The Keys To A High-Performance Mindset

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of interviewing two companies on a webinar in conjunction with our 12th Annual Peer Benchmark Report. The goal was to demonstrate what sets successful landscape companies apart from average companies and to inspire participants to improve their trajectories, no matter the circumstances.

I spoke with Eric Blevins, owner of Evolve Landscaping, a full-service company based in Garner, North Carolina, and Jessica Milligan, president of Montreal-based Strathmore, to learn how they think about values, innovation, and technology in their landscape businesses.

Before founding Evolve in 2017, Blevins led branches for two national companies. Founded by Milligan’s grandfather in 1963, Strathmore is known for sustainability and a diverse workforce made up of 25 percent women.

Values

Both owners emphasized the importance of communicating company values to provide clarity to team members.

At Strathmore, core values include positivity and respect for one another.

“I tell people right from their first day, ‘We are a happy group of people,'” Milligan says. “The job is hard, but because one of our core values is a positive attitude, it differentiates the people who are happy to be here versus the people who are just here for a job.”

She notes that respect is an essential value because there are five generations and more than 40 nationalities represented in Strathmore’s workforce.

“You’re going to meet people who think differently from you, who do things differently from you, who have different beliefs than you. That’s OK if you have a foundational level of respect.”

Blevins also prioritizes people, noting he uses Team Engine to recognize birthdays and anniversaries, for example.

“When you treat employees with respect, and you pour into them from a human standpoint as well as training and other job skills, then they carry that out to the jobsite and the interaction they have with customers,” he says. “That leads to long-term relationships with employees, which is always great, but it also leads to long-term relationships with customers and clients.”

Technology

When it comes to technology, both companies invested in powerful software systems before conventional wisdom would say they needed them. As an example, both companies were early adopters of Aspire to help them manage their businesses.

Both owners emphasized focusing on the return on investment for technology, not just the sticker price. Software, or any other product or service, is only “expensive” if there is a low return on the annual investment.

“Also consider the return for your time, the peace of mind, and level of stress,” Blevins says. “Mentally, it helps me feel better and sleep better at night knowing I have accurate data and my arms around my business.”

Innovation

Being willing to try new things is a hallmark of Evolve’s and Strathmore’s approach to business. For example, Blevins was an early adopter of drone technology, and Strathmore has operated zero-emissions landscaping crews for years.

Both companies also take unique approaches to team member communications and collaboration. Milligan explains how supervisors and crews meet at the end of the day to review data, discuss how the day went, and plan for the next day.

“We’ve gone past the point where people are happy to just show up and be herded out and sent off to work for 10 hours a day,” she says. “They want to know what’s going on and why.”

As a self-proclaimed “data nerd,” Blevins is also a fan of reviewing the numbers, but he says he wants his leaders to be out in the field, not bogged down by meetings. This mentality led to an arrangement where staff meetings take place only on Wednesday mornings, freeing up the team to spend time with their crews and customers the rest of the week.

Final Thoughts

I was inspired by what Strathmore and Evolve have built, as I am every time I speak to owners of high-performing companies. I hope their comments inspire your leadership as well.