Leadership Lessons: Jim McCutcheon

CEO, HighGrove Partners

What have you been up to since you won the Leadership award in 2005?

Quite a bit. We've actually continued to grow our company. Last year we were about 18 percent and this year about 15 percent, so all the things we've been working on for the business have paid off during this period of time. I also bought out my two partners during that period of time, as well. So I am the sole owner of HighGrove now.

Why has your company been able to grow?

We are fortunate to be in a fantastic market in terms of potential, but I think some of the things we began to work on five, six, seven years ago in terms of ways to differentiate ourselves and some of the things we have really focused on have resonated during this down period of time.

Efforts through lean to make ourselves a much more efficient company, and also the aspects of really truly becoming a customer-centered company and what that truly means, have really helped us.
 

How can a company become more customer-centric?

It's much more than just calling people back. It's truly building and structuring your organization around the idea that you're going to take care of people.

It's more outgoing communication than incoming communication. At the center of it all, it's not being afraid to change. It's not being afraid to think differently and it's not just about the landscaping.

People don't really care how we prune.

People know that we are going to prune well, but the more importantly that we're going to manage their asset well and take care of them.
 

Where do you think the industry will be in 2020?

I think there will be fantastic opportunities. I do not think this industry will look the same way it does today.

This industry has to become more sophisticated as a business, and I think the folks that don't do that with the pace of change and technology, and customer desires, I think you are going to see a business and not a landscape company.
 

Where do you think the landscape industry ranks in sophistication?

I think it's behind the curve. If you ask all the business owners in this industry why they got into this business, most of them will tell you 'I like to be outside, I like plants,' and all these other things.

Rarely do you find somebody that says, 'I got into it because I think it's a great business opportunity.'

It's not a criticism because I think a lot of businesses are focused on the horticulture and they love that, and I think that's wonderful. It's an important piece of what we do, but it's also got to be kind of the given of what we do.

We have to be able to do horticulture well. That's what we are here for. That's not how we are going to differentiate our businesses.

We have to become smarter on how we run these businesses – marketing, customer service, all those things.

That's where I think we'll become more sophisticated. I think there are resources helping us do that.
 

How long do you think it will take to catch up?

I don't know how to answer that. I guess what I would say is I think there are a lot of companies out there that are just really top notch and cutting edge and they are driving hard at it, and there are others who are going to be dragged along whether they like it or not and some may not survive.
 

Do you think the companies that are sophisticated should help out those who aren't sophisticated?

I don't want to give the wrong impression. I'm not saying there are the haves and have nots or that some are better than others in their industry.

There is a tremendous opportunity if you are willing to become more sophisticated to learn about the business end and build a vision that ultimately meets goals.

I have been a believer for many, many years in the R & D aspect – rob and duplicate. I traveled for years around the country, visited companies, learned from them, got ideas, and took things back and tweaked it for us.

I've never seen an industry where people are more willing to do that.

To read McCutcheon’s 2005 leadership profile, visit www.lawnandlandscape.com and search “McCutcheon.”