Profile: David DuBois, Mission Landscape Services

By Leslie McGuire, managing editor

Above: David Dubois knows that to succeed, you need a strong commitment to maintenance to begin with and that means a strong commitment to people. Everyone needs to maintain the value system of their company. You need a living value system, not one just hanging on the wall. Below: David Dubois, CEO of Mission Landscape Services Photos Courtesy of Mission Landscape Services

Mission Landscape Services was founded in 1971 by David DuBois?EUR??,,????'?????<

Wayne DuBois started originally as a pressman at the Los Angeles Times. As a foreman of the press room at night, he never got to see his family. He wanted to get away and work during the day. Wayne got pulled into landscape contracting by his two brothers in law, one of whom did commercial installation and one who did residential. They asked him to take care of commercial maintenance. Ultimately it didn?EUR??,,????'?????<

Their latest important move forward has been the partnership with LandArcWest, a landscape architecture firm they've had a working relationship with on over 40 projects. They already trust us for maintenance and installation, so why not for design as well, says David DuBois.

The most advanced thing we did as a family business is set up an advisory board, David continues, I'd recommend it to any family business. That keeps the family a family and the business a business.

Once a quarter, they meet with the advisory board. He presents what's going on with the company, what the goals are to his father and family as a whole. That brought them together in a different setting. The board would make suggestions. He'd throw out ideas about best place to go, ideas, and they in turn would question it, turn over every stone, share advice, tell him what to watch out for, and finally get a consensus. You started to realize you didn't have it all figured out, says David. The board has a balance of strengths which really helps.

Mission Landscape Services maintains the whole city of Santa Margarita, Calif. and they recycle everything. Because this city must follow AB325, a local law requiring a mandatory reduction of 20 percent to reduce the waste sent to land fills, Mission also tracks the city's diversion rate of recycling so they can report to the state.

Those strengths include one person who is very strong on service and marketing, one who is more balance sheet driven, but has a personal understanding of the fact that balance sheet is important but also that each of the employees personally should be happy and on track. Another board member was a county clerk, whose specialty is administration and organization, as well as a 20-year friend of the family who knew them all personally. Says David, The only one left now of the original board is someone who is a strong human resources and labor attorney. This keeps the company in touch with work place policies and safety, both of which play a huge role that will never go away. We have to deal with every aspect of landscaping-mulching, trees, installation, irrigation you name it. Therefore, people have to be trained carefully at every level. Human resources and legal are very important.

Along the way, when Wayne David's Dad wanted to sell, David decided he wanted to own his own company. With the help of the board and the estate planners they came up with a way for him to be the owner.

The company is always in touch with work place policies and safety, both of which play a huge role that will never go away. They have to deal with every aspect of landscaping mulching, trees, installation, irrigation you name it. Therefore, people have to be trained carefully at every level.

We drafted a measurement of our turn over, and found we have a 95 percent retention rate. Good people attract more good people. It pays back in a better product. We're very picky about who gets hired They have a full time recruiter at the labor level and a lot of applicants don't get hired.

Their latest important move forward has been the partnership with LandArcWest, a landscape architecture firm they've had a working relationship on over 40 projects. LandArcWest would call to make sure they were choosing the right trees and plants to use in designs. Often clients would ask Mission for a landscape architect and they would send them to LandArcWest. That developed the relationship over time. When they used others, the plants didn't work out, sometimes installations were a problem, and the clients unhappy. To focus on making the clients happy, they now work together. The dramatic increase in input helps everyone, especially on installation because a level of trust has already been built. They already trust us for maintenance and installation, so why not for design as well., says David. Looking at Bert Sperber at Valley Crest, and watching what they've done over the years fills me with respect for him as a pioneer in the industry. Seeing what they did with the design firms they acquired is very bold.

According to DuBois, people need to reuse the product of their plantings which are providing value to their land. Those plantings have to be cared for, so why not add back the refuse and put the value back in perpetuity. It is organized sustainability.

In adding LandArcWest, David saw a gap in Mission's services that needed filling. He also had enough vision and information to go ahead with it. We don't focus on short term goals so we're not that involved with the residential market. This is a long term deal. We are focusing on the clients that will stay for 20 years and that's the reason for keeping good, solid long term employees. David doesn't want to work for someone who's just building a property and then immediately turning it over.

One interesting fact I remember reading a while back is that one thousand square feet of green can provide a family of four with oxygen for a year. There are just so many fascinating attributes of landscape. LandArcWest is now working on a water sustainability project in Moreno Valley, says David. We have all the technology we need and can now bring even more to the table. Smart controllers make water management even more advanced. Mission has been doing all this for the last 15 years. They are now designing a landscape that can live on three to four acre feet of water a year. Out in Palm Desert there is a shopping center their design group did which is a truly green installation. Not only can it be done, but now it's required for permitting by the cities.

Labor is the biggest challenge, because all maintenance work is done by people. A person builds it, a person installs it and waters and fertilizes it. Maintenance is more about people so we must learn to work with people and invest in human resources, otherwise, as businesses, we'll be in trouble.

They also started working with California Integrated Waste.

Under Mission's recycling stewardship, Santa Margarita gets the tonnage the law requires. Says David. You get to complete the whole cycle required by the system. We design, install, maintain and then recycle it back into the system. As a city they can say they are non-contributory to any landfill and are fully self contained.

This ball field in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. was designed and installed and is now maintained by Mission Landscape Services. We don't focus on short term goals so we're not that involved with the residential market. This is a long term deal. We are focusing on the clients that will stay for 20 years and that's the reason for keeping good, solid long term employees.

Mulch is also very important for several other reasons. In the last Bio-cycle magazine there was an article about the California fires. They had a client go to fire department to ask about mulch, and the fire department said they saw less problems with landscapes that had mulched areas.

Labor is the biggest challenge, because all maintenance work is done by people. I hear Other business owners wish they had robots, says David. But that is ridiculous. A person builds it, a person installs it and waters and fertilizes it. Maintenance is more about people so we must learn to work with people and invest in human resources, otherwise, as businesses, we'll be in trouble.

We drafted a measurement of our turn-over, and found we have a 95 percent retention rate. Good people attract more good people. It pays back in a better product. We're very picky about who gets hired.

David Dubois knows that to succeed, you need a strong commitment to maintenance to begin with and that means a strong commitment to people. Everyone needs to maintain the value system of their company. You must keep a balancing act between all the divisions. Everyone has pride in their part. But, you need a living value system, not one just hanging on the wall. It has to be lived in the organization or end up leading to high turnover. For that, you need a humble approach as a CEO.

During the buyout from his father, he decided the majority of the stock should be owned by the employees. They understand that they have equity, which is a good point he can also use for hiring. Davey Tree did that too. If you can get that message through, especially to long term employees, they realize they're adding value to something they own. It makes for a stronger team, says David. I'm not a big enough man to make it all happen and carry that on my shoulders. I need to create motivation for people in order to make it happen so the weight is not all on my shoulders. But, of course, that's what makes David DuBois a big enough man indeed. His shareholders are truly allowed to share in his success and the success of their company.