I always really enjoy getting to know each year’s class of Watch Us Grow: Industry Standouts winners. Each one has a passion for the industry that drives them to find new ways to understand their team and customers, and there’s a lot to learn from what they bring to their work in encouraging growth.
That’s also true of this year’s group, who have seen success in the past year thanks to the hard work they’ve put in, not just on the projects themselves, but into their teams and their companies organizationally. They’ve connected with different aspects of their training and standardization, or with the development of their team both in the field and in the back office.
Setting your team up for success means understanding the power of building the strong structures that support them and then showing up and sticking to those processes and principles every day.
One element that holds true across all of their stories is that each of them is focused on support and infrastructure, though in different ways. That’s easier to see in the stories about setting company best practices and encouraging education and certification. But it’s also important in knowing how to connect with customers and developing ways to reach out and make interaction with your company easier, whether with online payment or by coming to an appointment with solutions prepared. Setting your team up for success means understanding the power of building the strong structures that support them and then showing up and sticking to those processes and principles every day.
Additionally, I want to remind you about Smart Irrigation Month, celebrated each July by the Irrigation Association. The event highlights all the ways that smart irrigation practices benefit us, from greener, healthier lawns where we can connect with our families to reliably produced crops that show up later on the dinner table. This year’s theme, “We are smart irrigation,” focuses on not just the systems and technologies, but on the people who make it all possible.
There are plenty of ways to get involved with Smart Irrigation Month, and some of the easiest and effective ways can be found by visiting smartirrigationmonth.org. There, you’ll be able to find ways to connect your team with the Irrigation Association, as well as pre-made resources (similar to the ones you’ll find later in this issue) that make it simple to share the message of Smart Irrigation on your social media channels and your local media. Being involved with Smart Irrigation Month is a great way to be an industry leader and show how you and your company are a part of efforts for sustainable water use.
