Welcome to summer! Chapter of the CMAA, Virginia Tech, Virginia

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1 J U L Y V O L U M E 2 N U M B E R 5 lsi I n t h i s i s s u e o f : Message from the Ownership: Welcome to Summer BMP Golf Tournament From a CEO s Perspective: Employee Engagement Tennessee Turf Talk: Give Twitter a shot The VT Corner: Summer Stress Professionalism Financial Corner: Business Strategy A MESSAGE FROM THE OWNERSHIP Welcome to summer! Welcome to summer! I was watching the news a couple of days ago and the weather map pops up. The entire map was complete dark red everywhere! Top it off with the perfect storm at the first of July. Golf courses and athletic fields without water to keep grass alive, lawn care and landscapers stopped in their tracts due to the trees that are down. Two more months...and we are somewhat home free! On Monday May 21, 2012 Landscape Supply, Inc. held our 4th Annual BMP Golf Tournament Fundraiser. Best Management Practices for Environmental Stewardship on Virginia Golf Courses manual is being produced in cooperation with the Virginia Golf Course Superintendent s Association, Virginia State Golf Association, Middle Atlantic PGA, Virginias Chapter of the CMAA, Virginia Tech, Virginia Turfgrass Foundation, NGCOA VA, Virginia governmental agencies and several private sector partners. This manual is needed to develop guidelines for golf courses in Virginia to conserve water resources and minimize pollutants. This year s tournament was held at Creighton Farms in Aldie, Virginia. With the help of many supply partners, customers, and friends, the fundraiser netted over $15,000 in donations for Virginia s BMP future efforts. Since the conception of the BMP initiative, Landscape Supply, Inc. knew that we needed to somehow play a role in helping fund the efforts by Virginia Golf Course Superintendents. History will one day prove that the BMP project contributed to the overall health of our industry, allowing legislation and regulation to work with us instead of against us. On behalf of Landscape Supply, Inc., we would like to thank the following sponsors that truly partnered with us for a great cause. Quali-Pro Pickseed Syngenta Bayer Environmental Science Dow AgroSciences Performance Nutrition NuFarm Arysta LifeScience Howard Johnson Fertilizer EarthWorks BASF Goose Creek Golf Club PGA - Mid Atlantic Section Knox Fertilizer Lebanon Turf Kalo Wetting Agents Monsanto Horizon Distributors On a side note (and in the spirit of Independence Day), I picked up George W. Bush s book Decision Points the other day, happened to open to chapter 5 called Fire. It is well worth the read. Starting at 6:30AM on Tuesday September 11, 2001, he recounts every decision that our United States Government had to make (all the behind the scenes decisions) for the next 3 days. It brings back ALL those patriotic feelings that we once shared... regardless of what side of the aisle we would prefer to sit. Here s to all of us making it through the heat as best we can. Thanks for your continued interest and support in Landscape Supply, Inc. Kevin Connelly Vice President of Sales & Marketing A Subsidiary of W.S.Connelly & Co., Inc. To find more related articles from Landscape Supply, Inc., visit our Facebook page. ROANOKE, VA Telephone: Fax: Toll Free: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA Telephone: Fax: RICHMOND SOUTHSIDE Telephone: Fax: Toll Free: RICHMOND WESTEND Telephone: Fax: Toll Free: WILLIAMSBURG, VA Telephone: Fax: VIRGINIA BEACH, VA Telephone: Fax:

2 from a CEO s perspective EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Coming out of one of the worst recessions of our generation and with unemployment still above 8%, who would believe that employee engagement, or rather the lack thereof, is a major issue in the U.S. economy? Yet it is! HR Solutions International, a large Human Resource Services firm has been tracking employee engagement for a number of years and just released its 2011 finding that U.S. Employee Engagement levels increased from 2010 to The data is comprised of employee survey responses from more than 3.3 million employees at over 2,400 organizations. The number of Actively Engaged employees increased two percentage points from 27 percent in 2010 to 29 percent in The presumption is that companies let actively disengaged personnel go. The complete data are as follows: 2010 Actively engaged: 27 % Ambivalent: 60 % Actively Disengaged: 13 % 2011 Actively engaged: 29 % Ambivalent: 59 % Actively Disengaged: 12 % It is not the shift from year to year that I want to address here, although it is obviously encouraging that engagement appears to have inched up, attributed in large part by HR Solutions International to companies removing lower performers, including a large number of actively disengaged employees, from their ranks. It should be an eye opener for all of us to see that in this day and age from 3.3 million employees a full 71% are either ambivalent about their engagement in the business they are working for or outright actively disengaged! What befuddles me is the question why anybody let alone a large majority of us would tolerate to be ambivalent about or disengaged from the activity that occupies most of our waking moments? The other question that comes to mind and that I can t answer is: Why would any leader of an organization tolerate this? If times are difficult and competition is fierce, as it always is, can you imagine what difference it would make if everyone in the company earning a paycheck would be actively engaged? What is the hold-up? Of course, the numbers for individual organizations will vary widely. HR Solutions International does not provide detail on the deviation from the norm, but I will assume that there are plenty of businesses around where the employee engagement is much higher than 29% and even near perfect. The leader of an organization should not be in the dark about the level of employee engagement in his/her organization. It is not hard to assess. Any interested bystander can fairly quickly and accurately gauge the level of employee engagement. Certainly customers can. Anyone transacting with an organization can reliably determine if the people they are transacting with are engaged or not. Engagement is evidenced much more by actions and omissions from the people inside the organization than by their words, or the slogans and tag-lines used by the company. A high level of employee engagement is undoubtedly a competitive advantage. So, the question arises what to do if a leader of an organization finds the employee engagement in his/her business lacking? Probably the first thing to do is look at him/her self! Has the leader of the organization clearly articulated the mission for the business and involved the employees in the process, or at least obtained the buy in from the employees? Has the leader of the organization been clear about the values to be adhered to in the pursuit of that mission and involved the employees in that process, or by Frans Jager Principal, Castnet Corporation at least obtained their buy in? Is the leader of the organization personally and actively working on people development: - Hiring the right talent for the job - Providing training, coaching and education - Protecting and enforcing the values and the culture - Dealing quickly with non performers and disengaged personnel - Insisting on a solid work life balance - Stimulating healthy behavior One has to believe that the 71% of employees who are either ambivalent about their engagement with the organization they work for or actively disengaged are not happy with that situation. Wouldn t they come home from work with a much better attitude if they had felt that they had been actively engaged in something they believe in and support? Wouldn t they feel much better about themselves if they felt that they had spent their working hours on something productive? Wouldn t they work much better with their supervisors, peers and customers and with much higher intensity if they felt actively engaged? A small business in particular cannot afford to run on less than all cylinders. Every cog in the machinery has to perform reliably for the outcome to be in conformity with the expectations. Without a very high level of employee engagement this cannot be achieved. Frans Jager is President of Castnet Corp. ( a Business Consultant for the Green Industry and an Executive Coach. He frequently writes about matters pertaining to the Green Industry. He can be reached at castnetcorp@gmail.com 2012 Castnet Corp. All rights reserved. 2.

3 ennessee turf talk by Dr. Brandon Horvath University of Tennessee? I know - I didn t think I would use it either... I m writing this after just having attended a couple of workshops as a part of our Summer Teaching Institute here at the University of Tennessee. One of the things that we were required to do after applying for the program was get a Twitter account and start following people (esp. fellow attendees and the Institute account). We ve been encouraged to use it as a way to ask questions, keep a backchannel conversation going, and post interesting insights about what is happening during the workshops. I was convinced that this was going to kill me. I don t especially like Facebook, nor Google+, I m not going to do LinkedIn, or Digg, or any of the other social media stuff. I was going to do Twitter pretty much because it was required (and since I m getting a little bump in my pay this summer for doing it...), I was going to give it a shot. However, I have to say now after two days of seeing folks follow me, and being followed that this particular form of social media might be an excellent way to let members or customers know about various things that they might want to know about. Also, and perhaps more importantly, you can also ask questions and get quick responses to them that help you stay informed. I can think of several examples where one might like to tweet a question and keep track of the responses. For example, you might tweet, Anybody that played #XYZ_CountryClub today- did you think the greens were too fast, fast but OK, OK, slow but OK, too slow?. You re limited to 140 characters, and using the #symbol links all these responses together so you can see them all at once. Then you could use responses that come in to narrow in on an optimal greenspeed very quickly by comparing the responses from folks to stimpmeter readings you had taken. Having this type of data at one s fingertips can be quite informative and powerful. Another example where you could use a tweet would be in the event of a delay in play, #XYZ_CountryClub has a frost delay until 835, or #XYZ_CountryClub has detected lightning within 5 miles, PLAY SUSPENDED SEEK SHELTER. Twitter is being used around the world to report news as it happens, and it seems that this type of quick notification system is very accessible to those of us in the industry that are willing to give it a shot. I m no expert, and there are certainly those in the industry that are already using it. I m just suggesting based on this learning moment at my teaching institute that you keep an open mind, and be willing to experiment with some of these social media technologies that have potential to help us communicate with our memberships/customers easily and quickly. I didn t think I d be tweeting so easily, but I ve found it to be much more worthwhile and less cumbersome than posting a status update, and trying to figure out what is going on with all my friends. Give it a shot, and see what happens! 3.

4 the corner Dealing withstress! by David McCall Virginia Tech We all deal with stress in our lives. It is an unfortunate fact of life that comes with our jobs and overall hyper-busy lifestyles. What dowe doabout it? We goforwalks, exercise, play a round of golf, or spend some quality time with family. Sometimes we take medicine to help alleviate the symptoms associated with stress. Or sometimes we have heart attacks. Now think of all the daily stress without any kind of escape. You just have to stay put and take all the abuse, without the ability to get away from it all. Welcome to the life of a bentgrass or annual bluegrass plant in the summertime. Cool season grasses are constantly under stress during hot summer periods, but none more so than on golf putting greens. When the root zone is 100 F, the grass isn t happy. In fact, the roots are dying. Despite this, the demand for fast, firm, smooth greens is still placed on the superintendents shoulders. Since these expectations aren t going away anytime soon, we are left with trying to hold on for dear life with the tools we have at hand. We have come a long way, and there seems to be an ever increasing number of products coming to market that claim to help the turf battle summer heat stress and associated disorders. To name a few, there are plant defense activators, plant growth regulators, biostimulants such as seaweed extracts, pigments, sun screens, and synthetic Please forgive me. Here is a look at what we are doing... Summer bentgrass decline (SBD) is a term used to refer to a complex of stresses, with no particular causal agent. Carrow (1996) states that SBD may occur as a result of one of four situations; 1) hot and humid conditions, 2) shaded greens with poor air circulation, 3) poor root zone drainage, or 4) salt stress in hot-arid regions. Additionally, when plants are under environmental or abiotic stress, they are more susceptible to pathogens (Couch, 2000; Dernoeden, 2005; Latin, 2011). When a primary stress of high soil temperatures is present, secondary pathogens may become problematic. Some of the most common diseases of creeping bentgrass associated with predisposing heat and/or moisture stress are Pythium root rot, bacterial infections, plant parasitic nematodes, and basal rot and foliar anthracnose (Dernoeden, 2005; Reitman, 2012). Many golf course superintendents look to address issues with secondary pathogens first with fungicides, rather than trying to alter the root zone environment. This research will be conducted on an established Penn A4 creeping bentgrass nursery green planted on USGA specififungicides with additional plant health boosting qualities. As we continue to walk the fine line between high quality and dead greens, any potential aides are strongly encouraged. At Virginia Tech, we are currently working to put a value on what many of these products actually bring to the table. In collaboration with Dr. Erik Ervin and several within the industry, trials are underway in the Richmond area, where heat stress is a given part of life. The objectives of the studies are to a) quantify plant response to various pigments, plant activators, and other stress reducing products and b) determine secondary impact on suppression of stress-related diseases, such as Pythium root rot, bacterial etiolation, and plant parasitic nematodes. If PYTHIUM ROOT ROT you notice a sudden change in my writing style, it is because I have copied portions of a proposal we submitted this spring. See STRESS next page 4.

5 the corner STRESS continued cation sand-based rootzone mix in Richmond, Virginia. Most courses in this geography annually battle summer bentgrass decline and associated secondary problems, because of high temperatures and humidity. All cultural practices, pesticide and nutrition applications will be applied in accordance with the rest of the golf course with few exceptions. No fungicides for root-rotting Pythium will be applied during the study, unless sufficient data is collected and greens are in danger of dying. Also, no fungicides that contain known growth regulating (DMI) or plant defense promoting (QoI or phosphites) properties will be applied during the study. Chlorothalonil, iprodione, vinclozolin, polyoxin-d and thiophanate-methyl will be used primarily in rotation or as tank mixtures for primary foliar diseases (dollar spot, anthracnose, brown patch). Initial applications will be made in mid-may and will continue every 14 days through early September. Measurements to be taken throughout thestudyincludesoilandcanopy,rootzone moisturecontent,andreflectancedata. Reflectancevalueswillbecollectedfromvisible red (VIR), red edge (RE), and near infrared(nir) regionsoftheelectromagnetic spectrumandusedtocalculatevegetativeindices for objective plant health quantification. The most common vegetative index ANTHRACNOSE DOLLAR SPOT used to quantify plant health is the normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) and simple ratio vegetative index(rvi). Additional indices may be examined for added statistical separation of treatments. Values will be collected continuously(10 samples per second) and geo-tagged for spatial mapping. Plots will also be rated visually for overall turf quality and the presence of diseases and other abnormalities. In impacted areas, root cores will be collected and analyzed for the presence of Pythium species or excessive populations of plant parasitic nematodes. If symptomatic leaves are exhibiting etiolation commonly associated with bacterial infection, plants will be ex- amined microscopically for the presence of bacterial streaming. At the conclusion of this research, the impact of various plant health promoting products will be quantified for reduced summer bentgrass decline and associated diseases. Sothereyouhaveit,folks.Thisisoneof several projects that I am very excited about this season and 2011 were excruciating, terrifying, and miserable for golf course superintendents and the defenseless bentgrass. We are going to have either another brutal summer and learn some valuable information, or the research gods will laugh at us for trying to predict the weather and give us some nice cool nights and good grass growing weather. Something positive is going to happen with these trials in 2012, so stay tuned. 5.

6 the corner I was recently tasked by my good friends in the Kentucky Sports Turf Managers Association to give a talk entirely dedicated to professionalism. This is certainly not a typical topic for an agronomist, but it is one that I decided to tackle as an I can do this presentation. My wife, Lisa, is a licensed professional counselor and she gives these types of talks all the time. She had a worksheet on professionalism already developed, but she encouraged me to by Mike Goatley Virginia Tech Professionalism and the Turfgrass Manager Mike Goatley s Top Ten List on Professionalism ponder my own concepts of professionalism in our industry before reviewing her materials (and her list is presented as the last part of this article). So here is Mike Goatley s top 10 list on Professionalism: 1) Professionalism doesn t necessarily mean being the best, but instead, giving your best. 2) Can you be a professional and still be yourself? It is pretty easy to spot a phony, and I think it is important to remain true to your identity, values, etc. But there are times and places where we must consider our surroundings and how we present ourselves and our opinions. I remember two quotes heard over the years: You only get one chance to make a first impression and It s great to be yourself, as long as your self can pay the bills. 3) Respect everyone. Every person I encounter has skills, talents, or knowledge that I don t have and there is always something to learn. 4) Professionals are good listeners. Slow down and L-I-S-T-E-N. 5) Try to keep the job away from home. Find and/or make time to unwind from the stresses of your job. 6) Don t be afraid to resolve conflicts. Address problems promptly rather than waiting for problems to take care of themselves. 7) Establish a reliable network of professionals from within and outside your industry. Keep growing that network as much as possible. 8) Sprinkle in some professional terms when speaking with your peers, but especially with the general public. This goes a great way towards improving the perception of others regarding your profession and job. For instance, you are a golf course superintendent or a sports turf manager, not a grass cutter. Don t hesitate to throw a little scientific terminology into the discussion when the opportunity presents. 9) Give something back. It doesn t necessarily have to be money (although there are some great initiatives to fund), as your time and attention to others is more valuable than any financial contribution. I hope you might keep this in mind with our upcoming Turfgrass Research Field Days in Blacksburg on Aug ! 10) Put your resources to work. There are a lot of topics that aren t necessarily our favorites when it comes to paying attention: labor issues, environmental issues, etc. but there are often professionals within your organization that are staying abreast of these topics for you. See PROFESSIONALISM next page 6.

7 the corner PROFESSIONALISM continued My top 10 tips on professionalism are certainly in no particular order and I know that you could easily come up with many others of more importance to you. The following details a more complete listing of tips for professionalism from Lisa Goatley s background in counseling services. I am pleased to see some overlap in my list to hers as it suggests that maybe I have been listening over the years! Professionalism Lisa Goatley, MS-LPC, New River Valley Community Services, Blacksburg, VA Making a Good First Impression: Dress and groom appropriately. Maintain a positive attitude. Indicate an air of confidence. Cultivate an image of maturity through your words and actions. Demonstrate a willingness to accept new challenges. Speak with a pleasant, positive tone of voice particularly when your first interactions tend to be over the telephone. Make the first 30 seconds count! Rehearse introductions if necessary. Make the last 30 seconds count! Make a unique personal impression. Building and Maintaining Professional Relationships: Remember building relationships takes an investment of time and energy. Maintain high standards of courtesy and respect. Be accessible and respond promptly. Respect the opinions and feelings of others. Treat others as they would like to be treated. Maintain personal ethical standards. Cultivate an attitude of service you and your position exist because you have people who need your help. Accept accountability for your actions. Always respond in a dignified manner, demonstrating respect for yourself and respect for others. Handle complaints and problems promptly. Handling Problems/Service Recovery: Own the problem. Empathize/summarize. Take action and offer options. Follow up. Mike Goatley, Jr. Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist Department of Crop and Soil Sciences Virginia Tech 7.

8 the financial forum What is your business strategy? We often hear the words Business Strategy and Strategic Planning used or overused. What does this mean to you? How do you develop it? How do you change it? How do you measure it? How often do you consider it? Management courses, seminars, webinars, publications, speakers, etc. abound on the topic of Strategy. Every industry seems to have leaders and followers, and we often hear that such and such Strategy was good, bad, effective, and ineffective or needs to be modified or changed. Even our political leaders seem to be forever talking about Strategy as it applies to governance and direction of the economy and the other important issues of today. Thousands of years ago strategic thinkers emerged, and they were as popular in their day as many are in our day. Over the last 30+ years one of the more noted Business Strategy thinkers is Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School. Porter is a leading authority on company strategy and the competitiveness of nations and regions, and his work (known as Five Forces) is recognized in many governments, corporations and academic circles globally. He uses industrial organization economics to derive Five Forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market meaning profitability. An "unattractive" industry is one in which the combination of these five forces acts to drive down overall profitability. A very unattractive industry would be one approaching "pure competition", in which available profits for all firms are driven to normal profit. Three of Porter's five forces refer to competition from external sources. The remainder are internal threats. The best, most profitable companies excel at the strategic mix of how these work together or against each other. Graphically, and simplistically, the Five Forces are in this chart: Take a minute and look at this chart in the context of your company s existing Strategy whatever it is or you think it is: Have you done a Porter Analysis on your company? Have you done a Porter Analysis on your industry and your competitors in your industry? Have competitors entered or exited your industry strategically? Have you proactively or reactively strategized your position relative to new or changed competition? What strengths and weaknesses do your suppliers and buyers have over your by Wally Newton Prism Financial Services business Strategy? Can new entrants enter your industry with little or much financial, marketing, or regulatory restrictions? Can your products or services be replaced by substitutes? These are fundamental questions every business must address and update - continuously. Innovation means that someone is always developing a Strategy that might replace your strengths, or exploit your weaknesses. Technology in its many forms drives players from the field every day, and provides Strategic openings for others to enter even more rapidly. A Porter Analysis is but one way to think Strategically about your business. If you don t, others surely will! Wally Newton is President of Prism Financial. As a professor at Virginia Tech, he frequently writes and teaches about matters pertaining to macro and micro levels of the economy. He can also be reached at wb4newton@cox.net (land) or (cell). 8.