Progress is incremental

The youth basketball team I’m coaching just finished its season. With zero wins and, well, a bunch of losses, by most metrics it was not a successful season.

However, as coaches and molders of young minds, it’s important to measure development in other ways. These young ballers are nine years old, so sometimes just making it from one side of the court to the other without losing the ball counts as a win. For these kids, dribbling with their left hand is absolutely worth a high-five when they get back to the sideline. If one of our typically passive players goes after a rebound or if one of our more forgetful players remembers who he’s supposed to be guarding for an entire quarter, you can bet we will be cheering for them. These are all signs that they are learning and improving. We will encourage their personal growth and development. So we didn’t win a championship. But we celebrated every made shot along the way.

It’s the same for business owners. Perhaps you’re a small business owner, just getting started. You want to become the top liner producer in your neck of the woods, or the best container tree grower, or whatever your niche may be.

It’s good to have those big, hairy, audacious goals. But you can get easily discouraged if you’re always measuring yourself or your team’s progress against those long-term goals. Try to find some more attainable yardsticks that are within your reach. They can be benchmarks along your path to your ultimate goals.

All progress is incremental. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Maybe your long-term goal is to improve irrigation efficiency at your nursery. To that end, you’ve set a long-term goal of cutting water use by 25%. Instead of trying to reduce water use by 25% right away, start with 5%. That way, you can hit your goals, show improvement and feel like you’re making progress, even small steps.

Speaking of small, this month’s cover story subject is Microplant Nurseries. If you haven’t seen a tissue culture laboratory before, you’re in for a treat. From the heart of the Williamette Valley in Oregon, this team produces millions of microcuttings and rooted plantlets each year, none more than two-to-four inches tall. Check it out on page 8.

Charlie Hall spoke to our fellow green industry publication, Garden Center, about the not-exactly-small chance of a recession in 2023. Find out what the undisputed expert of horticultural economics thinks will happen on page 16.

Read about a small and dangerous critter on page 22. USDA research entomologist Chris Ranger provides an update on the ambrosia beetle.

Do you have an innovative way to measure progress at your nursery? How does it motivate your employees to take the next step toward your big goals? Tell me about it at the email address below.