It’s the EconomyYes, the economy is in shambles. One large U.S. investment bank has disappeared while the remaining four have been acquired or become conventional banks. As of July 30, 2009 sixty-four banks have closed this year1. The New York Times reports, that beyond the $700 billion TARP bailout, the government has committed to spend about $12.2 trillion2 to prop up the sagging economy. . The residential housing market has collapsed and the commercial property market is on the brink of disaster.

What does this mean to our industry? In interviews with contractors, suppliers and manufacturers across the country, the overall U.S. landscape industry declined between 25% to 30% in 2008. Keeping at the current pace, it appears that the landscape industry may decline an additional 20% to 30% in 2009. Overall, this the contraction to our market over the last eighteen months is between 40% to 50%. The West Coast and East Coast have been hit the hardest. The Midwest, with the exception of Michigan, is experiencing the least amount of decline. Even in areas with lesser amounts of decline, such as Indiana, the pain is still present.

BRAVE NEW WORLDSEvery organization has the power and the talent when unleashed will create dramatic change.

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“To begin with, it’s worth noting that all the insanity around us notwithstanding there will be a moment when this age will start to make sense: That brave new world will look very different than it does now...”

— Joshua Cooper Ramo, author of The Age of the Unthinkable

By Tom Barrett

In Indiana, companies focused on the residential market felt the pinch early last year. This year, companies focused on the commercial market are feeling the economic crunch. Overall, in the last eighteen months, the landscape market in Indiana is down 30%. While not as bad as California or Florida the decline is still frightening.

The only bright spot is commercial maintenance and mowing contractors. Dan Diehl, with Consumer Manager for Kenney Equipment says, “With the unusually wet weather over the last two years, the commercial mowing market has stayed about the same. However, everyone is being very cautious and prices have dropped as companies struggle to stay in business.”

CompetitionIn the short term, competition is fierce as competitors drop prices. Margins are being squeezed. Surviving companies will be lean and extremely efficient. Can companies reinvent themselves in a down market? The list of companies that have started in down economies is legendary. Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Dell Computers are all companies that started in down economies. Reinvention is possible. In the 1950‘s AT&T reinvented their telephone network. Businesses today have a unique opportunity to rethink how they conduct business. The smart companies are doing this. They have changed. Smart companies are accepting the economic chaos and are seeking hidden opportunities.

SurvivalThe companies that survive will have these attributes:1. AdaptabilityCompanies that are incredibly quick and responsive will survive this crisis. “In nature, it is not survival of the strongest or the smartest of the species but the species that is the most adaptable to change,” said Charles Darwin. Adaptability also speaks to the need to be incredible efficient. Companies across the nation are reducing costs at an alarming rate. Those companies which understand most effectively where to reduce expenses without reducing essential services will prosper.

2. Great Customer ServiceGreat customer service never goes out of fashion. Take care of your existing customers while your competition offers panic driven discounts. Know your customers. Talk to your customers. Great customer service is all about communication.

Great customer service also means great quality. The value proposition of your company depends upon delivering what a customer wants. It also depends on

delivering it when your customer wants it. Finally, delivering all this at a value a customer expects is what separates you in the market. Quality has never been more important.

3. CourageGreat leaders know tough times create opportunity to drive change and innovation. Historically, the companies that invest in marketing and sales fare best in economic downturns. Increasing sales and marketing expenses when your company is slashing everything feels counter intuitive. It takes courage. Your competition is cutting expenses in sales and marketing making your marketing efforts even more lucrative. Your marketing will standout. How do you communicate with potential customers without marketing and sales?

4. Transformative LeadershipTransformative leadership requires the courage to hold a vision and an inspiration that people can follow. Transformative leadership is driven by sustainability and not simple efficiency. Decisions are open and transparent. Transformative leaders use consultation and participation as a process to create change. The change required is not in what we do as a business. The change is about how we do business. Transformative leaders empower people.

Address the EnvironmentIn the landscape industry, green was simply what we called our industry. Twenty years later, green is the one of the hottest growing trends in the world. Faith Popcorn, of the BrainReserve, places this in terms of Save Our Society (SOS). It is a growing trend towards social responsibility. People buy brands that help society. People want to work for companies that help society. People are willing to commit a certain amount of time to help society.

Environmental issues have dramatically changed from conserving precious natural resources into creating a sustainable environment. We in the landscape industry can play an important role.

Conversely, if we do not play an important role, the environmental issues will dramatically change our industry. In 2007, seventeen Canadian communities banned commercial lawn care applicators and in 2008 another 124 followed suit.

We often think water conservation is reserved for the arid West. In the late 1980’s we saw the advent of low-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads. In Massachusetts today, most area communities impose water restrictions to meet the 2004 state standard setting the maximum per-person usage rate at 65 gallons per day. Massachusetts also adopted the first low-flush toilet ordinance. With the average U.S. household water usage at 78 gallons per person per

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SURVIVAL:

1. Adaptability

2. Great Customer Service

3. Courage

4. Trans-formative Leadership

day this regulation has the potential to put the Massachusetts landscape industry out of business.

What is our role? Through landscapes, we create sustainable sites. Several organizations have identified “green” industries as the number one growth industry.

Simply, plant trees. The EPA reports that tree planting sequesters carbon and enhance the quality of soil, water, air and wildlife. If every family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion pounds annually. One tree will absorb about 10 lb. of air pollutants, including 4 lb. of ozone. Trees planted around a home can reduce air conditioning usage by 30%. Over a 50-year lifetime, a tree generates $31,250 worth of oxygen, provides $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water, and controls $31,250 worth of soil erosion.

Vegetative roof surfaces, or greenroofs, are an additional opportunity. Greenroofs are growing at a rate of 35% this year. Greenroofs improve stormwater retention, save energy, and reduce noise levels in a building. Environmentally, greenroofs mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce dust and smog, produce oxygen and act as a carbon dioxide sink. Financially, greenroofs increase the life expectancy of the roof, contribute to LEED® points, and may be eligible for government incentives.

Rain gardens, bioswales, and rain water harvesting technologies provide addi t iona l “green” opportunities. Rain Gardens are water retaining areas planted with native or low-maintenance vegetation. A properly constructed rain garden allows rain water to runoff from impervious surfaces like rooftops, driveways, and sidewalks. This reduces stormwater runoff - allowing captured rain water to soak into the soil instead of running into storm drains. Rain gardens can reduce non-point source pollution running into local streams and waterways. Rain gardens improve water quality, aid in flood control, and encourage wildlife.

Bioswales, similar to rain gardens, have an additional element of a subsurface under drain - usually a corrugated pipe that feeds into the stormwater system. A landscape with properly designed rain gardens is cost effective when they eliminate the need to construct curbs, gutters, storm drains and retention ponds.

Rainwater harvesting system is an old idea seeing an increased interest in the U.S. as an alternate water supply. The City of Tucson, Arizona recently passed the first commercial rainwater harvesting ordinance requiring new commercial development to obtain

50% of their landscape water requirement from rainwater harvesting.

Currently, rainwater harvesting is seen as a method to conserve the amount of water used in a landscape. However, stormwater mitigation is the largest benefit from rainwater harvesting. Like rain gardens and bioswales, rainwater harvesting takes the landscape from an aesthetic to a functional aspect. Developing a functional landscape essential for sustainable site development.

“The over-borrowing, over-consuming, and under-innovation is now in the US . . .” Antonio van Aqtmael said in an October 2007 issue of Newsweek. Every organization has the power and the talent when unleashed, will result in dramatic change. In order to create success, drive up your mental tenacity, keep a positive attitude, and drive fear out of your organization. The best way to work with change is to create it.

Tom Barrett is an accomplished corporate growth and change agent with over thirty years of experience. Tom’s leadership experience, holding executive level positions, drives corporate revenue growth through change and innovation for business start-ups, corporate expansions, and divisional turnarounds. Tom Barrett delivers energetic, dynamic presentations and training.

He can be reached at: tom.barrett@jtbarrett.com317-674-3492

“That Brave New World will look very different than it does now. . .

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Endnotes1. FDIC (July 30, 2009) Failed Bank List [Data File]. Available

from www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html.2. Adding up the Government's Total Bailout Tab, New York

Times (February 4, 2009).