The Best Leaders are Always Learning by Marty Grunder

Marty Grunder, Grunder Landscaping Co.

I must confess something to you: I was not a very good student in my years at the University of Dayton. I struggled most with the classes that I didn’t feel would help me with running Grunder Landscaping Co., and my grades in the general courses they require everyone to take weren’t impressive. I did much better in the later years, when the business classes I took seemed more applicable to the company I was already running daily.

I started my business as a way to make money for college, and that little business financed my education at UD. I learned a lot at UD, but I’ve always enjoyed experiential learning more. Getting my hands dirty, seeing first-hand how other, successful landscaping companies operate, and brainstorming solutions with like-minded owners have been the best ways to learn and improve Grunder Landscaping Co. In those situations, I was learning tactics that I could go home and start implementing that day, that were already tested by other companies doing the same work I was.

Knowing how helpful my mentors were to me at Grunder Landscaping Co., I founded The Grow Group to try to make the kind of knowledge, advice, and guidance I received available to more landscape professionals. At The Grow Group, we believe very strongly that one of the best ways landscape pros learn is by participating in active discussions with other success minded folks, but also by just observing the operations, the facilities, and the leaders of other company in action. Even the most experienced in our industry have room to grow their skills and learn, and each of our companies are better when we learn from others. We can shave years of trial and error off if we just allow people with more experience to teach us what worked for them.

I try to expose myself to other successful companies as much as I can, and even if they don’t do quite the same work as us, I always learn something that can help us at GLC. We’ve been working hard to serve more commercial clients this year, and one company in that space that I greatly admire is Ruppert Landscape. I’ve learned a lot by simply observing them and speaking with their team.

Ruppert Landscape is a powerhouse in the commercial space: they are skilled at managing big projects, maintaining the quality of their work, and supporting their team members with a strong company culture. Each day, crews leave the office and go on their own to jobsites. Maintaining a strong company culture is a challenge every landscaping company faces, especially with our teams spread out over our service area. Ruppert has 1,800 employees across 29 locations, and they have a plethora of creative ways to instill a strong, and consistent, culture even when teams aren’t together in-person. They do it with a newly revamped orientation program, videos to make orientation engaging, and creative ways to share company history and core values with new team members right at the beginning. The Ruppert team lays a strong foundation with new team members, and then relies on branch managers and other senior team members to make sure their values are being practiced at all levels in every branch.

Ruppert has a decentralized model, and most decision making happens at the branch level. To have a consistent brand, company culture, and core values that are evident even to us on the outside while also allowing so much latitude for branches is an incredible feat. It speaks to what great teachers their team must be: they are able to integrate new team members into their company culture, maintain a strong sense of the values that make them successful, and create an environment where people want to stay and see the opportunities ahead if they do.

To build a culture where all this is possible, Ruppert has clearly defined their core values and aligned them with the company’s mission and vision. They’ve had years of practice reinforcing the core values within their team and communicating them often enough that everyone understands who they are as a company. Ruppert leadership frequently reminds themselves that their company is a vehicle for team members to reach their personal and professional goals. In many ways they see that the company is there to serve their team, not the other way around. This I believe has been a critical key to their growth and success.

I’m proud of the culture we’ve built at Grunder Landscaping Co., but I also believe strongly that each of us always has room to grow and improve. I’m looking forward to going behind the scenes at Ruppert and getting an inside look at their culture as part of the NALP Field Trip: Frank & Marty’s Excellent Adventure this September. As is true any time I visit another company, I know I’ll leave with a notebook full of new ideas to try out at GLC. B

Contact Marty at marty.grunder@ grunderlandscaping.com