This past week I spent time getting to know the Chief Technology Officer for Mariani Landscape (the largest residential landscape firm in the country) and was delighted by his insight into business and how technology can support the right business strategies.
His name and official title are: Alaa A. El Ghatit | Director of Business Systems.
I was really impressed with how well Alaa understood company strategy and his role in supporting Mariani’s success. He knows that technology should not arbitrarily change the way one does business, rather it should enhance it, and give you an advantage.
Here are a few of his “secrets” that he shared with me on implementing technology:
- Find leverage with technology. Meaning, don’t just look for efficiency, rather find ways for employees to become more “effective,” and get dramatically more done with the same efforts.
- Use technology to improve client service. Tech is not just for operational automation, rather, it should allow your company to improve how you interact with clients, and ultimately how well you service and retain clients.
- Keep tech simple, especially as you scale. Just because you can buy and implement many different techs doesn’t mean you should. Piggy back where possible.
- Educating on tech is the new norm. It’s not just about educating on hort or hardscape or people skills; it’s now about teaching the tech.
- Flex the tool, not the employee. Use technology to make your people stronger; make the tech work for you and them!
Alaa has volunteered to join our Landscape Technology Summit in February, and to share his insights into how the best residential landscape company in the USA employs various tech and apps to empower its people. You will learn mistakes to avoid, and how to get a financial ROI from technology.
If you want to join us too, register here. Sign up by Jan. 31, 2020 to save with the early bird discount.
Now back to the question, What can Mariani teach you? Namely, how to scale your business, how to keep the client in the forefront of all you do, and how to employ technology to make it easier on your people to service your clients. They do it better than most everyone. Plus, they know how to hustle! You can’t beat a company that out hustles you.
Alaa will explain how they do this, while also making operations run smoother in all 3 of their companies: Hampshire Farms, Mariani Plants, and Mariani Landscapes.
