Earlier this month Tom Fochtman, Ceibass CEO, was in Ponte Vedra, Florida for planning sessions with the Executive Teams of both the National Association of Landscape Professionals Board and Foundation, along with various committee chairs.

“Planning is its own action. Like crafting a route or doing an estimate or repairing a mower, planning is a skill that has to be learned, and it starts by thinking and acting that planning is important,” said Tom. “I say that because in our industry the belief that planning is important is not as widespread as you might think. We see lawn & landscape owners cringe at the thought of it, postpone it, not give their full effort around it, and inevitably, not hold to the plan of action once they start to implement it.”

Tom went on to say, “When it comes to declaring the time to plan and do it well there seems to be many ‘fires’ that need to be attended to, client problems that crop up, and an attitude that I have to get back to doing the ‘real work’ and that this planning can wait. What we do know for sure is that developing a successful business that someone would want to purchase is not easy task. It does not appear out of thin air. There is no magic. So plan.”

Review the “attitudes” that you may have around planning. Give it the respect that it deserves. And demand that respect from your planning team. Don’t tolerate delays, or weak, incomplete thinking. Show everyone in your company how important great planning is to the success of your company, and that you value the skill. It will pay you dividends in the end.