By Phil Harwood

August double sessions were brutal. While my neighborhood buddies were leisurely enjoying the dog days of summer, I was riding my bike up to school for football practice twice a day. If you played football growing up, you can relate. The sacrifice was real. 

Football practice under a scorching summer sun was rough. But it prepared us for what was ahead. We knew that these double sessions were important for multiple reasons. There was some physical conditioning that was needed, especially for the kids who didn’t play other sports and who may have been a bit out of shape. There were skills to be honed, plays to be perfected, and techniques to learn. There was also a bond that formed during this time - a camaraderie that would remain throughout the season. If you ever saw the movie “Remember the Titans,” you know what I mean. 

Double session football practices are all about the basics. Get the fundamentals right and everything else will take care of itself. This is true in business as well. Basic fundamentals form a strong foundation to build on. The problem is that focusing on basics gets old and tiring, especially when seasoned employees are pushing back. It feels like an uphill battle. That is why we recorded a new course, titled Landscape Basics, to breathe life back into basic fundamentals. Check it out! 

Landscape Basics is broken up into three seasons - spring, summer, and fall. For each season, there are six topics - 18 topics in all. Each topic is an opportunity for your team to become more unified and prepared to execute in the field with confidence and precision. 

New employees will be like a sponge, learning about each topic and being equipped to perform basic tasks. They will appreciate the opportunity to learn and the investment you are making in them. 

Seasoned employees will be challenged to reconsider how they approach each area. Sometimes seasoned employees have bad habits from other companies or they have a difficult time admitting what they don’t know. This course provides a fresh opportunity for these seasoned pros. It also provides a great platform for seasoned employees to lead these training sessions, to develop their leadership skills, and to share their experiences or “tricks of the trade” with newer employees. 

Managers will love the consistency that Landscape Basics provides. From season to season and from year to year, each crew leader and crew member will hear the same message. Your company’s proprietary process will become ingrained in each and every person. By utilizing the Landscape Basics course for basic training, the burden of training is lifted off the backs of managers, making for a more sustainable and reliable training environment. 

It’s August. Double sessions are starting soon. Isn’t it time you got back to basics also? 

Now go forth.