Running Into the Burning Building: Navigating Royal Commissions and Investigations with Alex Tighe

[Music] Hey, is Robbiclee Giberd the host of the commercial landscape report guest? His podcast challenge you to grow as a leader, to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone, and to 10 extra company. I really encourage you to enjoy the show, share it with teammates, fellow business owners, and subscribe. That helps us grow our community. [Music] Hi, this is Robbiclee Giberd with the commercial landscape report guest. We're excited to be joined by John Butler. John, welcome to the show today. Thank you Robert. Thanks for having me. So John, I'd love for audience to know a little bit about you and your business and your background if you could spend a few minutes doing that. Sure. So I am the commercial division manager for Malosi. We're a landscaping company in middle Tennessee. We've been around for 23 years. I've been a part of this team for six years. When I started, we were at about six million dollars in revenue this year. We're passing by 15 million and we have our site set on 20 million next year. So excited to be a part of that. I've been in the landscape industry for 30 years now, which is crazy to believe. I'm not as old as the gray hair lets on, but I started when I was 13. So my dad was a home builder and he put me out on construction sites early, learning the trade, and keeping me out of trouble working during the summers, odd jobs, cleaning up trash, and helping to do track home landscaping, grading, those types of things. I went off to college and during college, I needed to make some money to help pay the bills. So I started a small landscaping business while I was also going to school and bartending. My regulars would come in with complaints about their chores and yard work and I would hustle them into giving me some business. And then the next night that they came in for a drink, they would be paying up for their landscaping work. That turned into a business that I had for 15 years. And unfortunately I shut it down, capital restraints, the usual one man wearing too many hats problem. And that was 2019, so I was seriously considering getting out the industry as a whole. But I had competed against and seen Taylor Milliken grow melosi to what it was at that point. And I knew that if I was going to stay in, that's where I wanted to go. So I put in an application for a sales consultant with melosi and Taylor interviewed me and called me back and said, John, that I'm not interested in hiring you for sales, which immediately was devastating. I wanted to be a part of this team. And then he went on to comment that he needed someone strong and operations to help the company with the growth that they had seen and that was projected in the future and wanted to know if I would give it a shot. When I owned my business, I never made it past the $500,000 revenue mark. And I stepped into a seat in operations here in melosi where we were doing many times that. So neither one of us knew if it was going to work, but we both took a leap of faith. And since then, it's worked out well. That's awesome. That's awesome. I've been in the situation in the past where maybe some past operators of companies have come in, looking for a job. For one reason, another of them may be decided that just want to get back and working for somebody. And there's always that nervousness that is almost like a short-term fix. They'll come in, steal their ideas, the secrets, and then go off and start the next thing. But what was one of the biggest things that you could brought to the table from your past operator experience? And resilience. I mean, I had been through it and my background in the construction industry and project management there all helped to come together and give me the abilities that I needed to help move the dial for us. Some of the things I think whenever you are running the show on your own, you lose track of, I've heard it called Genius Syndrome, which I'm not saying that I'm a genius, but you lose track of all the things that you know when you're so deep in the weeds surviving, and then when you step into a situation with a company that has resources and has people that you can lean on and lock arms with and develop a strong team with, you quickly get reminded of of what your abilities are, especially whenever you can leverage them with others. And that creates large, quick advances. I like that. I definitely like the word resilience. I also like it. It's not ties in with this is the mindset piece that you know whether it be personally, whether it be in business, we're always going to face challenges, but it's really how you deal with those challenges. Is that mindset going into it? Absolutely. You can panic, you know, you can take a deep breath, lean into it, you could pull other resources, as you say, whether it be people or whatever into help with that challenge. Talk me through that a little bit more because it's all very well seeing resilience, but then how do you then try to coach up the people around you? Well, you pull on those experiences and tell the stories. So, you know, nothing can be doing it yourself. In over 30 years, I've gotten myself into plenty of situations, whether it's a customer dispute or my first merger or acquisition scenario that I did on my own back in 2013 was just crippling with anxiety right after I signed off on the deal because of what have I taken on and I didn't know what I was doing. And that's how most of it starts, but getting to the other side of it and you do that in an personal side of life too. Once you get through and keep pushing and find your way, you learn and you collect those pieces of knowledge and those nuggets and then as you you develop a team, they have those experiences too that you can learn from. The worst thing that you can do is not listen to other people's experiences. As you combine those and put them together, you build a machine that gets stronger and stronger and that's how you make it happen. Yeah, I mean, really what you're talking about here is developing your leadership skills. Absolutely. You know, because a lot of people can look at leadership in different ways. Sometimes you can have that self-risk approach and what's in it for me versus true leadership should be how can I develop others? And I think a lot of folks in our industry learn from being in hands on. I always did well in school. I had a scholarship for chemical engineering that I messed up because I really enjoyed being in the fraternity life more than I'd like to go into class. But that's you know, getting hands on, getting in the dirt, building things, creating, learning that way has always been what's key. And as you do that, you grow definitely not the smartest guy, but probably pretty stubborn and cuff and that helps, especially with the green industry. Yeah, 100%. I think you, what's some of the techniques that you feel is all, I mean, obviously, I think people are not true to themselves if they feel as old or not learning something every single day. How do you keep on sharpening the soft on your behalf, but also then what's some of the techniques you use that are successful with developing your team? Never let a problem go unsolved. You know, as life goes on, you learn that those things don't go away. So you have to get things behind you. And as you develop your team, you've got to work through those problems and keep those in front of you. Here at Melosi, a lot of what we do is one-on-ones and making sure that we're touching base with the folks that we're responsible for and helping them to develop and grow, meeting them where they're at, I think is key. And it's okay to not know things. I'd rather someone be upfront with that than the fake it to you make it thing only works so far. So let's address it where you are. Here's the tools. And that part of our industry is growing so quickly with what we have available and technology and appear groups and the networking that we have that's just I think so special and unique to our industry. Making sure that people get tied in. And the most important thing you can do as a leader is continue working to replace yourself. grow the people that are working with you so that they can move into those positions and find opportunity because they'll always be something more. There's never been a cap on how big and amazing something can get, but you can always stop growing. So that's your choice every day. And it's crazy to me. I think there's an assumption that as you grow things get easier, but they just get tougher. And in my experience. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. But that's also part of the fun of it. You know, some days it's, it's, it's just amazing. I've had an opportunity this week. Some of our team on Fall break to get a lot deeper in with our operations team. And it's just been a rush exhilarating. There's, there's a couple mornings where I was really getting that handed to me, but it's a good reminder to get in there and sit in those seats and never, never think that you're above it. Now, I agree. And I use a term, a law, and I'll butcher it a little bit, but only good things happen on the other side of fear. Or you could be sitting another way in terms of another side of, you know, getting outside your comfort zone, you know, because you're learning from it, you'll either, you'll either be successful at it or you'll fail, you'll learn from it and you'll get back on the saddle and try again, maybe a different, different way. So that's been a major part of my story in the past year. Last year was a rough year for us. I don't know how many others experienced the last year, rough year last year, but it definitely got our attention. So we, we dug in and leaned into some excellent sales training with the company on Indianapolis called Lucien. They'd teach the Sandler method. One of the things that just, I think has really been a turning point for me here recently was in one of our coaching sessions. It was, it only takes five seconds to have guts. That's it. Every time you're faced with something that creates fear or anxiety or, or makes you question your abilities, you only takes five seconds, whether it's a tough conversation or whatever challenging situation it is, that's, that's it. And everybody can endure anything for five seconds. So fear is, fear is a great thing. Anytime you feel fear, that just means you're alive. That's your body to learn you that you need to pay attention. If you hone in on that and let that drive you and direct you, that's, that's the way we're designed to work. Let's take a minute to thank our sponsors. Ertcher is a life brand, born from grit, founded by Zexstrausser. The mission is clear to raise one million dollars for the trades by supporting professional training across North America. Ertcher makes tough, smart, gear built for landscaping and snow professionals who work hard outside every day in all conditions. There are a parile put safety first to help screws look sharp and honors the pride in their craft. Every purchase has purpose, fueling training programs and building a resilient workforce. Ertcher isn't just workwear, it's a culture of respect, resilience and results. When you contact Ertcher, Medjian, Wilson, D60 and Zek and his team will take well care of you. You know, those uncomfortable conversations that a lot of people struggle to have. And, you know, I think it's, I think it's good for people to make mistakes as long as they're not duplicating them. But, you know, I think people learn through making mistakes because it creates that coaching moment. Sure. And that that may involve the uncomfortable conversation. But I think the quicker you have those and talk through it, then I think, you know, everybody's going to learn from it. Yeah, absolutely. So what other, any other sort of techniques you would say that, you know, as you change your mind, you're helping others, you're, you know, I've been using this term a lot, coach up your team or some of the sort of techniques that you're doing to develop your team into being future leaders. My big mission recently has been to set the example. So last year, part of that process and that transformation and growing the company, I realized that where I was at, even as far as I had, as I had come with development and growth, I mean, the transition from where I was as a business owner in 2019 to even last year was, was huge and what we had seen change was, was great. But as the business continues to grow, you have to decide and you have to look at your team and decide, are they, is this their level of ability or do they have more in them? And so you have to reflect on yourself in that as much as you look at your team, some folks are meant to be and want to be, you know, a count manager for their career. Some folks aspire to be a branch manager, some folks want to have the opportunity to go into corporate roles. So what does that look like and how do you set the example for them if you're going to lead them and be able to share those, those tools that you develop, you don't have those unless you're working towards that yourself. So on the same side, there has to be modesty there and you have to be humble. You know, we used to talk about humble, hungry and smart. Now we're, our language is more humble, hungry and hustle. So where, what do you have and what combination of that and then, how can we grow that? Like I said, it's one on ones. We run the EOS system here at Malosi. So the quarterly reviews are super important, making sure that we're touching base. I know weekly one on ones go against the grain with EOS because they, they want to limit the number of meetings. So some of that is balanced and, you know, more senior members don't need that many touch points, but definitely new members of your team need that. Something, one tool that's been really helpful and might not be the most popular because the idea of it spawned from what Elon Musk was terrorizing terrorizing the government with back at the beginning of the year, but a weekly email that goes out on Fridays and just ask the team, how was your week? How was I able to help you? Where were your problems at? Where could you use more help? Just those touch points. So the full cycle, you know, Mondays for us are big with our level 10 meetings, making sure that we're getting the departments together and digging in on identifying, discussing and solving solution, you know, issues, making sure that score cards are reviewed and that we're continuing to move the needle. But in our business, especially when the weather's right, Monday to Monday is a long time. A lot can happen, you know, at this size, I know whenever I had my business, the lot could happen at that size in a week during the growing season. So one on ones for me happen on Wednesdays, that's usually my whole Wednesday morning, touching base with the team, you know, where they need to be at. And then that Friday follow up email really helps with that Sunday prep going into the next week and continuing that that touch point, keeping that balance to between time with the team and meetings and then allowing them time to get out and get to work done. You know, we've been guilty of too little and too much of that. So finding that balance is key. Yeah, not 100%. Yeah, there was a lot of things you say to Nier and I want to touch on a couple of them. I do like the EOS, you know, sometimes I feel it was a little bit rigid. So we try and pull together different tools from different systems like US, like OCRs, like scaling up. So I think it's good to have a little bit of a mixer. 100% agree with you on finding people's strengths and some of their weaknesses. You know, how can we keep developing their says the strengths, you know, we use inometrics and also working genius as tools to help assess our people. So there are so many resources out there that people can tap into. I think sometimes people don't necessarily utilize them enough. Yeah, we were recently turned on to the Colby system. So we're looking at that with our executive team and then that's something that we possibly will be spreading out to everyone else. Disc has been what our go to has been. We used to have a chart on the wall so that everybody could see where everybody landed at and could work through, you know, how to approach because everybody has a different way that they work. I have a dear friend that's huge into Nier Grimes and I would encourage anyone if you don't know about it, learn about it because those can be a great way of building relationships, which that's that's what it's all about, right? And then working genius just came up too. So that one I'm curious to dig in on. Those are all great tools. Yeah, I mean, I think just to tap into something, you know, whether it be a system, whether it be some type of a system and then just understand your people, your 100% right people operate in different ways, everybody. We think people think the same way. I just have to look at my wife and I and that's not the case. So I think just happening to some type of system and then understanding it, embracing it and then, you know, how can you then leverage, you know, some of the strengths on your team or maybe even complement each other if you're they're going away in some type of a working group working on some type of a project? Absolutely. And also, don't tie in too many systems. We've been guilty of that too. You gotta find what works and simple is always better. Yeah, yeah, 100%. It's simple, stick to it, don't let feed away. So now these are all great things. You're on any other parting thoughts on how to go in with the right mindset. And how can you either take your career to the next level or just start enjoying where you're at? Be honest with yourself with where you are. My biggest challenge to overcome recently is as I've moved more into executive role with Malosi is to not be a doer anymore and learn how to facilitate and get my hands off of things. Because it'll bottle neck at you. And that just stops the system up so quickly. So last August, Taylor sent me off to do a leadership workshop with a rapport breakthrough is what it's called. And it's an intense 30 hour workshop that went over a two and a half day span. And they challenge you to question your beliefs and what you lean on every day that you can do and you can't do. And that is what created so much change for me in a good way. It led me into a public speaking opportunity at the Law and Landscape this earlier this year. I've got some opportunities that elevate that I'm so excited to be able to participate in. But the best thing, I used to always think that I wasn't a runner. And that I'm a short guy, great upper body, no legs. And that was something that was holding me back. And I didn't know that it was not only holding me back in my physical life, but it was holding me back with my mental and emotional development. So earlier this year, I started on a workout program. And that has escalated into doing 75 hard. Taylor's really big into fitness and has been working through the Iron Man program. So that I think is the biggest key that I can pass on to anybody is get healthy. Because your mind and your ability is only as strong as you are. And everybody has different abilities. But you have to push there nutrition. And I could be an infomercial for that for an hour now. Because it's a big part of my life. But it's been a game changer. Yeah. No, I mean, you don't have to sell me on it. I mean, obviously I've done my Iron Man's. And I still truly believe and have heard this from multiple different sources that we only typically operate at 40%, 50% of our capacity, adamantically or physically. And it's just a case of pushing through those barriers and developing your mindset. So yeah, this is great, John. Nice job. Thank you. John, how do if people want to reach out to you and listen to you, talk to you more about mindset and some of your techniques? What's the best way for them to do that? Well, I keep up with my presence on LinkedIn. So feel free to reach out to me there. That's probably the quickest way. I like to protect the email address some because it can get overrun sometimes. But LinkedIn's a great way to connect and network. And I'll be sure to reach back out to anyone that's interested or has questions. If you are coming to elevate, please find me. I'll be there all week and definitely looking forward to growing the network and meeting anyone that's interested in talking about the green industry. It's a huge passion among. Yeah, cool. I think we'll be both on stage at separate times and places to elevate. So we'll have a booth there as well. So look forward to seeing you there, John. Excellent. Thank you so much, Robert. I've enjoyed this. That's a wrap for today's episode of the commercial landscape podcast. I hope you're walking away with some great nuggets that you can immediately apply to your business, whether you made a ship, operations, or you just want to show up every day with an Ironman mindset. Remember, growth doesn't happen by accident. It happens with attention removes, both conversations and surround yourself with the right people. You found value today, subscribe, believe or review, or share this episode with others. And again, don't forget to check out Wilson-Dixiexday.com. We have digital courses from account management, operational excellence, leadership development, or some of the other coaching packages we offer. Anyway, a huge shout out to our sponsors. Thank you very much. And I'll leave with this. Have a pure, dead, brilliant day. (upbeat music)