeah, it's the name we talked about earlier.

Speaker 2: 24:03

Yeah that that was a head scratcher. When that one came in, I just looked at dan in disbelief and I was just like this can't be real. It was real, but yep, you can't make it up. It was crickets after we responded, so I guess maybe it was just kind of like oh, that was pretty stupid that I asked that, but yeah, for me I can't. Mine, uh was. We have a guy running our mulch crew. He's doing a great job. Um, you know, had some experience before he's doing.

Speaker 2: 24:36

He's doing good loading truck you know, helping to lead the crew, trying to make sure they stay on task Um, and the other day they wrapped up. You know, I always told him the idea is to try to get the truck empty, um and prep so that's ready to load for the next day. So you have a full truck going now because we have multiple trucks. There's a mulch machine on the back of this and he's like he was getting ready to leave. We loaded up the first truck to make sure that one was loaded, just a regular f-250 with a dump bed. And then we have another bigger truck that he's driving. So I check him out and then he pulls up to to get checked out and I said how much are you loaded? He said no, I have probably about a quarter of a truck. I told him that we need to try to make sure it's empty at the end of the day. I was like, okay.

Speaker 2: 25:25

I just was checking to make sure everything was closed up. I peeked in and it looked like there was barely anything in there. I jumped up, looked inside the truck and there's two wheel barrels in the truck. He was going to drive the truck and there's like two wheel barrels in the truck, so he was going to drive the truck out. This truck can hold probably 13, 14 yards of mulch with two wheelbarrows in it. Cause he didn't simply check it. So I was like dude, you got to load up Like you're going to drive 15 minutes out to the job site unload two wheelbarrows and drive back, like just unload them here in our bin and reload them.

Speaker 2: 25:55

So you know, even though they're they're, they're good guys, they, they know the process, sometimes they always just need checked out. And that's another, you know, point of emphasis and thing that we do is we have a checkout point before they leave to catch things like that you know it's dumb stuff where, like, we could have wasted and lost a lot of time Instead saved probably you know 30, 40 minutes of drop, unnecessary driving. So that for me was you can't make it up. I was like I almost smacked myself in the forehead on that one. You're gonna gonna leave with two wheelbarrows. That's not gonna get a whole lot done, so you can't make it up yeah, always good stuff.

Speaker 1: 26:35

Thanks for tuning in. Again, if you're interested in processes and scaling and some of the things that we talk about, los is a peer group and operating system that helps you bring that into your landscape. Business kind of comes alongside of you and gives you the roadmap to do it in that. Another thing that is new to you know LOS that, I think, is that you might be worth checking out is out the a la carte system where you can add a la carte services like bookkeeping or some other things that you may need help with if you're a small business. So really awesome, they're really popular. So check them out and thanks for tuning in and we'll be back. Thanks for joining us.