John Ossa: A look back… and forth 2012

John Ossa

Fear not, 2012 has the opportunity to be the most enjoyable, profitable and rewarding year you have ever had. It comes at a unique time in history.

The last few years will cast a long shadow, but the challenges in our recent past can be transformative and a positive influence on our future.

Going forward is likely to take resolve, and a higher level of determination than we have needed in the past. It is important that we stick together. It is vital that we act in unison and work through our trade associations for meaningful change. More than ever, we as an industry we need to let go of the old "how business is done," and move toward creating value for the long term.

We cannot afford to waste our energy and focus on blaming _______ for our condition.

Our condition as an industry and for the condition of our bottom-line. The enemy is not the government or taxes.

The enemy is not the cost of health care or the cost of gas.

The enemy is not the low ball, the big box and the banks. The real enemy is allowing cynicism to rule. The real enemy is taking the easy way out, for the sake of convention or familiarity. We can create enduring value.

We can create a return on the investment our customers make that extends far beyond the limitations we set for ourselves in the past. If the conventions of how we do business is predisposed to choose a class of products to support a type of landscape that will not survive in a future, resource constrained world, we need the collective will to stop business as usual for the sake of convention, and start moving forward with new ideas and new technology that will survive over a long time period.

To make 2012 the foundation for a bright future for your business, it will take courage, vision and creativity. It will take a leadership mentality. "Leadership" is defined as the willingness to navigate change. Manufacturers in our industry are stepping to the plate with new technology, and creating new means to create lasting value. It is up to architects, designers and contractors to summon the resolve to change how things get done. If a community in a water-scarce region such as southern California wants a park with acres of turf, that desire is not "bad" in and of itself. But, what is not viable in the long term is for professionals in our industry to insist on known, wasteful technology to support that site, as opposed to advocating for new technology that will be viable in a future water scarce world.

The transition to new classes of technology is inevitable. We can be the leaders that enjoy the future, or the victims of our desire for the familiar, the conventional. Anticipating the future has a lot to do with what lessons we choose to learn from in the past.