Strategic Thinking: A New Perspective

Jacki Hart • March 7, 2017

When I talk to business owners about strategy, they typically roll their eyes, conjuring up images of lengthy strat plans requiring days of work. That’s not why I talk about strategy. To me, strategy requires thinking strategically – which is a critical business leadership skill of which most entrepreneurs are unaware.


Based on many years as a consultant working with entrepreneurs, I believe there are 6 key steps baked into a sound, well thought out business strategy. ‘The Plan’ (strategic plan) depends on this critical thinking in order to determine what investment the company needs to move forward, and how much profit will be generated.


Here are my six Strategic Thinking steps to building a solid, well led business:


1. Clarify Culture. WHO is your company? (not to be confused with what your company does or offers.) What are the non-negotiable values in your business? What do believe in? What is unique about the effective dynamics behind the scenes, and between staff and customers? (HINT: if you’re feeling your company doesn’t have effective dynamics either behind the scenes or with customers, you really need to start with a Culture Project!) This is about defining your Foundation – your Culture. A particularly crucial step to take if you’re having trouble attracting ‘right fit’ people – something you simply can’t do if you don’t have a clear definition of what ‘right fit’ is!


2. Establish Strategic Focus. WHY does your business exist (what’s its’ purpose / mission?), and what are you ultimately trying to create by being in business? Where are is the company headed, when, and with which service/product offerings? (What’s the Vision?) By taking this step, you are setting the context for your business. This becomes the filter through which vast information you take in (i.e. online offerings or information) is either discarded or adopted. Time is money, and without intentionally defining your Strategic Focus, you may find yourself wasting many valuable hours of desk time trying to figure out what’s relevant and what’s not, or bounding madly off in all directions without getting anything actually done.


3. Create structure. This will support and drive your strategy (Strategic Focus) … not the other way around: Strategy drives structure. Strategy determines what fits (including people and positions) and what doesn’t. Structure is the implementation plan for your Strategy. Be careful not to create business strategies around personalities, or the talents (or lack thereof) of various employees (or family employees). The template we call structure, is used to determine what positions to create and people to fill them (i.e. corporate structure), should be driven primarily by your Strategic Focus.


4. Align people. One of the most effective ways to increase productivity (and profit), is to reduce or eliminate unproductive friction. It’s invaluable in helping you to seamlessly maintain and fuel alignment of people, purpose and to engage the highest potential of individual passion and talent. And, by the way, aligned people hold themselves and each other accountable to results, actions and attitudes.


5. Improve productivity. Clarity and alignment, combined with the addition of accountability will launch productivity to new heights. To maximize productivity, it’s human nature to know what is considered good, bad and outstanding. By setting clear targets, goals and bench marks, you can establish better team collaboration, alignment, and productivity. Make sure that your culture insists everyone checks their egos at the door, and watch them soar. Productivity can be remarkably improved when the company culture supports accountability, where people know when to step up and when to step back, when to own their mistakes, and own their victories.


6. Attract right fit business. When you engage your valuable resources in ‘wrong fit’ contracts, customers or markets, you run the risk of wasted efforts which not only contribute to increased costs, but distract people and materials from more profitable work and potential. You will best gain forward momentum by engaging your team (and company advocates – which includes loyal customers, subtrades, suppliers etc) in a collaborative culture for mutual improvement and success. Get clear on what ‘right fit’ is, and go for it! Ignore ‘wrong fit’. It took me years to learn to stand my ground so to speak, and realize that some work would turn out more profitable if not acquired at all. There have been memorable occasions in my career, when I’ve realized (and on occasion, articulated to a client) that the company would make more profit if it were to send staff and equipment ‘home’ rather than engage with the customers’ project on their unreasonable terms. Know what you do well, who you sell to that appreciates your offering, and do what you promise to, and when. That’s right fit. And Profitable.

Thank you for reading! Until next time.
Jacki Hart
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The Essence Of A Legacy

By Jacki Hart • December 6, 2023
It’s More About ‘Why’ Than ‘What’ you’ve done. Every now and then, I’ve thought about how many hours I’ve spent writing business columns and blogs since 2006. My guess is that I’ve written 200+ columns. Each column hovers around 1,000 words and takes a couple of hours to write, sometimes more. So, that’s like a 200,000 word essay – or a book (or two or three books worth – the average novel is about 70,000 words). And a lot of hours at the keyboard. But that’s WHAT I’ve done, not WHY. And since 2006, I’ve led and developed the Prosperity Partners Program for Landscape Ontario – two full day workshops about running a business - which I delivered to well over 800 business owners across the Province over about 8 years. That Program changed the trajectory for MANY small business owners. It also helped to provide a business blueprint for those aspiring to start a landscape business. But that’s WHAT I’ve done, not WHY. I know from 24 years of running my own landscape business, that it's easy to become overwhelmed with all of the responsibilities of running a business. And to feel alone. That’s why my husband Tim Kearney and I started the Peer-to-Peer Network for Landscape Ontario 11 years ago. And if I were counting the full day workshops and Summit’s I’ve delivered and facilitated for hundreds of Peer-to-Peer Network members, it would be north of 50 days – with another 150 days of prep and research. And a LOT of driving across the province. But that’s WHAT I’ve done, not WHY. And speaking of that landscape business of mine, we won 20 Landscape Ontario Awards of Excellence. But that’s WHAT I’ve done, not WHY. Since 2005, almost every year, I’ve been a speaker at the LO Congress Conference – to thousands of attendees, on topics ranging from engaging the team, business systems, setting goals, leadership and more. And as well, I’ve spoken at Landscape conferences and run full day workshops across the country. But that’s WHAT I’ve done, not WHY. I also sat on the Landscape Ontario Provincial Board of Directors and was elected to the Executive Committee. But that’s WHAT I’ve done, not WHY. Three years ago I took on the curriculum overhaul and continuous improvement delivery for the Employers of Choice program, with now over 300 business owners and managers working hard to implement that robust tool box for better HR management and employee engagement. But that’s WHAT I’ve done, not WHY. Focus On What's Happening Through You, Not To You. I recently read 'The Depressed Motivational Speaker by industry consultant, facilitator and long-time LO friend, Jim Paluch. And this month, I co-facilitated another Feature Congress Event with Jim for the Peer-to-Peer Network, to share some amazing strategies to build resilience under stress. The book is a must-read for business owners. One of the most striking themes for me in this story is “focus on what's happening through you, not to you”. This one simple phrase is so powerful. Without realizing it, I believe that's what I've managed to do, through lots of challenges and adversity in my own journey - always doing my best to show up with authentic advice, separated from my own stresses. Focusing on what has been happening through me rather than to me. Leaving A Legacy I never thought of my role writing blogs, or building and leading the PP, P2P or EOC programs, or speaking at Conferences, as creating a Legacy. That is until now. I don't think that we typically start our careers with the intention of legacy. I didn’t. And for me now, here it is – a time to take a look at my Landscape Ontario legacy. The essence of my ‘WHY has always been to help hard working business owners with fresh ideas and business tools, meaningful discussions, and sharing a new perspectives, with the hope that my ideas and words will build confidence and curiosity, making the path forward a bit easier, more rewarding, and more hopeful. That’s WHY. Because I believe there’s always improvement to aspire to, and the importance of being on a shared journey, together. When you look back on the lives that your career has touched, I'm guessing that you too are building your own legacy – but perhaps without realizing it – like I have. From the people that you've worked with, to the landscapes you've designed, or built, planted, pruned, cared for, enhanced, watered, fertilized, supplied, or illuminated, your legacy lies within. There are watershed moments in every career that are transformational. But we often don't recognize it at the time. Pride is our looking-glass in real-time. Legacy is our rear-view mirror. Perhaps you have heard the phrase, “it takes a community to raise a child”. I've been thinking a lot about the LO community in the past few months, and the 'children' (businesses) it has raised, both of mine included (Water’s Edge Landscaping and Consulting By Hart). This LO community has raised tens of thousands of 'children' in its’ 50 years. And just like you, here reading this Business Tips issue for maybe the first time, or the 200th, I'm grateful to be one of them. A Fond and Grateful Farewell to Landscape Ontario I am confident that all of the Landscape Ontario ‘whats’ I’ve done over the past 15+ years has offered solutions, and some inspiration to try something new for business owners and managers. And that my ‘why’ has helped many to realize that they’re never alone if they engage in all Landscape Ontario has to offer. After 200+ business column issues for Landscape Ontario, I have just submitted my last one. I am sadly retiring from all of my work with LO. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to inspire others to challenge hard working business owners and to have shared my hard-earned wisdom on running a business and a team. For your business and your team. That’s always been my ‘why’, and why I love being a business coach – which I will continue to do in the years ahead. I encourage you to take a moment to take stock of the legacy that you are building…. And to hone in on your ‘why’ vs your ‘what’. Onwards.

What the Market will “Bare”

October 2, 2023
Every now and then, something comes across your desk or into your inbox that is worth paying attention to. If you’re a contractor who sells services to your customers, which include labour and materials, equipment and overhead costs, then this article is worth your time to read. Unless you are either entirely recession proof in your market, or aren’t trying to improve profit in your business. But if you are working hard to figure out a way to be more profitable, read on. Sometimes the most successful businesses have all of the cutting-edge technologies, software, apps, equipment and training. And some businesses have all of that, and still aren’t profitable enough to pay the owner well, build equity and an engaged, career-minded team. Enter J. Paul Lamarche, and his industry-altering pricing system. JPL’s estimating and pricing system was officially adopted by Landscape Ontario in 2005. In 2010, he wrote the book: What the Market will “Bare”. It is unique, because it is specific to landscaping, and is written in plain English. His system includes simplifying and explaining the most important factors in building a profitable business: Understand your true break-even costs (the point at which you neither lose nor make profit on a job). Creating a budget that includes all Overhead and Return on Investment. How to use a precise mathematical system based on division vs multiplication (don’t panic until at least you’ve checked it out!). How to record accurate overhead allocations, including items that are not part of your record keeping and/of cheque payment system. How to calculate return on Investment (ROI) for all vehicles and equipment. How to do a quick breakeven analysis when quoting a job (So that you know how low you can go on your price and avoid working for free – which is especially handy coming into a recessionary trending economy). How to deploy a simple, inexpensive estimating system using the calculator on your phone and a few important basics. In this easy-to-follow book, the main premise is that if your company has no debt load, then you’re more competitive and have a lower cost of doing business, which leads to more profit. The trick is how to get to no debt load (i.e. leased or financed vehicles/equipment) from where you are now, and stay there. When I first heard about JPL and his mathematical system 20 years ago, I went to a few seminars, glazed over when he started doing math on a white board, and left, thinking that I could figure it out on my own. Several hard and low-profit years later, I called him and hired him to come into my business as a consultant. It was 2007. I was 15 years into my landscape maintenance company with 20 employees, doing a million in sales, and made about 6% profit (EBITDA) after I’d paid myself fairly well. I wanted an exit strategy. I wanted to find a way to build value in my company, and have it run without me working 80-hour weeks. I wanted to prepare my business to sell. From the easy-to-use formula’s in this book I learned to build a budget, right-size the fleet and equipment, charge properly, eliminate ‘leakage’ on labour and materials, and gain ROI on my investment in the fleet. By 2014, I had only grown sales by 10% (by choice), but I reduced the number of staff by 25%, increased my own pay by 20%, upgraded the ‘fleet’ with no debt load, had a team of 3 managers (admin, sales and ops) running the day-to-day and increased profit (EBITDA) to 18%. By the time I sold the business that year, I was only at the office 1 day a week, and selling the higher end soft landscape projects 2 days a week on a 6-figure salary, with six figure profit on top. “What the Market will BARE” was my blueprint for success. At first, it was a bit daunting, but taking the time to go one chapter at a time, one example at a time, and learning the ‘math’ was well worth the effort for years to come. In this book, you’ll learn: How to calculate your overhead and ‘break-even’ How to calculate your true labour costs, including labour burden Benchmarks – and how they relate to your business Understanding the difference between markup and profit margin Setting a budget to guide your pricing Understanding Return on Investment Here’s just one example of a mistake in pricing that’s made by the majority of business owners, that this book teaches the reader to correct: You buy a load of plants for a project that cost you $1000. You decide that you want 30% profit on them. So, you take the $1000 you spent, and multiply it x 1.3 which = $1300. So you think you have a 30% profit on the plants. Right? But you don’t. $1000 (what you spent) divided by $1300 (what you charged) = 76.9%. So, if what you spent to buy the plants is 76.9% of what you sold them for to the customer, then the difference, 23.1%, is your profit. Wait. What??! Look at that again. You just short-changed yourself 6.9% (the 30% you want minus 6.9% you miscalculated), profit on your materials. For most companies who make less than 10% profit overall, this places them on the hairy edge of ‘lower than hoped for’ profit. However, if you were to read ‘What The Market Will “Bare”, you’ll understand that division is the key to profit margins, not multiplication – as used in the example above. Here’s the division example: You buy a load of plants for a project that cost you $1000. You decide that you want to make 30% profit on the plants. So, you take the $1000 you spent, and DIVIDE it by (100% - 30%), which equals 70%. ( This means you take $1000/.7), which = $1428.57 as the price to charge your customer. So you now have a 30% profit on the plants… the $1000 you spent on the plants = 70% of what you charged for them. This is just one example of simple corrections you will likely make to your business every year, sometimes every day, on pricing and profit by reading and applying this industry-endorsed pricing system. There are many more valuable lessons in the book, that will touch on and fix leakage in all corners of your operations, improve the decisions you make, and correct your pricing. On a personal note: Paul was not only my business coach, we became friends, meeting for lunch several times each year to ‘catch up’ on business, for over ten years. He helped me sell my landscape company, and he mentored me in setting up my consulting business. Sadly, Paul passed away in June of 2020 at the age of 70. His widow, Stella, has kindly offered to give all of the proceeds of the sale of Paul’s books to the Landscape Ontario Scholarship Fund, to support education of our newest up and coming landscape professionals. I hope that you purchase one, and improve the profit in your company.
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