 Marty Grunder
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You’ve undoubtedly heard the story of Capt. Chesley Sullenberger who landed the US Airways jet in the Hudson River and saved 150 lives in the process. I’ve listened in amazement to the conversation he had with the air traffic controllers when the plane encountered some birds that shut down both engines rendering the massive jet powerless and gliding to a landing.
What’s amazing about Sullenberger was the calm in his voice. He didn’t panic; he simply let his training take over and worked the plan he had been presented with in training and, best of all, it worked! There’s a business lesson you can learn here: Don’t panic.
It’s very easy to panic right now. Entrepreneurs like us are hurting right now. It’s not a time to take crazy risks, but it is time to work your plan and not panic.
Recently I spent a day with Joe Calloway, the author of “Becoming a Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison.” The book focuses on what companies can do to differentiate themselves and be the best in their categories.
As Joe looked at my business and what I was and wasn’t doing, he gave me a piece of brilliant advice: “Whatever you would do in the long term, do in the short term, and don’t panic.” In other words, work your plan. Let’s explore this with a couple of examples specific to our industry.
EXAMPLE NO. 1. You’ve been in business more than 25 years, and have a sterling reputation. Much of your work comes from word of mouth. If someone is building a big, new home in the area, they call you. But, only two new homes have been built in your area in the last 30 months.
He gave me a piece of brilliant advice:
“Whatever you would do in the long term,
do in the short term, and don’t panic.” |
Here’s what you don’t do. You don’t start mailing coupons. You don’t start calling on shopping centers to see if you can mow their grass. You don’t take out billboards saying, “No job too small” or “We’ll match any bid.”
What you should do is stick to what your company is known for and you work a little harder. Make more calls. Knock on the doors of homes that look like they need your services in the neighborhoods you already work in. Get out and see every client you have, in person, thank them for the business, and present to them a proposal for every single thing you see you could do in their landscape to make it look better. If someone is going to get a deal, make sure it’s a client where there’s hope to get more work.
If your vision is to be known as the finest landscaper in your marketplace, behave like that. Don’t ruin or hurt your brand just because there’s a recession.
EXAMPLE NO. 2. Your biggest client owns a successful factory in town. You do all their maintenance work; after all, that’s what your company specializes in. But, in the last three months, you’ve lost several accounts in other office parks.
You are getting worried and have a conversation with your big client. The owner says he wants a new pool in his backyard and an outdoor room at his house. You bid it and win, but learn that your bid was $150,000 less than the company that did all the other installation work.
Now you feel sick. You regret taking the job, and wish you would have stuck to what you know best. What you should have done was told the client, “Yes, we need work but it has to be the kind of work we do best. Building a pool is not what we do, and the last thing I’d want to do is mess up our relationship.”
You should have worked your plan and stayed focused on what you do best – maintenance. You should have put together a plan to market more of the services you do offer and not ventured off in an unknown territory. You shouldn’t have panicked and should have done in the short term what you should do in the long term.
Sullenberger had every right to panic, but he didn’t and it paid off. As green industry professionals, we need to do the same thing.
As my friend Joe said, “Do in the short term what you’d do in the long term and don’t panic.” Some great advice; now I need to follow it and so do you. Follow your plan, leverage your strengths and run your business doing the things you do best. My gut tells me we’ll all be rewarded for this type of behavior.
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