Editor’s Focus: Nov. 1999

Every once in a while it occurs to me as I write this column that the business management concepts I address or the practices I support apply to our business as well as yours. That was particularly true last month when I talked about the importance of taking advantage of the good times in a business’s life as opportunities to make the changes that will ensure continued success and delivery of the best possible product to the customers.

As you’ve likely noticed by now, we’ve made some dramatic changes to our design beginning with this issue. And I will be the first to admit that when we decided back in January – yes, this project has been in the works for nearly a year now – to do this redesign, I initially disagreed with the decision.

After all, Lawn & Landscape goes to more contractors today than ever before and we will deliver more editorial information – about 530 pages this year – than our competitors deliver or than we have ever delivered. Last year we won the National Editorial Excellence Award from Folio: magazine, and now we should overhaul the entire magazine’s design from front to back?

Fortunately, the other individuals on our staff got me to realize the importance of always working to grow and improve, even when you don’t think you have to do so in order to succeed. After all, doing something the same way again and again over time may be comfortable for us, but I think you deserve more than that from us.

So, in your hands now (with the exception of those of you reading this on Lawn & Landscape Online), is the hard work of a gifted designer, Charlotte Turcotte. With this redesign, we have worked to make the information more accessible and easily digestable for the time-crunched readers we know we have. Of course, we have also toiled to make the magazine as aesthetically pleasing as possible, and I am confident we have succeeded on both counts.

Additionally, we have bolstered the strength of our editorial lineup with the addition of noted industry veteran David Minor as a columnist (page 25) to field your questions each month.

Every decision we make about this magazine is done with the intent of providing you with the information you need to be a successful contractor. If you have suggestions for how we can do this better, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 800/456-0707 ext. 239 or via e-mail at bwest@lawnandlandscape.com.