Self Investment

       This past week I had the chance to attend a talk given by Jeffery Gitomer. Jeffery is considered one of the top people in the field of sales training. His one book, " The Little Red Book of Sales" is the all time leading seller in the sales category! Of all the sales & business books I have read, his stuff is what clicked for me the most. It helps he grew up in the Philadelphia area and his approach is really common sense and direct.
       The reason I bring this up is here in the North Eastern part of the US, this is the start of the trade show and educational event season. So it is time to invest in yourself. For our company, we will be hosting two big events called Turf Equipment University in Maryland and Pennsylvania. While there is a ton of planning that goes into putting on one of these events, it is really worth the effort. I am one of the track leaders and have put together the program for the Superintendent track in PA. with representatives from the USGA & GCSAA to kick it off. We then have Bill Brown from Turf Republic speaking on Turf Apps. The program then trends towards safety at your facility with Todd Miller of Golf Safety and John E. Tyrrell a lawyer from Philly, who deals with sports facilities. Then the program moves into self improvement with Sabrina Bladon, who is a marketing specialist who deals in the turf industry speaking on behaviors for success. And finally,
 we were lucky enough to get Steve Keating to speak at this years TEU too. Steve is head of sales training for The Toro Company and also an expert on the topic of leadership.
       Hopefully, you can tell that I am pretty excited about how it came together and the all star line up that we were able to agree to join us! So I would urge you to take an extra class or attend one more event this winter and continue to invest in the most important person you know....YOU!

Link to learn more about TEU:
http://www.turf-equipment.com/#!teu-landing/cr71



WJC

Self Inflicted

       At the Penn State Turf Grass Conferences this past week Darin Bevard of the USGA spoke about how often this past year he would see self inflicted damage to turf. Often it was related to mowing in wet conditions. So while quality of cut on turf can be effected by how wet it is, the thing you have the most control over is the setup of your cutting units. I have been very lucky to sit through a bunch of Jim Nedin's reel technology classes and each time I walk away thinking about how often it is taken for granted or by chance to get reel mowers to preform at their best. Reel setup is definitely a science and becomes even more so as reels age.
       So if I told you could have healthier turf, would you be interested? The reality is cutting units not set up correctly or out of factory specification can be costly. It will be worth the investment of your time to take a look. I would also suggest you take a look at reel speed adjustments (if available), you might find a surprise. For some reason they often get adjusted by operators who think that turning them to the highest speed setting is the best.
       

WJC

Assurance Of Your Insurance

       If you got the call that your maintenance facility was destroyed by a fire or flood and all your equipment and inventory was lost are you prepared? With our company doing yearly inventory this past week, one of the things I thought about was how important, and sometimes taken for granted, it is to have your records up to date. Do you really know what you have on site and it's current value.
       Have you had the chance to review your facility's insurance policy? Do you have a current value for replacement costs for your equipment? I know in just a one piece policy claim, I have seen it take weeks to get exactly what dollar amount was to be reimbursed. If your policy was for an 11 foot rotary that you bought 5 years ago, are you covered to purchase a new unit at the current sale price or will you be scrambling try to find a used unit. May sound crazy but it happens. Maybe an excellent project for your assistants over the winter......This could be even a win/win where your records are up to date and they will get the opportunity to learn more about the dollars behind all that equipment!


WJC