ABC Landscaping Company
Sample Plan
What’s happening outside of my company that will affect my
industry in the next three years?

Weak local economy will continue to adversely affect disposable
income in general.

Higher-end residential property owners will be less likely to buy
on price versus lower-end customers.

Competitive pricing will be fierce for at least two more years.

New, generally smaller competitors will enter the market and
disrupt industry prices.

Prices for the chemicals we use are likely to increase faster than
our pricing to customers.
Think about important
trends or activities in the
external environment that
may either help or hinder
your organization. You are
trying to define operating
reality, so the information
gathered must be factual.
It is either happening
currently or has a high
probability of occurrence in
the future. Consider these
seven factors: social,
economic, political,
technological, legislative,
markets / customers, and
competition.

Fuel prices will continue to rise.

There will be continued pressure to move to “green,” eco-friendly products and services.

GPS and other tracking systems will be in wider use within the industry.

Landscape employees will be increasingly difficult to recruit due to the difficult nature of the work

An increasing percentage of workers will not speak English, making communication difficult.
Vision of ABC Landscaping
“ABC Landscaping will be recognized as the highest-quality provider of ecofriendly residential landscaping services in the markets we choose to serve.”
(Notes: Our markets include Alpha County, and all counties that touch Alpha
County. While we may occasionally decide to accept business outside of those
counties, we will not devote time, people, or money to solicit customers in
those counties. If we someday choose to serve other counties, we will do so
only under the condition that we continue to be recognized as the highestquality provider. Highest quality means exactly that – we will not compromise
quality for the sake of getting business, even though we are likely to be priced
higher than others in the market. We will remain only in the residential
market, and will only use materials that are eco-friendly.)
© Aileron
The vision is written in
the future tense, and
describes exactly, and
with total clarity, what
you want the business to
become. It’s the ideal
state of the business and
is intended for internal
use so that every
employee knows exactly
where the business is
headed.
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Mission
The mission is the company’s purpose in
“ABC Landscaping provides superior quality,
life – a brief statement that summarizes
environmentally friendly residential landscaping
its reason for existence. It’s typically
services.”
written in the present tense, focusing on
your current business and precisely
defining what you do.
Three Greatest Strengths
1. Responsiveness
2. Expertise
Define specific things that you do better
and that differentiate you from the
competition.
3. Quality
Three Greatest Weaknesses
1. Recruiting
Define areas where you need to improve
or where a competitor is better.
2. Training
3. Outdated Equipment
Three Greatest Opportunities
1. National competitors not performing well
2. Local community college recently added an
associate degree program in landscape
Think of trends, events, and ideas that
you can capitalize on to increase
performance, improve profitability, and
add to your competitive advantage.
management
3. Internal certification of more technicians
Three Greatest Threats
1. Prices of eco-friendly chemicals increase
dramatically faster than standard chemicals
List possible events outside of your
direct control that you must plan for or
2. Federal government relaxes emphasis on use of
decide how to mitigate.
eco-friendly chemicals
3. Recession grows in severity, adversely affecting disposable income of high-income residential
customers
©Aileron
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What are the top make-or-break issues
Priority Strategic Issues
1. Recruiting and retaining superior employees
2. Ongoing training and development of employees
for your company that will help you
achieve your vision? Typically list no
more than three.
Priority Issue 1: Recruiting and Retaining Superior Employees
Expected Outcomes
Current
Yr 1 of Plan
Yr 2 of Plan
Yr 3 of Plan
% of New Hires Who Leave Within 30 Days
28%
24%
20%
16%
% of “Good” Employees Retained 12+ Mos.
58%
62%
66%
70%
What must be achieved to address the priority issues? Clearly define the expected
outcomes for each priority issue. Companies should be willing to expend resources to
achieve these outcomes. Ultimately, they should help you remain prosperous over time.
Action Steps
Assigned to
Completed by
1. Set-up scholarship for top landscaping student at community college
Mary
6/30, Yr 1
2. Establish contact at Hispanic outreach organization
Mary
9/30, Yr 1
3. Select appropriate pre-employment test to utilize before hiring
Tom
2/28, Yr 2
4. Provide training on interviewing techniques
Mary
2/28, Yr 2
5. Develop onboarding process for all new employees
Tom
2/28, Yr 2
6. Create and administer annual employee satisfaction survey
Mary
Every May
7. Form “quality of work life” group to get regular employee input
Tom
2/28, Yr 2
8. Refine exit-interview process to determine true reasons for leaving
Mary
Ongoing
9. Determine specific performance appraisal score that defines “good”
Mary
6/30, Yr 1
© Aileron
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Priority Issue 2: Ongoing Training and Development of Employees
Expected Outcomes
Current
Yr 1 of Plan
Yr 2 of Plan
Yr 3 of Plan
% of Employees Who Pass ABC Certification
N/A
45%
70%
90%
Customer Quality Rating (0 to 5 Scale)
N/A
4.0+
4.4+
4.6+
Action Steps
Assigned to
Completed by
Determine what it means to be “highest quality”
Paul
9/30, Yr 1
Design training / development program to become “highest quality”
Paul
2/28, Yr 2
Develop test to measure performance vs. ABC Certification
Paul
3/31, Yr 2
Begin to train, develop, and test each employee as an ongoing job
Paul
4/30, Yr 2
Continue to redefine “highest quality” and redesign training
Paul
Ongoing
Design and test customer-quality survey using scale of 0 to 5
Rick
9/30, Yr 1
Begin to get completed surveys from all customers
Rick
2/28, Yr 2
Create incentive comp plan for those who exceed expectations
Rick
2/28, Yr 2
Begin annual customer advisory group event for new ideas
Rick
9/30, Yr 2
Invest in equipment needed to achieve “highest quality”
Bob
Ongoing
How will you address each expected outcome? Create an action plan that defines who
is assigned to each step and when it should be completed. An organization should
never partially resource an action plan. If it cannot be fully addressed, defer it until
resources become available.
©Aileron
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