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Author: Jeffrey Scott

Jeffrey Scott

Jeffrey Scott

Jeffrey Scott, MBA, author, specializes in growth and profit maximization in the Green Industry. His expertise is rooted in personal success, growing his own company into a $10 million enterprise. Now, he facilitates the Leader’s Edge peer group for landscape business owners. To learn more visit GetTheLeadersEdge.com

Profit Power: Does your team have skin in the game?

  Every company that’s attempting to operate with open book management has suffered some kind of financial downturn and is using transparency of their financials to help turn around their profitability. But is that enough? Before I answer that, here are nine best practices for sharing ‘open book’ financials in a systematic way. KISS: Keep […]

Build a 5-star brand

Some companies rely too much on a strong business developer, pay-per-click or social media for their growth. These tactics help you grow, but long-term growth is driven by a powerful brand reputation. Branding starts by aligning marketing and sales, but it’s much more than that. The expectations set by your sales team must be successfully […]

Profit Power: If LeBron James meditates, should you?

The rookie star quarterback for the New York Jets, Sam Darnold, claims that daily meditation—morning and evening—has helped him greatly expand his performance. As a pro who is already at the top of his game for his age and experience, he is constantly training and looking for the next edge. Given the high stress and […]

Profit Power: Will the economy keep booming?

The economy is booming. And yet the economic forecasters I follow say that we may enter a small recession in late 2018 or in 2019. The great companies I work with are not worried about an economic dip because they are well prepared. Here are 10 reasons why great companies are not worried about the […]

Profit Power: 3 mistakes when recruiting ‘A players’

First, let’s define what I mean by an “A player.” An A player is someone you would grade as an A on job performance and on their fit into your company culture. Keep in mind that all A players are not the same. An A player—for your company, for a specific job you are hiring […]

Let’s Grow: Growth comes one day at a time

John Joyce is a contractor with a heart of gold. He and his team have passion, integrity and a dream of dramatically growing their business. They work in a midsize market, and the potential to dominate is huge. They have been enjoying consistent growth, but it came with no real plan, no true buy-in and […]

Profit Power: Get comfortable being uncomfortable

When I meet with a group of business owners like I did recently in St. Louis, I kick off the meeting asking them where they show real courage in their life, and where they need to show more courage. I want them to show more courage right then and there, when we meet as a […]

Profit Power: 7 valuable insights from 2017

  Reflecting on 2017, here is a list of seven valuable insights I have learned while working with the best and brightest entrepreneurs this past year. 1. Absolute clarity is key for forward momentum.  The clearer your vision, goals and action plans are, the faster you will achieve them. Period. This goes for personal goals, too. […]

Recipe for success: Work hard, play hard, study hard

I’m in awe of my grandfather. He lived the true American dream. He dropped out of school after his parents died and eventually built up a business that allowed him to ski the Swiss Alps in winter and retire a true millionaire (back in the days when a million bucks meant something). My grandfather taught […]

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Build a leadership super team

Learn the three primary components you need to achieve a high-profit culture. To build your leadership super team and achieve a high-profit culture in your company, you need three key components in place and fully operational. 1. Cohesive conflict is critical. First, to build a super team, you need super leaders. Specifically, you need them […]

Profit Power: How to shift from bad-busy to good-busy

Have you noticed how busy people are these days? There are many different kinds of “busy.” Just like the Eskimos have many different definitions for “snow,” we need to differentiate between the different kinds of busy. Here is a list of “busy”—the good, the bad and the ugly. Which “busy” are you? Busy/Focused This means […]

Photo: Jeffrey Scott

Grow Your Business with Jeffrey Scott: Push yourself (hard) out of your comfort zone

In order to keep growing, learning and evolving (you, and your business), you need to keep pushing yourself—hard—out of your comfort zone. You may need someone else to push you! Learn how this process works and how it could be the secret to continual success in this latest video from Jeffrey Scott.

Sales meetings that drive performance

Salespeople dread taking time out of their schedules to attend meetings because most meetings don’t add enough value to their sales—or to your bottom line. Here’s a solution. To hold a great sales meeting, start with the primary ingredient: great salespeople. They come in two flavors: strong and natural (see “Pyramid of Salesperson Success”). Strong […]

Profit Power: 7 time management musts

The following seven time management musts will allow you to get an enormous amount accomplished with less effort in any given week. I call these lifesavers because they will save your life from being overtaken by useless distractions and unending work. 1. Check email only at specific times of the day. As a leader, you […]

Grow Your Business with Jeffrey Scott: The Passionate Leader

The passionate leader who operates from a place of high-value is the ultimate entrepreneur. Find where your passion and value intersect and drive your business growth.

Profit Power: Make your landscape business the ‘ultimate productivity machine’

  Growing up as a typical teenager with curiosity and a streak of independence, I bought my first car the minute I got my driver’s license (actually, a week before). It was a used BMW 1600 that cost me $300. I tinkered and toiled on that car, keeping it running summer and winter—it was my […]

Growing Your Business with Jeffrey Scott: Competition is Great—When You Harness it!

Competition is great for your business, when you harness it and use it to motivate you and your employees every day to make the right decisions.

Profit Power: Getting your No. 2 to be the leader you need

  A good No. 2 employee is like a good irrigation system. It covers all the ground you need covered, and keeps your business green and flourishing, even when you’re away. The test of how well your irrigation system has you covered is when you hit a hot, dry patch of weather. The same goes […]

Are your salespeople mediocre?

Salespeople misrepresent how much time they spend with clients. According to a Wall Street Journal story, account managers spent only a third of their time with clients, while self-reporting they were spending much than that. Perhaps they were bad at tracking their own time or perhaps they were lying, but either way they were distracted. […]

Profit Power: 2 tools for reining in spring chaos

All the best companies work proactively in their down time, or they create down time, to set strategic plans for the upcoming year—and for three and 10 years out. But then their peak season launches upon them, and they get hit by spring. Mike Tyson taught us this: Everyone has a plan until they get […]

Profit Power: What a difference 5 percent makes

    What if you could add 5 percent net profit to your bottom line, increase your personal income by 5 percent of sales or improve cash flow by a full 5 percentage points? What kind of difference would that make in your business or life? It’s worth asking yourself that question, because making that […]

Profit Power: Are partnerships good for business?

  Is it more satisfying and profitable to be a sole owner or to have a business partner? Recently, I have found myself working with many companies that are co-owned and co-run. It shows up in many flavors: two siblings, a husband and wife or simply two business partners—either a younger and older generation or […]

Balancing culture and strategy

Eminent business thinker Peter Drucker is known for saying “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” He believed culture trumped all. His words are taken as gospel. This thinking is misplaced when it comes to small and midsize green industry firms. Here’s what I’ve found to be true. Most firms in our industry spend more time focusing […]

Profit Power: Tales of a fast-growth company

  This past week I was honored to have Trent Haston come speak to my Leader’s Edge peer group meeting in Charlotte, N.C. He is president and CEO of The Roby Family of Cos., which includes Andrew Roby, a fast-growing full-service, residential contracting company approaching $50 million in annual revenue. He and his brother have […]

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