It's nearly 2026, and as you look ahead to the calendar changing over later this week I want to talk about New Year's Resolutions.

By the time you read this, most of us are wrapping up our final jobs and site visits of the year. And depending on what snow might be coming for our friends in snow markets, the week between Christmas and New Year's offers something rare: actual quiet.

When I first started Grunder Landscaping Co. in 1984, I was just a kid trying to earn extra money for college. But there was one thing that changed everything for me: a monthly newsletter I'd receive in the mail that spelled out exactly what landscaping business owners should be doing and when.

Looking at our 2025 numbers at Grunder Landscaping Co., we performed over $150,000 in warranty work. That's a big number, which had us asking some hard questions about where we could tighten things up for 2026.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving spent with your loved ones. I was lucky to have all four of my kids, their significant others, and my two granddaughters in town this week. It was so nice to have everyone under one roof!

Vince Torchia and I were talking recently about why some companies hit their growth goals while others fall short. The issue isn't usually the goals themselves - it's the milestones leading up to them.

At GROW! 2026 we’ll tour Complete Landsculpture as part of the event, and as always Vince and I have a bit of a preview into what attendees will see onsite as we work to plan the event.

Most landscaping companies wait until they're desperate to hire before they think about their sales structure. You realize you need another salesperson when your current team is overwhelmed, when a team member leaves, or you add someone without clarity on what they'll actually be responsible for selling.

I frequently joke that when I was in my 30s and 40s, I'd come back from conferences all excited with new ideas for my team at Grunder Landscaping Co. I'm sure the seasoned members would whisper to new recruits: "Just wait. He'll be at a different conference next week with a totally different list of initiatives."

Over the past few years, I've had the privilege of visiting some of the best-run landscaping companies in North America as we've hosted GROW! Conferences.