PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

How's your season going? I say season very generally because, at this point, who really knows what time of year it is? It seems like the only normal aspect of the 2023 weather forecast is a light to heavy mix of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall all in the same week. For me, I find myself repeating the phrase "never have I ever…" to our team and customers more than ever, and the uncertainty of the Indiana climate should cause you to pause before you react. Most of the time, I am pragmatic in my approach to landscaping production, so here are two learned experiences that might help you avoid some of my mistakes.

First, I will start by posing the rhetorical question… do you have boxwood on any of your properties? If so, did you know that in Brown County, Indiana, we saw leafminers crawling around on February 15th?!!! This has become a somewhat common pest at customers' homes in our area and is relatively easy to control with a proper IPM program. Without getting too far into the weeds on this education, let's just assume you readers understand what Growing Degree Days are, and if you don't, just ask Siri. Regardless, I bet you didn't know that our 47448 zip code had 21.5 GDD in the first three calendar days of the new year! This means things like White Pine Weevil (which only needs 7 GDD) already had overwintering adults becoming active on January 3rd. The treatment window for leafminer is 350-600 GDD, but according to the calendar on 02.15.23, we had only accumulated 26.5 GDD. So, my point is, we cannot take a ready-fire-aim approach to our IPM and be successful. As much as my Hoosier blood runs crimson, I must concede that the Boilermakers have great resources through their extension programs, and OISC runs right alongside them with the accreditations you should have to understand the best management practices. A nice reminder for treatment on boxwood leafminer specifically is its GDD treatment window generally coincides with when weigelas are in bloom. The second tip all boils down to one simple phrase… "stay in your lane." With the seemingly endless list of customer requests that begin to pour in on the first nice day of the new year, there are all sorts of potential growth opportunities for your company. More important than that perceived "opportunity" comes from my Macroecon class with Mr. Mosely when he explained to the lecture hall of freshmen about the term "opportunity cost." The point he made is that with everything you choose to do, you are always giving up something else. For the landscaping business, if that is steering you out of your lane of core competencies, you better give it a second and even a third look before you dive in headfirst.

An example from this year at Designscape is that, for the first time since BC (Before Covid), we actually had enough talent to begin our production season early and got a major jump on our

Spring Cleanups. I am a heavy planner who continually audibles to try and make the most of each moment, so let me say I know it's hard to put the reins on a wild horse when it is running ahead of the pack. Even knowing that, and with an already full calendar, and Quickbooks already in the black, my immediate thought was to try and sell more work to fit in the spring planting season to get even further ahead. Thank God for Mr. Mosely because, wouldn't you know, a few of the new team members that talked a great game barely made it through mulch season before it became obvious that landscaping was not the career for them. The point here is you must treat your team well to succeed; aside from your best efforts, new recruits or even seasoned veterans can leave with barely a moment's notice. So, know your numbers and make the most with what you know… i.e., stay in your lane.

I have recently been working through a book called "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" and what a timely reminder that in our busiest season of the year, it is essential not to get caught up in the rush. It is easy to waste our days just trying to keep up with the speed of life, and you can see this in others when you ask how they are doing… the common response is these three words, "Good. Just busy." I have fallen victim to that busy trap on more than one occasion but have enough experience at this point to recognize the benefits that come when you take an extra moment and think through the opportunity costs in key decision-making periods.

I will end this letter the same as the last, with an invitation that if you need some help working through these things in your own company, please just reach out and ask myself or Rick. There is a treasure trove of resources available within the INLA walls, and chances are someone has already gone through a very similar issue that you are working through right now. A great time to tap into these resources will be at our INLA Summer Tour from August 2nd to 4th when the industry gathers here in beautiful Brown County (God's Country). As much as you might not want to hear it, there are huge gains to be made when you have Captain Hindsight looking in your rear-view mirror… especially when the difficult lesson can be learned in the third person and softened with some cold beverages and comedic relief!

Cheers, Gabriel