Landscape Architect Articles

Fall Forward by Falling Back09-02-16 | 11

Fall Forward by Falling Back
George Schmok, Publisher

Well summer is over . . . At least it feels that way, even though as I'm writing this it's not yet September. For most of you though, by the time you read this it will be fall . . .

But even though for me it's late August, all three of the kids are already in school. (When did school start starting before Labor Day???) So for me, the first day of fall is more like August 21st than September 21st. But who had a summer anyway? . . . Don't tell me . . . You did . . . Way to go!!!

Not me. For me it was a summer of hard work . . . Starting with buying and building out a new building, leasing out the old building, selling another building, hiring a bunch of new talent and moving into new digs. I wrote about that last month, but I also took on an ad sales territory in March, just after we redesigned the landscapearchitect Product Search Engine . . . Yeah . . . Pretty busy . . .

We had a longtime sales guy (Vince Chavira) find a way to end his hour commute (both ways) and rather than rush to hire a replacement, I took over the territory and have been working directly with a bunch of clients over the past several months. It's been really cool . . .

It had been, though, quite a while since I'd been in the trenches, and it's been a real eye opener. You see, I'd been mired in administration for the past several years, so when the opportunity presented itself, I made it a mission. I gotta tell you, it's been a blast!! It's so good to be talking to the market again. You learn so much more than you do from seeing someone else do it. It's the difference between going into the field and discovering something or just reading the report. The journey is the key that unlocks the door . . .

It caused me to pause a while and wonder how many of you have grown to the point that you are doing less of the field work and sitting more and more behind a desk approving other people's work? Maybe I'm wrong and all of you are still doing all of the site work, driving the loaders and dealing with the clients on a day-to-day type basis. After all, we're all doing something we love to do and that's what makes it fun! If that's you . . . I'll bet you had a great summer. Way to go . . . Again!!!

But if you find yourself getting sucked into management, or if you're supervising a bunch of projects, but not fully immersed in any one, I highly recommend finding a way to get back into the fray, even if just for a little while.

You see, I truly love selling ads and working with clients to develop programs to maximize their exposure, make the biggest impact, generate sales and grow their companies; even better when we see so many successful outcomes . . . However, the reality, at least for me, is that the company has gotten bigger and after all of these years I also like the process of making it grow. There is just no way I can do both full time. So we've begun transitioning the takeover, from me, of the territory. Some time after the new year I'll step back again into the director's chair and someone else will be the actor on screen.

For now, though, it's time to jump in and finish the project and relish the opportunity to step back in time and join the front line. There's nothing better than doing the thing you were doing when you fell in love with what you were doing. I hope all of you are living that life every day, but if not, hopefully you will be able to jump back in, at least for a season . . . Or two . . .

God Bless.

As seen in LASN & LC/DBM magazine, September 2016.