When Shawn Achor was tasked with trying to make tax auditors happy at their jobs, he was working with a group of people trained to look for mistakes. One man went so far as to make a spreadsheet of mistakes his wife makes because that’s how his job made his brain think. He wasn’t trained to praise or recognize anything positive, says Achor, author of “The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential,” during his keynote speech at the National Association of Landscape Professionals Elevate event in Charlotte.
“The lens to which you view this work, predicts what happens next,” he says. If you are trained to always look for threats, “that’s the easiest thing for us to do.”
Dental hygiene and happiness
Achor says there is a thought in academia that “genes plus your environment predicts human potential.” Achor uses the example of brushing your teeth to show that’s not the case, and you can change whether you are happy or not.
“We all have genes for teeth that rot out by age 15 in a high-sugar environment,” he says. “And yet if we get 100% of the people in this room to do the same habit for 45 seconds a day — brush your teeth — what it is to be human changes dramatically from your genes and your environment.
“Every time you brush your teeth, you’re saying, I can beat my genes and my environment,” he adds. “But as soon as we start to talk about happiness, we forget that if you don’t think you can change your genes and your environment, stop brushing your teeth. But what we found is we can make massive changes.”
Train the brain
Achor thought he had it all figured out while working with a credit card company client during the banking crisis. Before the market opened, he had the employees write down three things they are grateful for.
“Nothing happened,” he says. “It turns out it doesn’t matter what you’re grateful for. What matters is the scanning. There’s a part of your brain that scans your world for things you’re grateful for that never activates.”
Achor says that when you are asked what you are grateful for and you answer “my work,” “my family” and “my health,” that activates a different part of the brain.
“The part of our brain we’re trying to activate is the part that’s scanning constantly — that’s getting bombarded by our phones and our watches for the negative,” he says.
Achor found it would make you happier taking 45 seconds to activate that part of the brain to scan for three new things you are grateful for that happened in the past 24 hours.
“By Day 21, you have 63 unique things you’re grateful for, but that is not the point of it,” he says. “The point of it is, somewhere in the 21 days, your brain takes a short-cut and it basically builds a background app that passively scans your world for the pin pricks of the good. And when it does that, without doing anything, your brain starts processing the bits of meaning in your life.”
Achor found that even people who were pessimists into their 70s did this for 45 seconds a day, saw improvements by Day 22.
“They were testing as optimist on average,” he says. “You’re not supposed to change those. Those are the genetic ones. You can’t touch those. You’re born a pessimist, die pessimist, end of story. That’s half the story.
“You were born with genes that predispose you to optimism versus pessimism. For some of you, happiness is way easier than it’s for the rest of us. But that’s the starting block. And from there, great movement is possible. We know that that’s what depression is. Depression is a movement from your previous set point to a lower one. But if you can lower, we can raise it, and we can raise it if you give us 45 seconds a day.”
Send praise
Achor also suggested writing a two-minute text message or email praising or thanking a person in your life once a day for 21 days.
“If you do it for three days in a row, we can see it on brain scans that your brains get addicted to this,” he says.
But Achor says people tend to stop on Day 8 because they realize they don’t have many more people to message. That’s when you have to scan again.
“What you’re scanning for are the weak ties,” he says. “Who is that first grade teacher that transformed your kid’s life? You don’t talk to them anymore because your kid’s in seventh grade. Who is that great coach who inspired you or your kids? Who is that person who cheers for her daughter as much as she cheers for your daughter on the same team?
“And you start to realize there’s all these weak ties. Your brain doesn’t know that and knows them as they’re weak. When I ask you about social connections, your brain eliminates them. But if you wrote a two-minute text message or email praising them, they light up as a node of meaning on your mental map of social connection to your brain.”
“And what we found is if you actually did this habit for 21 days in a row and wrote to these weak ties, it turns out on Day 22, your social connection score rises to the top 15% of people worldwide without adding a single person to your life,” he says.
From a business perspective, Achor says they tried a similar experiment at LinkedIn. Achor found when employees received three touch points of praise over a six-month, retention rose from 80% to 94%.
Achor says he got excited because if you go one step deeper, if someone receives three touch points of praise, they doubled the amount of praise that they were giving back.
“It changes how they think this world works,” he says. “As a result of that, it starts creating changes that exist beyond our business outcomes to changing the cultures we deliver. We think how can we possibly change our mindset of the people around us. What we know is there are very simple ways to do this.
“You just actually have to do them. It’s routinizing. Gratitude is routinizing. Grace is doing things like exercise or meditation or journaling about positive experiences or the ones we can’t study because they’re different for everyone. It’s going on walks with your pets or it’s going water skiing or it is playing chess or it’s playing pickleball,” Achor adds. “What we’re looking for is not just moments of pleasure. We’re looking for a routine that keeps your brain building that mental immune system to stop the negative from coming in.”
SingleOps merges with LMN
SingleOps CEO Mark Sedgley will lead the combined business effective immediately, and LMN Founder Mark Bradley stays on as a strategic advisor and partner.
SingleOps has merged with Landscape Management Network.
SingleOps provides arbor and landscape business software while LMN offers landscape business software and crew training in the U.S. and Canada. Together, they form a business management software and payments platform serving the full-service landscaping, tree care, design/build and snow removal industries.
As part of this transaction, SingleOps secured an additional growth equity investment from existing investor FTV Capital, with participation from Five Elms Capital, who had previously invested. Mark Sedgley, CEO of SingleOps, will lead the combined business effective immediately. Mark Bradley, founder of LMN, will remain with the company as a strategic advisor and partner to the business.
“Merging these two incredible companies allows us to continue putting our customers first,” Sedgley says. “Our customers are the fabric of our economy and create millions of jobs all over North America and in their respective communities. Both SingleOps and LMN take this responsibility very seriously, working hard to empower our customers to thrive.”
“It has been a great privilege to lead LMN for over 16 years, and I am excited to work closely with SingleOps to create a market-leading business serving the green industry,” Bradley adds. “LMN is fortunate to have found a strategic partner with complementary capabilities and a shared vision for growth, and the combined company is now well-equipped to continue to capitalize on the market opportunity.”
SingleOps and LMN will continue to support and invest in their respective software platforms, aiming to optimize their technology capabilities and expand the breadth of services they provide to meet market demand.
“By bringing together these two leading vertical SaaS platforms, SingleOps and LMN are uniquely positioned to support the full range of customer needs across the green industry,” says Robert Anderson, partner at FTV Capital. “LMN and SingleOps have shared cultures of putting their customers first and understanding the pain points from their clients’ perspectives. We look forward to supporting the combined company as it continues to help the industry be successful and work tirelessly to serve its great customers.”
Raymond James served as exclusive financial advisor and Stikeman Elliott and Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel to LMN. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor and Gibson Dunn as legal counsel to FTV and SingleOps.
Yardnique expands with addition of ASI Landscape Management
ASI was founded by Joe Chiellini, who will now serve as vice president of operations.
Yardnique, ranked No. 22 on the Lawn & Landscape Top 100 list, has added ASI Landscape Management as a part of continued expansion in the Southeast. ASI will broaden Yardnique’s footprint in the western and central Florida regions.
Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, ASI offers commercial maintenance, enhancement, arbor care, chemical spray and irrigation services.
Founded in 1993 as Lawncombers USA by Joe Chiellini, the company expanded to serve commercial customers in 1999 and changed its name to ASI Landscape Management.
Today, ASI provides its comprehensive landscape services to homeowner associations, multifamily communities and commercial office and retail centers.
“I was impressed with Joe’s (Chiellini) leadership and the quality of landscape services his company offers. Most importantly, our companies’ core values as driven, accountable, respectful and passionate organizations are in complete alignment. Joe has clearly created a contagious culture with his team,” says Brian DuMont, CEO of Yardnique. “We share a deep centered commitment to consistently deliver exceptional customer care.”
ASI has over 170 landscape professionals serving some of the most prominent commercial properties in Florida.
Chiellini will now serve as vice president of operations.
“As part of the Yardnique family, I am confident in our ability to maintain an over 30-year legacy of landscape excellence, but now with the expanded resources to scale our reach across the Sunshine State,” Chiellini adds. “I could not be more pleased to have found such a quality partner whose leadership is so deeply rooted in the industry. I have some serious talent on my team, and I am excited about the growth opportunities this provides for them.”
“ASI complements the continued expansion of our company and marks another significant step toward our growing presence as a top commercial maintenance provider in the Southeast,” DuMont says. “We welcome ASI to the Yardnique family of landscape companies and the impact their team will have on our continued growth.”
Mariani Premier Group acquires 3 Arizona-based companies
Desert Foothills Landscape, HMI Commercial Landscape and Benhart Landscaping collectively employ 200 people.
Mariani Premier Group has landed its 21st acquisition, expanding into the Arizona market with the addition of a group of three companies: Desert Foothills Landscape, HMI Commercial Landscape, and Benhart Landscaping.
This move strengthens Mariani’s footprint in the Greater Phoenix area.
Desert Foothills Landscape, founded in 1990, operates in the North Phoenix market. Benhart Landscaping, established in 1997, does landscaping work in Scottsdale. HMI Commercial Landscape, founded in 1988, extends Mariani’s capabilities to serve commercial clients.
These companies collectively employ over 200 professionals. Mariani ranked No. 7 on Lawn & Landscape’s Top 100 list in 2024.
“This acquisition is a monumental step for us as it not only expands our reach but also intensifies our capacity to innovate and deliver comprehensive landscape solutions,” says Group President Aaron Clark. “I am thrilled to lead such a dynamic team as we forge ahead in creating sustainable and visually stunning environments.”
“Welcoming these outstanding teams to the Mariani family aligns perfectly with our vision of setting new standards in the industry,” says Bryan Christiansen, CEO of Mariani Premier Group. “Their proven track record and commitment to excellence will undoubtedly enhance our service offerings in the vibrant Arizona market.”
In addition to their range of landscaping services, these companies offer an in-house nursery that provides clients with access to rare and exotic plants, including unique succulents and select desert cacti.
“This integration enhances our operational strength and positions us to better serve our clients with even more robust and comprehensive services,” says Dustin Creek, vice president of HMI Commercial Landscape.
Desert Foothills Landscape, HMI Commercial Landscape and Benhart Landscaping join a roster of 20 other companies within the Mariani Premier Group.
Gras Lawn appoints new divisional president
Nicholas A. Carabetta will oversee the company’s operations across the Northeast.
Gras Lawn is appointing Nicholas A. Carabetta as divisional president for the Northeast region. With over two decades of experience in management and leadership, Carabetta brings a proven track record of driving business growth, enhancing operational efficiencies and building high-performing teams.
In his new role, Carabetta will oversee Gras Lawn’s operations across the Northeast, focusing on customer satisfaction, team development and regional expansion in the core service areas of landscaping, snow removal and design-build projects.
Previously, Carabetta held key leadership positions at other firms, including vice president roles at Landcare and BrightView. His hands-on experience in managing large teams and spearheading sales initiatives has consistently resulted in increased customer retention, revenue growth and operational excellence. His background also includes an MBA and certifications in Environmental Health and Education, further enhancing his strategic approach to leadership.
“I am thrilled to join Gras Lawn and lead the teams in the Northeast region,” Carabetta says. “I look forward to applying my experience to help Gras continue its growth trajectory while fostering a culture of excellence and innovation within the teams.”
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