A few weeks ago I talked about my own garden and how it's changed over the time I've lived in my home. While I'm making over my yard to fit my lifestyle, my three daughters are all doing the same for their yards. Their lifestyles look a little different from mine: all three have young children now. I offer to help them with what I can: drawing a landscape design sketch for their yard, picking out plants for them, or sometimes with the actual labor.
I spent Saturday at my daughter Lily's house in Columbus, OH helping with her yard. Her and her husband just bought their first house, and like many first-time home owners the yard is in need of a little bit of sweat equity. The project on the docket for Saturday: removing a concrete pad in the front yard so that we can turn that space into a garden bed.
I still do a lot of landscaping work myself, especially on my own property, but it's usually landscaping or maintenance tasks. It's been a while since I removed concrete myself. With the help of my son-in-law and a jack hammer I rented for the day, we got to work.
The work was a good reminder for me of what our crews are up against. The job they do every day is a physical one, and often in outdoor conditions less ideal than what we had. And they do it all day Monday and then come back in on Tuesday. I already knew this and I think I do a pretty good job of letting my team know I appreciate them, but nevertheless I'll be back to work on Monday making sure I go out of my way to recognize them. My favorite way is through a handwritten thank you note that gives specifics for what I'm grateful for. There will be a stack of them going out this week for sure.
What are you doing to show your appreciation for your team? Do they know how much you value and respect their work? I don't think you can ever go wrong with an extra thank you.
Have a great Sunday, I'll talk to you next week!
Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.
P.S. Possibly no other work we do puts pressure on a team like snow and ice removal. The long hours, challenging weather, and unpredictability can make it hard. We'll cover ways to set your team up to tackle it well and keep morale up during GROW! Snow on September 22-23 in Dayton, Ohio. Early Bird Pricing ends September 1 - register now to lock in your spot at a discount!