Lessons and Blessings

by John Kennedy

As I say often, God gave me two hands to make life easier and decisions simpler.

By The Numbers:  The Four Types of Thinking

by John Kennedy

Welcome to March and what looks to be an early arrival to Spring!

Sweat the Big Stuff…It’s Not All Big Stuff!

by John Kennedy

Welcome to the month of February and the month of FOCUS! 

As we gear up for our spring seasons throughout the United States, we have a tendency to identify all of the tasks that are necessary to get your business back into tip top shape. Those tasks are often many in number and certainly needed to meet the deadline of your kick off to the 100 days of sales that represent over 50% of your revenue for the year.

January Word of the Month: Visualization

by John Kennedy

Happy New Year...The perfect year to kick off the concept of visualization with 2020 Vision. In the following short video you will learn the value of Sensory Integration – The ability to blend multiple senses together to create a higher chance of success in goal setting and strategic planning. Key take away—“Write it Down”.

December Word of the Month:  Reflection

by John Kennedy


Welcome to our final ReFresh Calendar of 2019. As we arrive into the month of December, let us take time to  “Reflect” upon the two aspects of our lives—professionally and personally.  In this short video, we address the three questions you may want to ask yourself regarding how your  "business year”  went, and the one question you may want to ask yourself while looking in the mirror on December 31, 2019.     “I’m looking at the man in the mirror…"

With 2020 Vision, let us reflect back upon this past year, as we look forward to our next.

November Word of the Month - Grateful!

By John Kennedy

Welcome to the official beginning of the  “holiday season” as we look to bring a close to another year—both professionally and personally.

Thanksgiving is a time when we give thanks for the many blessings that have come our way...an opportunity to truly be GRATEFUL.

October Word of the Month: Innovation

by John Kennedy

There is a difference between being “creative” and being “innovative” and often times they are confused. This week, we share John's ReFresh Calendar for the Month of October and discover how innovation is the key to longevity in business.

Magical Thinking Tour

As some may know, I have a deep fondness for music and on occasion inject it into some of my presentations.  As an example, the very first time the world heard the sound of a synthesizer was on the opening of “Baba O’Riley” by The Who. It was ground breaking, it was unique, it was curious and it was certainly one thing--Innovative.

September Word of the Month is “Drive!”

by John Kennedy

It’s time to look through your windshield of the future and not the rearview mirror of the past.

This month we focus on your business as an automobile and learn to shift out of neutral, park or reverse and LeaderSHIFT into DRIVE. I’ve been  really centering my clients on the intention of strategic planning and focusing on the future this year…this is the perfect time to invest in tomorrow and beyond!

Enjoy!

August Word of the Month - Engagement

A Double Shot of Engagement
by John Kennedy

As the “ReFresh” video described the importance of engaging your customers in understanding their needs and expectations, this article addresses a similar approach for your company and your team of committed and dedicated employees.

The July “Word of the Month” is MOTIVATE!

by John Kennedy

 What motivates you and what are you going to do about it? 

As the month of July heats up, so too should your willingness to circle back and reinvest in yourself. We are past the midpoint of the year, and it would be wise to give yourself a “check up from the neck up” and reward yourself.  Our jobs in leadership are plentiful, and the selfless way we commit to motivating others should become a selfish way to motivate yourself.

June Word of the Month - GROW!

By John Kennedy

Welcome to the month of June where the word of the month is GROW! In every aspect of our lives, there are so many things we need to focus on to grow. In fact, I think there are actually too many things to focus on, which in turn, becomes somewhat overwhelming.

Time Kills All Deals

By John Kennedy

As the Fall Event approaches and we drive the theme of “Time”, I thought this month would be great to highlight a few hints, tips and strategies to make the best of your time…as well as the time of your customers (even more valuable!).  Invest your time wisely but make sure not to waste your customer’s time in doing so.

Welcome to the ReFresh Calendar

by John Kennedy

The month of April is dedicated to the importance and impact of consistency.  From driving the customer experience to the art and science of plant health, ensure that your team sets standards to drive consistency in every aspect of the month.

To Protect and To Serve

by John Kennedy

On the side of every law enforcement vehicle in America is the simple phrase---to protect and to serve.

New John Kennedy - On Demand Video Series

The Customer Experience added to LeaderShift and TeamShift Series

NOTE: A Special Offer for Group Clients Only - DEADLINE September 30, 2018

Greetings to all Clients of the Garden Center Group.

Putting “Success" into Succession Planning

By John Kennedy

There are three types of change that we come up against in our lives: "change by crisis", "change by drift" and "change by design".  In the approach to succession planning, our industry has witnessed many unfortunate and tragic stories of “Change by Crisis”.   I have known four green industry owners that have suddenly passed away (I’m sure we all know a tragic handful or more as well), and we all continue to pray for their families.In the case of sudden death, the company is forced to “react” to the need for immediate transition and often times finds itself ill-prepared for the task.  Who is going to run the business? What is the financial health of the business?  Will it remain in the family (are the kids interested in taking over)?  Which employees might step up or step in? And finally, can we survive such a loss of this great magnitude?

Every Strategy Matters

by John Kennedy

As we near the end of the magic “100 days of Spring”  in our garden center industry, the three short months of “driving dough”, or as the Stones kinda sang “I see a red ledger and I want to paint it black”, it’s a good time to sharpen your strategic tools and deliver every revenue-generating opportunity you possibly can.  

When 60-70% of your revenue is generated in such an abbreviated amount of time, every activity, every step, every touch, every strategy matters.

In this post-recession era, where "wants-based" spending has been rapidly returning to our economy, now more than ever garden centers should be investing in my word of the year for 2016--alignment.

We want to extend a big Group Welcome to John Kennedy, our newest addition to our Service Providers. John is an international strategist, author and speaker driving cultural shift and change within businesses and associations in our green industry. He has worked with some our Clients already - Dambly's Garden Center, Ray Wiegand's Garden Center, and Rockledge Gardens, as well as scores of others throughout the world. Welcome John! Here's John's first "share" here in GROUPtalk...

Family Owned...Passion Grown ... Savor the Stress!

Our green industry is ripe with family-based businesses. Insights and ideas that have been passed down through the vines linking one generation to the next become the new innovations of our industry for the future.