SUBSCRIBE
There is a technology tsunami coming. The question is not whether it will hit your business (because it will!), it’s whether you are riding the wave or drowning in the noise.
New tools are hitting the market faster than most companies can evaluate them, let alone deploy them. Artificial intelligence platforms, scheduling software, estimating tools, communication systems, equipment monitoring technology and hardware such as autonomous mowers and soon-to-be humanoid robotics. There is something new every single week. The companies that figure out how to leverage it are going to pull away from the ones that do not.
A change in perspective
Last month, I was on a plane coming back from a conference in Florida, sitting next to one of my team members. We had a few hours, and I looked over at what he was building. Right there on that flight, he put together a full weather-based decision-making tool. Rain day cancellations, crew reassignments, client communication protocols. The whole thing was built from scratch on a laptop at 35,000 feet. Basically free. Three hours from start to finish.
What shocked me was not just the tool itself, but what it replaced. There are software products on the market right now designed to solve pieces of that exact problem. But in a matter of hours, he built something more specific to our operation, our clients and the way we run our business than any off-the-shelf product could have done.
That moment clarified something for me. The best technology advantage today is not who can buy the most sophisticated platform. It is who can onboard, implement and leverage the right technology the fastest. If a couple of landscapers can build a weather app in three hours, the barrier to new tech is basically gone. That means we are going to see a tidal wave of new products hitting this industry. Get ready.
Future-proofing your business
That experience, along with everything else we have been navigating on the technology front, led us to make a decision I believe every landscaping company will eventually make. We created a dedicated technology and innovation manager role filled by Sean Laux.
This is not an IT position. In fact, Sean has no IT or service-based responsibilities at all. He is not someone who manages our Wi-Fi or resets passwords. Instead, he owns the intersection of operations and technology. His duties are to evaluate new tools, build custom AI solutions, lead implementation, train the team, audit adoption after rollout and stay ahead of what is coming before the rest of the market finds it.
I believe positions like Sean’s will be standard across the industry within five years. The companies that make the hire now will have a significant head start.
Most companies are not struggling with technology because they have ignored it. They are struggling because they underestimated what implementation takes. They got excited during a demo and pulled the trigger, but they did not build the process around it. They did not get buy-in from the team. They did not create accountability for adoption. And six months later, the tool is sitting unused while the monthly subscription keeps hitting the credit card. If you are wondering how I know this, it is because I have done it. More than once.
Three steps forward
Here are three key steps you can take in the short term to make sure your team is staying on the cutting edge:
1. Audit what you have. List every software subscription and platform you are currently paying for. Then, honestly grade how well each one is being used.
2. Assign an owner. Who in your company is responsible for technology adoption right now? If the answer is nobody, that is your first problem to solve. Even if you cannot hire som eone full-time, make sure there is a single-threaded leader.
3. Pick one thing and go all the way. Choose one tool or process you want to improve with technology. Implement it fully before you add the next thing. Adoption takes real time and real attention.
The pace is not slowing down. AI, robotics, autonomous equipment, tools your own team can build on a plane ride. It is all here, and it is only going to accelerate.
You can drown in the noise, or you can ride the wave. We are choosing the wave. Every single time. Come join us.
