Ep 049 – Building Strong Teams and Embracing Change with Mark Sedgley

Mark Sedgley John: [00:00:00] The Roots of Success podcast is for the landscape professional who's looking to up their game. We're not talking lawns or grass here. We're talking about people, process, and profits. The things deep within the business that need focus to scale a successful company from hiring the right people and managing your team to improving your operations and mastering your finances. We've got a brain trust of experts to help you nurture the roots of a successful business and grow to the next level. This is The Roots of Success. Tommy Cole: Hey, welcome to another awesome episode Roots of Success podcast. I'm your host Tommy Cole and I've got an another awesome guest my sort of new friend that I met in Orlando, many weeks back. We kind of had some good conversation and I was like, this is a really awesome dude that we got to have on our show. Mark Sedgley. The CEO of LMN Single Ops. And you may be wondering like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. This is, this is where we get really some good questions and get some feedback of the big news that was launched last fall of the merger of LMN Single Ops. Welcome to the show, Mark. How are you? Mark Sedgley: Awesome, man. And I love the energy and I love the welcome. I can't say enough about our time together in Orlando. [00:01:00] The mastermind event. And I got to know you. I've gotten to know McFarland, Stanford, Jason, you know, the team, Chris. And so in a short amount of time, I feel like, you know, we're already, you know, best friends and, you know. Comrades in arms. So thank you for having me on the show, Tommy. I really appreciate it. Tommy Cole: Yeah, this is great. So we met finally in Orlando at a mastermind event. And, I was like, man, who is this guy, Mark? Like it's Mark and there's another Mark involved and all that. But we sat down at a fun restaurant for hours and just kind of talked about. Everything about business, where we are in our company, where you are in your company. And we talked about, you know, general life and raising kids and hiking and all kinds of like medicine and, and all kinds of fun stuff. I was like, Whoa, this is going to be a right up our alley. So. If you're living under a rock, you have no idea what's going on. Give us an intro kind of like about your past and, and let's learn more [00:02:00] about you. Mark's Background Mark Sedgley: Yeah. I mean, I think it's, it's pretty simple. I, I'm a, I kind of grew up as an entrepreneur you know, and I think I have a pretty similar story to lots of folks across America, which has tied me kind of like this through line to LMN and single ops and, and, you know, the landscaping and tree care community, which is. My first job as a high schooler was, you know, a lawnmower sticking out of the trunk and a weed whacker. That's what we called it Tommy Cole: Oh, Mark Sedgley: Tennessee and a blower. And, you know, I'm just driving around the neighborhood, knocking on doors to see if I can cut their lawn for 20 bucks, you know and ever since then, I've just kind of always wanted to do my own thing. And so I helped start a company called number clicks. The way that folks in this community could connect to member clicks is if you've ever been a member of, like, the National Association of Landscape Professionals or your local state association, when you would log into those, those you know [00:03:00] associations, websites and register for an event or pay your dues or update your profile. There's a good chance. It was my software called member clicks. And so I've just always had an entrepreneurial thing. I really like working for myself. I like making an impact and feeling that impact. And so from there I sold member clicks. And since then, it's kind of been a practice to take over for founders and and take the great businesses that they've created to the next level. And so that's how I came to single ops back in 23. I took over for the founder of single ops. Single Ops is more more on tree care. Tommy Cole: right. Mark Sedgley: You know, we do have landscape customers, because what I've noticed Tommy is there's lots of businesses that have, like, you know, multifaceted lines of businesses that do landscape, hardscape design, build tree care, all the all the above. And so I took over that business and 1 of the things that I kept looking around and seeing is, is like, how do we actually get into. The landscape kind of, you know, community and really do it in a meaningful way. And I started looking around [00:04:00] the marketplace and I saw one company that was super interesting and that company was LMN. And so I reached out to Mark Bradley. I'm sure your listeners know exactly who Mark Bradley is. He's kind of a, you know, a legend in the space. He's given back to the community. He's starting this a new gig. Called leanscaper, which were huge supporters and fans of but when I called him, he was the CEO and founder of LMN. And I just said, Hey Mark, you know, you look like, you know, what you're talking about, I've watched your stuff online. You've got a great company. Do you mind teaching me a thing or two about the industry? I'm a new guy. Maybe we can become frenemies, you know, and, Mark's answer, probably not to anybody's surprise, was like, sure. And so he spent, you know, an hour with me on a zoom call. And then it was a great conversation. We hit it off. He thinks about things in a lot of ways, similar to the way that I think about him about building teams, leaning into mission, creating impact in an industry. And so then I made up a [00:05:00] reason to be in Toronto, Tommy. And I said, like, Hey, man, do you like, you know, red wine and steak? You know, fingers crossed. He says yes, and he did. And so we had a dinner and the relationship just evolved. And when Mark decided that he was ready for, I think he's calling it version 4. 0 and his journey you know, he gave me a call and said, Hey, I'd like for you to participate and maybe take a run at LMN as a, as a potential business opportunity. And we did. And then in October of last year, at the very end of October, last year, we were able to cement the deal. And so ever since then, we've kind of just been, you know, running and gunning and, you know, doing all the stuff that you do when you're putting companies together. Tommy Cole: That's fascinating. What made you, let's, this is in a perspective of owners and managers. In the landscape world, you, you, you're kind of, you and I are similar. When you see something, you go after it. Like it's something about a feeling or a connectedness of [00:06:00] something. I'm this fan of that as well. If I see something that feels good and I feel like this is the right way. What made Mark commit to LMN when aquiring it Tommy Cole: I just go, right? You go like, talk about that experience when you're like, man, we're looking at LMN and that's the reason why. What made you commit and just go and not overthink it? Mark Sedgley: Yeah. I mean, Hey, it's a great question. I don't think I'm smart enough to overthink anything, Tommy. So I think that's like one of those blessings in my life. It's like, you just, you know, don't overthink it, man. You know, yeah, exactly. I, there's some things about the LMN that are just. Undeniable, right? Like the LMN customer are small business, small to medium sized businesses, right? And they range in size and success and revenue levels. But at the end of the day, they're the, they're the folks within their communities that are like hiring people, creating jobs. Creating economy, right? Connecting communities through enhancing, like the outdoor appeal and living spaces [00:07:00] that people like to congregate in. Like, so first and foremost, the community, the customer, the type of customer was like the most magical thing for me about the LMN customer base. Cause. You know, you have different types of software that on the market and Mark and the LMN team focus right in that kind of dead middle, like where the majority of the landscape community sits. And also it's the community that really can. Thrive through the power of software. And so that's something that I'm deeply attracted to is, is how do you create ripple impact, not just in, you know, your company's life or your employee's lives, but your, your customer's lives, your customer's community's lives, and creating that ripple to kind of keep going out in a meaningful way. Like that's like one of the number one things that attracted me to LMN. And then I started looking at the software. And it's living out its mission of, like, impacting an entire industry and unlocking landscaper's potential through [00:08:00] powerful budgeting tools, through the ability to, like, get deals out faster and separate themselves from the competition, to tracking time and making sure that, that owners have the confidence. Like to trust their numbers, to trust the growth, to be able to trust and take the systems out of their heads and put it into an actual system to empower their team members and their employees and all that stuff, Tommy, you know, connects to creating Ripple. You know, and the software allows customers to do that. And to me, that's like super meaningful and powerful. And so if you can connect those dots, you can create an awesome experience for your customers. You think you can build, you know, powerful teams that believe in a mission at the same time, then it's just a win. Tommy Cole: Yeah, it's it's fascinating to hear this. Pick a Software and go with it Tommy Cole: The word software just has a It's kind of like, it's the one question that I get, Tommy, Tommy, what do you [00:09:00] recommend? And what do you, and I'll say this till forever and ever and ever, like, pick one and go with it. Like, that's it. You're not an engineer. You're not a software builder. They've done all the hard work do go all in on it, right? So like I want to make an announcement say let's not call it software. Let's just call it the community Mark Sedgley: Right. Yeah, Tommy Cole: Joel community and jump in and and and what I like about that the LMN community is It's a collective group of people that want the same thing. That's really what it is. Right, so we're going to announce no software. It's called community. Join the Mark Sedgley: Right. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Tommy Cole: to move Mark Sedgley: That's right. I actually love that because it is a community and, you know, LMN now is approaching over 5, 000 community members, right? And if you think about that, Tommy, that's really powerful is thinking through ways you can leverage the community to [00:10:00] drive, you know, solutions. To common problems across the board. Right. And so I actually think, you know, when you think about, you know, software, you do think about community first, how are you making an impact on a community? How are you actually creating and driving results for them and their day to day stuff, like the stuff that's not hard, not easy to solve, like it's hard, right. Running a small business is hard. Do you agree with that? Like, I mean, it is, Tommy Cole: another level, I feel like you can be an owner or operator to a certain point because you can do it all. But Mark Sedgley: yeah, Tommy Cole: you hit that threshold of I've got to lead people Mark Sedgley: yeah, Tommy Cole: There's no amount of books and classes or anything to take. Like, none of that even matters. And that's why I asked your is like, you just got to go and go with it. I feel like software now community where you just got to jump into it and start using it. Mark Sedgley: it's really good advice too, Tommy, because at the end of the day, like you really do have to kind of sink your teeth into it and go all in [00:11:00] because what we see all the time is folks trying to like cherry pick parts of software, like not just LMN at single ops at all. My other previous, you know, software kind of journeys is like. The customers that are the happiest, the customers that thrive, the customers that like are raving fans and also really successful. I think of guys like Kevin Scott up in Muskoka, Austin Roth down in Florida. I think of Rick Miranda from Aquidneck Legworks up in Rhode Island. All of them are at like different journeys in their, you know, like path to success. And all at different revenue levels, but at the end of the day, they've all sunk their teeth into it and said, like, I am going to use this software to help empower me to be more successful on a day in and day out basis. And like, I think that stuff is powerful. Like going around the country for the last four months, you know, going to trade shows, going to customer sites, going to the mastermind events, I've just heard story after story after story that, that ties directly to what you said, the [00:12:00] folks that lean on. The folks that embrace it, the folks that like try and leverage something to the fullest extent, it doesn't matter if it's software or anything else, a system, you know, Mark Bradley talks a lot about the kind of lean system, like leaning into that stuff, no pun intended, and actually leveraging it makes the difference, like committing to it. And so I think you're right, Tommy Cole: Yeah, that's a powerful tool. You know, we hear a lot of information, and I heard this from you in our conversation. But the one thing that you guys have noticed in this industry is the. The Importance of Implementation Tommy Cole: The lack of implementing the entire system, right? It's like a piece here and a piece there. And then they kind of run into something that challenges them. And my recommendation is, is always keep moving forward and be 100%. And if you're 30 percent into this system, you can't complain about it because you're 30 percent into it. That's like always my advice. You got to keep going. I feel [00:13:00] like the peoples are, are the biggest asset and that system that you use is the other asset and when you put those two together, it's like a train that you can't stop. Mark Sedgley: Agreed. Tommy Cole: So speak about, about the importance of being all in on this and not piecemeal in it well, and the, the, the other part, Marcus. This is the way we've always done it, Tommy, right? If that's not the way, and so make your adjustments along the way. Mark Sedgley: You know, I think this is the way that we've always done it actually permeates across industry, across humans, across, you know specialties, right? Like you hear that every place you go, right? And the, the, my typical response to that is something's changed. Right. Something in your business may, that might be the way you've always done it, but something in your business has changed. You have more employees, you have more customers, right? You have multiple lines of businesses now, which you didn't have before. You [00:14:00] have higher expectations, right? You have more revenue, right? You have different goals, right? And so that might be the way you've always done it, but a lot around the way you've always done it has changed. And so I think that's the power of something like, you know, software for the community, which is like. It continues to evolve. It continues to develop. It continues to adapt. Right. And so having a mindset that open kind of growth mindset around, well, what can I be doing? What has changed in my business and how can I leverage these tools in order to empower me to be more successful? I think as a mindset shift and change that, you know, you just kind of have to always lean into, I do agree that there's continuity and comfort in the way that we've always done it for sure. Right. Like, I mean, I'm a, I'm a creature of habit, man. Like if I don't get up. At 4 30 in the morning, get my coffee, do my journal, right? Like my gratitude journal, you know, knock out a bunch of work before my kids and wife wake up, man, I fall apart. So that's the way I've always done it. So there's like comfort in [00:15:00] that. But I've also learned that man, sometimes you travel. Right. And sometimes you've got an early morning meeting and sometimes the kids have got to get to school early. Right. And all that stuff changes. And so how you adapt to it and how you actually make the difference in terms of leveraging all the tools that are available to you to make you just as good as you were before, if not better. It's really, really important. So I think the number one key is just have an open mind. And when you're sitting there saying to yourself, like, this is the way I've always done it. I don't feel like I'm getting as much as I need from whatever it is, whether it be LMN or, you know, a system that you have in place. Take a look around at what's changed then. Like, what are all the things that have changed around you and you'll probably start to find like, oh, that's why it's not working as well as I want it Tommy Cole: Good point, good point, adaptable. Why LMN is not only for small companies Tommy Cole: A common question I get is when I meet people out on the road or calls is LMN is only for small bit companies. And I'm like, what? Like, what is, there's this myth. Explain why that is a completely [00:16:00] incorrect statement. And, give me some examples of why that, you know, I mean, we can define small. I don't know what small is in landscape anymore. You know, whatever that is, it could be 500, 000 a year. It could be 8 million is small. Like it doesn't matter, but explain why that's a myth and how you guys tackle that. Mark Sedgley: Yeah. I mean, I think the, I think that you nailed it. Everybody's different definition of small is different. And those three companies that I, I talked about earlier, you know, Austin and Kevin and Rick, Rick, they're all three different levels of revenue. You know, some, you know, approaching 20 million in revenue and some at 2 million in revenue. Right. And so I would tell you that a 18 to 20 million landscape business, you're in the kind of top 3 percent of the marketplace. Right. I mean, like you and Tommy Cole: it's that big. Mark Sedgley: yeah. And so if I'm going to use that definition, that's a big. Large landscaping company. And we have a lot of those types of companies and our customer portfolio and they're amazing [00:17:00] partners to us. And then we also have a lot of customers at the 2 million in revenue, which I still think is a very vibrant growing. Awesome business. Like once you kind of what I've what I've seen in the marketplace, and I'm definitely not as like steeped as you are or Mark Bradley or anybody else. But when you have hundreds and thousands of conversations over a course of time, you start to see some patterns, right? And the patterns is like there's like a breaking point somewhere around a million dollars in revenue where the business just changes and it no longer feels small anymore. Right? And so I would tell you it is a myth. We have customers. Lots of customers. Like I said, we have, you know, approaching 5000 customers. 30 40 percent of those are north of five and 10 million, right? And so, like, we have really big, vibrant, large businesses that we serve every day, and we have big strategic partners that we serve through the LMN platform. And I think what happens is, like, you know, when you start to go to events and LMN desire to impact the entire community, not just a [00:18:00] segment of the community. You start to create some of that, right, you know, and you start to start to associate LMN with the smaller side of the businesses couldn't be further from the truth, you know, and we know that we're leaning in and winning business every day from large landscape companies, but we're going to continue to make an impact on the entire industry. Not just a segment of the industry. So, Tommy Cole: Very good. I often hear, let's see, oh, there's so many good things to get into. I've got like a pages of stuff to talk about. Like, I don't even know if we have enough time for this. But, I asked you a question in Orlando and your response was, was actually, I think you asked me the question, What was the biggest thing or what, you know, a change and, and we're going to get, you know, not everything's perfect. Right. And you guys are evolving. But one of my, you asked me a question, like, what do you think we need to work on? And I said, there's some clunkiness. to LMN And you, your answer was spot on and I was like, okay, this is the guy for the job. [00:19:00] No discredit for anything in the past. I mean, I, I, I love, I like the software a lot and I, I'm a user of it, but explain your answer and what you're going to do about it. I thought I was really impressed with it. Mark Sedgley: Yeah. I mean, so I think the, like, the LMN story is like a, an awesome story. Like, so when we talk about, like, improvement, you're taking something from really, really good to even better. Right. And like, that's kind of 1st and foremost, Mark and Mike and Jenna, they, they came up through. And the industry, like these are folks that were out in the field and built a awesome landscape business, you know, of real size and magnitude. Right. And so the traditional software stories is like, okay, well, we're building software. We're solving problems. We're listening to customers and we're building and we're building and we're building and we're building. Right. And you're going as fast as you possibly can. That's normal. Right. And then at some point in time, as it gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and the features start to grow and grow and grow, you have to kind of retrench [00:20:00] and say, all right, awesome. We've got this big depth and breadth of software solution. Right. But not all of it like flows together as like fast as you would want it to. There's one too many clicks to get the job done that you want to get done. And it's natural that that happens because you were going so fast. And so one of the things that I think we'll be really good at is coming in and investing in that, like, how do we make the core functionality? And I also think this speaks to your other question about whether you're a million dollar landscape business or a 20 million dollar landscape business. One thing I know is true. Everybody wants. Proposing, estimating, billing, invoicing, and scheduling to be fast and easy for their internal teams to be able to deliver on. Right. And so you have to look at what are the core features that are used every single day. Like, you know, you can see it. Like we have great insights, like how often our products are used, like the key features that are being used and then figure out a way, like have a really strong strategy to go invest in making those as easy and intuitive as [00:21:00] humanly possible to use. And that's going to appeal to everybody. And then once you build that foundation back up, you start to branch out and create really innovative tools that folks can leverage over a course of time that they're leveraging today, all day, every day, and they want those to be better. They don't want to have to use a different solution to do it. They don't want multiple software vendors to have to run their business. And so LMN is going to get simpler. Faster, easier, more powerful for the day to day stuff that landscapers use. And then over a course of time, it's going to branch out and allow you to leverage it in a lot of different ways that you would have never imagined. Tommy Cole: That just, that just gets me fired up. Right. That exciting news. I mean, it's a great software. You know, highly recommend it. And I, I think you're the, the, you, you, I don't think you are the right person for this, for this gig. Mark Sedgley: Thank you for saying that Tom. What is the future of LMN Tommy Cole: Yeah, what, there's a whole nother section I want to get into, but like, what does the future hold, you know, years from now with you and the software? I mean, [00:22:00] can you tell us where it's headed towards or without sort of like, you know, giving us your master plan behind the Mark Sedgley: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the, the, the things that we need to start thinking about is all the powerful technology that's coming online and a real, and a lot of these technologies, yes, AI, but also just kind of like data. Like in the ability to aggregate data in really meaningful ways and then distribute it and present it back to people is it's at a totally different level than it's ever been in the history of our kind of technology journey. So the types of things that our customers will start to experience and see is greater visibility into their day to day operation. We already provide like tons of like data for our customers consume that that makes it easier for them to budget and makes it. Easier for them to have confidence in their estimates going out and allowing their estimates to go out with, you know, speed to the customer base. It already creates the ability for them to create systems for their entire organization. But we're [00:23:00] going to start to see rapid changes is like. High visibility, high simplicity in terms of being able to consume the business. There's going to be things that became that were, you know, five, six, seven clicks that will start to become intuitively like one click because natural behavior pattern software will do the rest for you behind the scenes. Right. And so I always think about those things though. Like, I don't know if you've noticed this, like technology is kind of judged on how easy it makes your life. Like the, the technology that you love the most is going to be the one that is like this thing, you know, for example, this love it and hate it, you know, but like one of the things that's so powerful about it is it allows me to do so much stuff so much simpler than I ever had to do it before, right? And that's what you should start to expect out of all software, but LMN in particular, we're going to create a lot more visibility to empower our customers to make really good decisions. We're going to create natural behavior performance within the system that just. Reduces friction and toil within the organization. And then that'll allow our [00:24:00] customers to focus on the things that they're really good at, like selling deals, right. Managing the project, right. Hitting it on time, right. And separating themselves from the competition. So those are the things that you should start to expect. Tommy Cole: Wow. That's great. I mean, it's a, it's a tool. It's a tool in your truck. It's a tool out in the field, a tool in the office. That has you the ability to see how you're doing along the way, and everyone uses the same tools. So there's a sense of consistency in your business. It's no different than any company outside of landscaping. Like, owner restaurant, there's a system. A POS. It is what it is. When you sell, you know, basketball shoes, it is what it is. This is the system we use and this is what we train to it. So highly, highly recommend it. Building a winning team Tommy Cole: Let's talk about some leadership things. This is, you, you've got an interesting background. I want to talk about building a winning team. I mean, CEO of the MemberClicks for 15 plus years and then single ops and LMN. Like you've had teams. [00:25:00] I compare a lot to sports because I like sports, right? And you as well. How do we build a winning team? And what does that mean? Yeah, Mark Sedgley: Just right. Just going to punch me in the face with it. Right. Tommy Cole: yeah Mark Sedgley: I think the easiest way to build a winning team. Is to like lean in heavily to core values and mission like this is not rocket science and you know, I think when we're in Orlando, I, I got up in front of everybody and started talking about how do you leverage core values, you know, in order to build winning teams and it starts like. At the very beginning, like values are not designed to just go on a wall. Tommy, right? They're not designed just to be written down once and then just kind of puts this out or put on a website, right? Core values are designed to screen folks, to bring them into your team, right? They're designed to like, talk to your folks when we're not [00:26:00] performing. We're not, we're not living out our core values. They're designed to radiate to your customers. They're designed to radiate to your partners and your vendors and your distributors, right? And what I know is your core values can do whatever your core values are because they've got to be authentic to you, especially if you're building a company, right? Like it's you and five or 10 people today, but you want it to be 40 and 50 tomorrow. Or for me, it's, you know, 200 today and I want it to be four or 500 tomorrow, right? Like it all matters. The core values have to be authentic to you and you have to be able to speak to how they drive the operation and the mission of the organization. And I think core values are so important in terms of driving winning teams and getting people like Utah, like sports teams, like. The best sports teams to ever exist in the history of time. I won't share some of my favorites because I don't want to, I don't want to create like friction. Yeah, exactly. But the best teams ever there, they're all, they all talk about the same [00:27:00] thing. Hey, we all kind of lived by the same ethos, right? Like we all were on the same wavelength because we knew this is exactly like Alabama, not a fan, but mad respect. Right. They, they talked about the process. Tommy, right? And everybody's trust in the process that those are like core value type things like do your job, right? Like that's a core value for Alabama, right? And so I think leaning heavy into core values and then putting the umbrella of the mission. Hey, guys, we're gonna live out these core values to accomplish this and are this Is to impact an industry, help folks unlock their potential and allow them to create customers for life. It's no more complicated than that, right? And so you lean into those core values, you attract people that live and breathe and are, like, excited by those core values, who look at your mission and say, I want to be part of that. And then all of a sudden building a team becomes really powerful. The next step in that, like this is like operational now is, is you got to develop the heck out of it. And so one of the [00:28:00] things that was also attracted me to LNN was Greenius. We have an awesome platform that allows our landscaping customers. To go in and once they've attracted that, that right talent, once people are motivated by the mission, you can help develop them and develop their career and allow them to engage and make the business better and create further ripple. It's pretty amazing how all those things tie together. And so we just want to continue to leverage Tommy Cole: so true is you talk about this a lot in your presentation in Orlando and I was kind of blown away. Actually, Mark, I was like, who is this guy on stage, you know, talking about and then I was like, Oh my gosh, like, I got to pay attention to learn from this, but it's, it's kind of what I believe in too. And it's, we focus on as owners is like, give me your resume. What can you do? Right? Where's your experience? What have you done? And it's less about that. It's less, it's more about building a [00:29:00] company with awesome people. Mark Sedgley: Right. Tommy Cole: Because then the law of attraction happens where more awesome people want to come work for an awesome company. And then all we got to do, Mark, is just train and develop and coach and mentor. this, that's this, you know, secret sauce, Mark Sedgley: You nailed it. Yeah, yeah. And I think that what happens in small businesses, because I actually still consider us a small business. I mean, we're many millions of revenue, thousands of customers, you know, a couple 100 employees. I look at us and say, we're still a small business, right? What happens is you get so focused on the day to day. Like the things that are like, right? Yeah. Yeah. And like, what's in front of me for this month? You know, or what's the, and one of the dangers that happens for folks that are leaders is like, what's the most pressing emergency that that comes up? And like, the trick is, is if you're, if you're attracting the right people, they're motivated by the mission, you're develop, developing their career in a really [00:30:00] methodical way. And you're coaching and mentoring all that stuff. Starts to kind of like bubble down to the rest of the organization and you continue to get to focus on what's next. What am I driving to? What am I pushing us for? Right? And that's where you start to create unlocked potential. Right? And so from my perspective, like, just get really dialed there and focused and make it part of your like, everyday talk track. Tommy Cole: Yeah. Mark Sedgley: Right. Your role as a CEO Tommy Cole: You're the CEO. What is your, what is your role in the CEO? Like, I want to compare that to your role. As a software company, focused on landscape owners and managers and entire teams. And I want our audience to understand like what it means to be a CEO in a landscape company as well, right? You can't call yourself a really a CEO if you're managing a half a million dollars of business. It doesn't really work. You're kind of more of an operator, but I want our audience to understand what it's like. A lot of [00:31:00] conversations we have and. Peer groups and coaching and thing is like, what do I do as a CEO? I don't understand because listen, I had a motor in my truck and that's getting money in college. No different than you and all of us. We all had that. But like, how the hell do I be a CEO? Like no one understands that, what that is. Can you provide some context to that? Mark Sedgley: it's a good question. First and foremost. You're learning every day, right? What I've realized about being a CEO, because when we started, there was only like five or six of us, like, just, just dudes staring around at each other saying, like, how are we going to do this? Right? You know, right? Yeah, like, and it's the same thing. You know, it's like, you're starting a landscaping company. You've got two, you know, accounts and you're looking around and you're like, you know, now you've got one or two people that are dependent on you. You know, you're trying to figure out how to grow all that good stuff, that owner operator stuff. Yeah. But one of the things that I like to encourage everyone to think about is, is you're learning how [00:32:00] to be a CEO every step of the way, right? If you think about some of the greatest CEOs to ever live, like, you know, in the pantheon of CEOs, whoever you want to choose, but like, if you're just looking at technology, look at somebody like Steve Jobs or Bezos or Bill Gates, like these people have reached the pinnacles of Elon Musk, the pinnacles of the success. If you go back to their origin story, what were they doing? They were doing the thing. Tommy Cole: The work. Yep. Mark Sedgley: Yeah, right. But I think the thing that made them so different was their willingness to engage their willingness to have a growth mindset, their willingness to learn their willingness to ask the question why, you know, and then ask it again and then ask it again and again and again and again and then willing to push themselves into areas. That they weren't comfortable, right? Like, that's not my sweet spot. I get it. And it doesn't have to be the best thing you're at, but you got to at least understand it and know it. So going from that kind of like, I, what I will say, like operational leader to CEO, i. e. [00:33:00] I'm dictating the direction of the organization. I'm making sure that I'm driving results. I'm making sure that our mission and values are like. Part and parcel to everything that we do within the organization, it just takes that growth mindset, and it takes your willingness to go into uncomfortable places, and it takes your willingness to synthesize information. Like, I think the biggest thing that I'm asked to do on a day in and day out basis is just consume a bunch of information, distill it down. Mirror it to what we're trying to accomplish from a goal perspective and then communicate that to the rest of the organization and the community, obviously like this, right? And so I think growth mindset, your ability to kind of keep keep consuming information and then simplify it down. That's when you start to become a CEO, because there's a lot of complexities that come with getting bigger and bigger and bigger Tommy Cole: Very good. It all comes down to the engagement of people. Making sure making sure that you're still having the mission and the values [00:34:00] along. I mean. Quite frankly, the CEO is also a mid level manager. You, you got, you got private equity investors and stuff that you got to report to, right? But then you got a team to sort of delegate and empower and work through things. And so it's no easy task. It, it, there's no magic button, but what I would recommend is I love how you just said, it's just learning how to be that person. Developing and asking questions along the way. I think it's great. I could get that question all the time. How to handle change Tommy Cole: What you had a great quote and I look this up. This is getting your play. I dig deep, right? I dig really deep and understand. So I have a question how to lead and and it also you said something says change is inevitable. But how you lead through it shares the future. Explain what all that means. Mark Sedgley: Yeah. I mean, change is like, that is one of the things you're Yeah, 100%. Yeah. Yeah. [00:35:00] And by the way, even people who say they love change, like it fatigues them. Right. But one thing that we know is true is change, right? Like your question earlier around, like, Hey, I talked to folks all the time. And so they say, like, this is how I've always done it. But what I can guarantee you is. What is being done has changed, like all the things that are around that, that the way I've always done it has changed. And so how you embrace change is really Tommy Cole: You just took the words out of I was sitting here saying like, embrace the change. Like, Mark Sedgley: Right. Tommy Cole: that head on instead of going, change, ooh, as a negative connotation, Mark Sedgley: Correct. Tommy Cole: already sort of like, one step behind, right? Mark Sedgley: Right, right. Yeah. And I think, I think one of the keys to getting people to more and more comfortable with change is demonstrating to them that you're going to learn what you're doing wrong and what you're doing right. Right? Like, it can't just be changed for the sake of change. It's got to be, Hey, we're put. This is a change that I think is, [00:36:00] I think this is going to have a positive impact. I actually have a vision for how it's going to have a positive impact. Here's that vision. Here's what I think we need to do in order to accomplish that vision. Are we going to make mistakes along the way? 100%. And so, but you've got to communicate back to your teams. Hey, when things aren't working. We want to know why we want to better understand. We want to learn from those things that aren't working so that we, we doesn't mean that the changes wrong. It just means we might need to tweak the plan. It means we might need to, like, you know. Move this here and move this piece over there. That means we might need a new human to kind of do this job. Right. And you might actually be doing another job. That's like way more impactful to that change. Right. So I think in order to like do change management really well, constant communication, a willingness, again. Curiosity. Like we talked about earlier, like that willingness to learn. You have to be curious, right? And you have to ask questions. But you've got to keep going back to this is the why. This is the why behind the [00:37:00] change. It can't just be the change. It has to be the why. Advice for companies struggling to implement software Tommy Cole: someone that's starting out or in the middle of a software implementation and they're kind of bogged down and or they don't know where to start or they've had it in their box for two years and they do a little bit of clocking in, but the rest is there. What what advice do you give those owners and managers of those companies? Yeah, Mark Sedgley: the first advice I give is, and this is advice anytime I'm having a problem, find a peer or a mentor that has done it, right? And like lived it out, right? Like coming to like, for example, like LMN and single ops have all these tools available to our customers, like videos, tutorials, articles, live virtual trainings, you know, in person trainings, right? There's tons of stuff that's always available to folks to learn and like, get them out of that rut. But the single most powerful thing that I've always seen is, is just finding people that look and talk and walk a [00:38:00] lot like you from an operational perspective and then going and like watching and learning and asking questions and seeing how they are leveraging it because that'll translate one to one Tommy back to like, Oh. This is why I need to do this. This is how it could be impactful. And you can actually start to draw through lines of like people's names or like processes within your organization because you're seeing them replicated somewhere else. I think that's part of the power of like, you know, ace peer groups and McFarland Stanford and putting people together you know, to learn from each other. I think that, like, if I were to start anywhere, I'd start there. Tommy Cole: good point. I'll add to that. It's like a sports team rely on someone on your team, i. e. another company that went through it. I guarantee you they embraced the change and they went through challenges and they were ready to throw the computer out the window and say, I'm done with this. But they kept moving forward. It's almost like a coach and a mentor that you can say, And I love to do this. Company A [00:39:00] is trying to do it and Company B has already done it. Put those two together. A lot of times they may not listen to me. Totally fine. But when you put them two together and they can talk the same and relate, not done it and done it, that to me is the power of The community and peer groups and coaches to get you through those tough, crazy, insane times of the word software and development. That's what we're all here for. And I think you guys have a great community. Some of the best customer service I've ever seen at any organization, dedicated account managers. The other recommendation I have is to put things on your schedule. Consistently to work on it, to improve same day, same time, Mark Sedgley: right. Tommy Cole: same team implementer. And, and, and get those people involved. It's for like two hours every Tuesday and just hammer it out. And when you have consistency of [00:40:00] developing something and change, the rest is history because you're going to tackle it, Mark Sedgley: I couldn't agree more, by the way, Tommy, but like, I think the, the, the other thing that's just like software or chain, like, it's anything, like, anything else in life, like, the beginning is the hardest part. Right? Tommy Cole: right? Going to Mark Sedgley: Right. Tommy Cole: is hard. Mark Sedgley: Right, yeah. Tommy Cole: do it for so long. crave it. Mark Sedgley: A hundred percent. Same thing with, like, you know, changing your diet. Like, not going on a diet, but, like, just taking something out of your diet. Like, for example, like, periodically I'll go on a five day fast. Like once every like four or five months, right? I'll just go on a five day fast. There's like a little water concoction that I drink. But when I do that, I hate day one. Like, I am literally a, like, I'm an insane person, too. Like, nobody wants to be around me in those days. But once I'm in day five, my body feels totally different. And I've radically changed my view on food, by the way, just in five days. Tommy Cole: Yeah, Mark Sedgley: And it's [00:41:00] just like, just like anything in life, like doing it, like starting something is the hardest part, right? And then by the way, if starting something and it's hard, it's probably really worth doing. Tommy Cole: it's probably good. Mark Sedgley: what I mean? Yeah, exactly. Tommy Cole: I get it. I get it. I'm with you. Let's take a moment. Take care of yourself. You've been given one body, one mind, one brain. Take care of yourself. I feel like if that is the importance in your lifestyle every day, I think changing your business, CEO, software, leading Becomes easy. It Mark Sedgley: It all ties together. Yeah, it all ties together. Like, I mean, cause you bring all of you. Tommy Cole: Yeah, All Mark Sedgley: Wherever you go. Yeah, exactly. Tommy Cole: All in. So true. Mark Sedgley: you're you're coming, you're following you everywhere you go. Tommy Cole: Super awesome conversation. I want to hit some highlights, Mark. [00:42:00] And then I'm going to ask you one more question. So use your peers and mentors to help you out in any change, whether it be software or anything. Mark Sedgley: I'm sorry. Tommy Cole: Those coaches and peers and mentors along the way, find one, get multiple, use them. I love the community, the ripple effect, new terminology. It's not like white water rafting, nor is it stagnant water. It is a ripple. And, and, and, and consistency along the way. I love the role of the CEO as mentorship, drive results, mission, vision, core values, the future of LMN has gotten tons of great visibility systems and simple. I love this term behavior pattern software. That's just like the hair on my arms. Just, you know, I love it. It's, it's fascinating. Trust the process, develop people, be all in on your mission core values. Don't let it collect dust and out of sight, out of mind pretty thing because I got to [00:43:00] check the box. My favorite one of all time embrace change. I always say embrace the suck. It is what it is. Tackle it head on. Curiosity, lots of learning and questions. Wow, Mark Sedgley: Lots of stuff. Tommy Cole: lots of great stuff. Mark, what's one general advice that you live and die by that's it's a quote or something you do on your daily procedures? Family, business, whatever. Like, give me, give me one thing that you, you are all in on, Mark Sedgley: The obstacle is the way Tommy Cole: which is a book. Mark Sedgley: it is, but it's also just it's a, it's a way of thinking about life, right? Like you just said it like embrace change, fall in love with the problem. At the top of a mountain, there's another mountain. I mean, I, and so I've just learned, like, you can't go around obstacles. You can't avoid obstacles. The obstacle is the way just go. Tommy Cole: Just go ahead. Mark Sedgley: that's so important. Tommy Cole: So true. I used to avoid that back in early in my [00:44:00] career. And I think that's normal as a, as a young professional, you're like, Ooh, tough conversations, things you may not want to do, but has to be done, hit them head on. And quite frankly, hit them on first thing. Just get those things knocked out and go, but great book. I've got it in my bookcase. The obstacles away. I've read it once. I don't think I need to reread it again. I got a referral from a friend and fascinating book. Mark Sedgley: It's great. But Tommy Cole: yeah, I love it. Mark. You're super awesome. We're gonna have to have you on consistently to kind of update us. with the change. I think that'd be awesome. Sort of like a quarterly change pod, right? And embracing it, talk about things that are not working and things that are working along the way. You're a rock star, bud. Mark Sedgley: I appreciate that. Tommy Cole: so this is coming out very soon. And so thank you for taking time out of busy schedule of, of, of running a CEO and of an Mark Sedgley: this stuff. Tommy Cole: company. Mark Sedgley: Yeah, thank you, Tommy. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity to speak to [00:45:00] you and also to speak to your greater community. And I love the stuff that you guys are doing at McFarland Stanford. You're making the industry better, and you're having the impact that we're trying to have to. So I love the fact that we were able to sit down and have a conversation today. Tommy Cole: Awesome stuff, Mark. We'll we'll stay in touch and we'll go from there. Thank you for having. John: Ready to take the next step? Download our free Profitability Scorecard to quickly create your own baseline financial assessment and uncover the fastest ways to improve your business. Just go to McFarlinStanford.com/scorecard to get yours today To learn more about McFarlin Stanford our best in class peer groups and other services go to our website at McFarlinStanford.com And don't forget to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. See you next time on the Roots of Success.