This year’s Summer Growth Summit was hosted by Schill Grounds Management, and the visit left our entire community impressed and inspired.
What stood out most wasn’t their size, but how they’ve scaled while keeping a small-company feel. The have a true clarity of vision and alignment of their team.
1. Alignment on Values and Vision
It was a pleasure to see that everyone at Schill Grounds Management knew the company’s goals—and how their role contributed to them.
Starting with the owner, Jerry Schill, the team was refreshingly down-to-earth: no ego, no BS.
There was no hint of silos or internal competition. Despite their growth, the company displayed a gritty “small company attitude.”
That kind of culture doesn’t happen by accident; it comes from intentional leadership and a drive for excellence. What especially stood out was how much they valued winning.
Winning wasn’t just a talking point—it was woven into who they hired, how they gamified operations, and how they celebrated achievements as a team.
2. Big Picture Thinking & Simple Systems
Another highlight was Schill’s approach to systems.
They keep their service offerings simple, which helps keeps things simple. While many companies get bogged down by over-engineering systems, Schill has struck a balance between clear, detailed expectations and repeatable processes.
Every person we met had a strong understanding of what others in the organization do. More importantly, everyone knew and actively used their systems.
This discipline allowed them to grow and maintain customer satisfaction.
3. Rock Stars at Each Position
In preparation for the Summit, our team at worked directly with a few key members of the Schill team. Each one showed up with their game face—ready to serve and get work done.
By the time we met the broader team, it was obvious they intentionally hired rock stars.
The event culminated with a live Q&A featuring the executive team. They fielded questions expertly, sharing different perspectives but with a clear handle on their vision.
As I told Jerry Schill afterward, it’s a proud moment when your team can step up and carry the ball all the way into the end zone.
4. Work Hard, Play Hard – While caring for the team.
Final thoughts: it was evident that Jerry and his team genuinely care about their people.
While they are super competitive, they also maintain a small-company family feel. That’s hard to do!
As their COO, Aaron Whittaker, put it during one session: “We are hard on process, soft on people.”
Across the board, we saw genuine spirit, kindness, camaraderie, and a deep sense of personal commitment.
Your Challenge: How Well Do You Stack Up?
All you can do is be the best version of yourself.
With that in mind, here’s a checklist to review with your leadership team to see if you are Building a Winning Team.
Score yourself 1-5 (1=Poor, 2=Ok but not good enough, 3=Good, 4=Great, 5=Couldn’t be prouder.)
- Do we really hire (and say “no thanks”) based on core values?
- Does everyone (crew leader on up) know the company goals?
- Are our systems clear, specific, and known by all—for every position?
- Does everyone know what it means to win in their role?
- How well do we display metrics (game boards) of our production KPIs?
- Does every leader understand the org chart, what the other leaders in our company do?
- How strong and active is our team culture (vs. departmental or silo culture)?
- Do we hire or promote rock stars in key positions?
- If the leadership team had to do a presentation on our company, how well would they do?
Your Score: 45 is a perfect score. 35+ means you are a contender. 25+ means you are on your way. 18+ means you have work to do. Less than that means it’s time to rethink your approach.
Let me know—how did your company score? And more importantly, what will you do about it?
Onward and upward!
Jeffrey Scott
P.S. Ready to make some strategic moves? If you want help creating your roadmap for 2026 and beyond, let’s talk now. Schedule a consultation call.
