THE NALPEXPERIENCE
Russell Landscape Group Bleeds Purple
By Jill Odom
PASSION CAN’T BE FAKED. THIS IS ONE OF THE MAIN ASPECTS OF Russell Landscape Group’s culture that stood out to attendees at seventh NALP Field Trip held on June 6-7. Marty Grunder with The Grow Group hosted this event and delved into the company’s history, what sets them apart and some of their keys to success. He challenged the landscape professionals there to be like a sponge and gather ideas to take back and implement at their own companies.
“When everyone in this room gets
better, we elevate the industry,” Grunder says.
Russell Landscape Group, based in
Sugar Hill, Georgia, is the largest private- ly-owned commercial landscape compa- ny in the state. They earned $62 million in annual revenue last year. They are on track to make $70 million in revenue this year and have 10 branches throughout the Southeast. CEO Teddy Russell kicked things off on June 6 just like how his branches start out every day – by stretching. He had attendees practice lifting an imaginary box, stretch back their fingers and do a handful of jumping jacks. Russell says this routine not only helps employees limber up for the day but serves as an oppor- tunity to identify if any employees are displaying signs of pain or discomfort. Russell credits most of his success to hard work. Growing up, he worked for
his father’s business every summer as Dr. William ‘Bill’ E. Russell was the one who started Russell Landscape Group in 1987. He tried to run from the industry and earned a marketing degree before returning in 2002. The company was at $3 million in
revenue at that time, and by 2008, Russell had helped his father’s company reach $18 million in annual revenue. It wasn’t until the recession hit and clients requested reduced services that Russell began to ask his peers in the industry how to job cost. As Russell continued to adjust their operations and grow the business, he had a falling out with several family members who left the company. He be- came president in 2014 and surrounded himself with a dream team of leaders. Russell admits that in 2015 he felt he had crashed the business, but his father gave him the remaining emergency
funds and told him to keep going because he believed Russell was almost there. Now for the past eight years, the company has experienced 20 percent annual growth. Later that evening, some attendees which
ng
as eight
visited the Gas South District, which Russell Landscape Group has cared for for over 30 years. They were able t
enced endees ared for
work with one another at the 1818 Club Russell
e to net- 818 Club.
On June 7, attendees visited Russell Landscape Group’s headquarters andrs and cycled through 12 stations that included human resources, fleets & facilities, safety & training, accounting & finance, IT & software, design, support services like horticulture, seasonal color and irriga- tion, landscape construction operations, landscape maintenance operations, and leadership.
t included
At the leadership station, Russell says that as a leader, you have to be willing to take responsibility for things when they are going wrong, but when things are going well, it’s because of your team. He says leaders should have humility and be authentic. He quoted Harry Truman, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you do not care who gets the credit.” He’s also found that when it comes
to certain tasks, it’s best to do like Mark Twain says, “If it’s your job to eat a frog,
16 The Edge //July/August 2023 The Ed August 2023
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
