Some people admit they are procrastinators. Others want to deny it. Some people don't have this problem, but find those who do procrastinate a huge source of frustration. I am probably one that falls in between. There are certainly things that I do quickly and without delay. There are other things that you have to drag me to the rodeo kicking to just get my attention.
Websters Dictionary definition of procrastinate is "to put off intentionally and habitually." Wow, that sounds menacing. Although many put off till tomorrow what we know should be done today, we don't.
People all over the country are making money off of the fact we procrastinate. Nike's motto - Just Do It! They'd have to change it if we had already done it. There are speakers I have received information on as well as one I have heard on procrastination. I have to admit I even bought her book. This lady holds webinars, consults, speaks on, writes book about and gets interviewed about procrastination. Good golly - a woman with a cause that makes money.
Well, there is one thing I hope you are not going to procrastinate about and that is registering for the Nursery/Landscape EXPO. You knew that was coming!! Click on the Hot Links button and register NOW, TODAY - not TOMORROW!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
GUEST BLOG FROM DR. CHARLIE HALL!
What’s in Your Wallet?
By Dr. Charlie Hall
Texas A&M University
I borrowed the title of this month’s column from Capital One’s new tag line. If you’ve seen their commercials, they use this tag line to convey to their potential customer base that their credit card services offer greater security and fraud protection than competing products in the marketplace. In marketing lingo, we would call this their unique selling proposition, or simply value proposition.
One topic that generates much discussion is how to create a compelling value proposition that would accentuate a grower’s competitive strategy in the face of this economic downturn. The problem is that many a company goes to market without having fully defined its customer value proposition. Instead, growers tend to market a nice list of "powerful" benefits (which their competitors most likely state they have too).
The underlying purpose of a value proposition is to identify and satisfy an unmet need that your target market possesses. An effective value proposition describes what you do in terms of tangible business results for the customer. However, it's more than a statement of offer or a buy-line. It's a commitment to deliver a specific combination of resulting experiences, at a particular price, to a group of target customers, more profitably and better than the competition.
For a customer value proposition to be uniquely persuasive, it must be distinctive, measurable, defendable, and sustainable. It is critical to define and support the value proposition in such a way that your customers will pay more for your product than the competitions’ product, or substantially more customers will desire your product over the competitions. Developing a value proposition is the most difficult and time-consuming of all marketing activities. That's probably why so many companies go to market without one clearly articulated.
Hear more from Dr. Hall at the Education Conference on Thursday, August 13, as well as on Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. before the trade show opens.
By Dr. Charlie Hall
Texas A&M University
I borrowed the title of this month’s column from Capital One’s new tag line. If you’ve seen their commercials, they use this tag line to convey to their potential customer base that their credit card services offer greater security and fraud protection than competing products in the marketplace. In marketing lingo, we would call this their unique selling proposition, or simply value proposition.
One topic that generates much discussion is how to create a compelling value proposition that would accentuate a grower’s competitive strategy in the face of this economic downturn. The problem is that many a company goes to market without having fully defined its customer value proposition. Instead, growers tend to market a nice list of "powerful" benefits (which their competitors most likely state they have too).
The underlying purpose of a value proposition is to identify and satisfy an unmet need that your target market possesses. An effective value proposition describes what you do in terms of tangible business results for the customer. However, it's more than a statement of offer or a buy-line. It's a commitment to deliver a specific combination of resulting experiences, at a particular price, to a group of target customers, more profitably and better than the competition.
For a customer value proposition to be uniquely persuasive, it must be distinctive, measurable, defendable, and sustainable. It is critical to define and support the value proposition in such a way that your customers will pay more for your product than the competitions’ product, or substantially more customers will desire your product over the competitions. Developing a value proposition is the most difficult and time-consuming of all marketing activities. That's probably why so many companies go to market without one clearly articulated.
Hear more from Dr. Hall at the Education Conference on Thursday, August 13, as well as on Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. before the trade show opens.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
HEY, There's NO REGISTRATION FORM!!
Well, by now most people have received the first mailing of the Nursery/Landscape EXPO attendee brochure. Hope you like the poster! Please hang it up, frame it - whatever - to create the show buzz! Some of you may have noticed we didn't include a registration or housing form in the brochure. Don't be alarmed. All you need to do is go online and click on HOT LINKS. Go to the attendee or exhibitor registration and download the form you are used to or click online registration and go from there. If all else fails, we will fax a form to you. We want you to come. We will be accommodating. Let us know.
By the way, if you really do want to frame the poster, I have some unfolded brochures that would be ideal for the project. E-mail us at expo@nurserylandscapeexpo.org.
By the way, if you really do want to frame the poster, I have some unfolded brochures that would be ideal for the project. E-mail us at expo@nurserylandscapeexpo.org.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
GUEST EDUCATION BLOG FROM EDUCATION CONFERENCE SPEAKER
Ecologically Performative Landscapes and The Green Industry
David Hopman, ASLA
The University of Texas at Arlington
Nature in Complex Cultural Environments
Performative theory has been applied to many facets of social theory including economic theory, and regionalism in architecture. Simply stated, it is the notion that a thing becomes what it purports to be through actions and behaviors. The term is applied here to landscapes in complex cultural environments with environmental features that are used to mitigate or even to enhance the environmental footprint of the landscape. These landscapes are a recognition that designers should no longer separate “natural” areas from the places where people actually live and work.
“Idealizing a distant wilderness too often means not idealizing the environment in which we actually live, the landscape that for better or for worse we call home. Most of our most serious environmental problems start right here, at home, and if we are to solve those problems we need an environmental ethic that tells us as much about using nature as about not using it.”
In a performative landscape, the designer creates what Michael Pollan has called “second nature”. It is a man-centered nature that seeks ecological balance but recognizes that any natural ecological system in a complex urban environment is “man centered” and subject to all the decisions involved in its inception. The projects illustrated in my presentation for the TNLA conference take an incremental approach to environmental benefits with a design of man created nature that is self-examining and self-questioning.
Addressing the actual conditions of our lives means that any, including small, movements towards future viable practices are environmental benefits worth pursuing. Peter Berg refers to the frame of mind necessary to address these actual conditions as “living in place” and “reinhabitation”. Living in place means keeping a balance between “human lives, other living things, and the processes of the planet”…Reinhabitation means working with and restoring the ecological relationships of a place and establishing a socially and environmentally future viable landscape. Berg considers this type of landscape the minimum requirement for a long-term strategy of survival.
“Reinhabitation means learning to live in place in an area that has been disrupted and injured through past exploitation. It involves becoming native to a place by becoming aware of the particular ecological relationships that operate within and around it… It involves applying for membership in a biotic community and ceasing to be its exploiter.” Dodge believes that the most important issues in ecologically performative design are “practice and engagement” and not endless theories and debate. He understands that while theory sets the parameters, it is the difficult and uncertain realities of practice that determine the outcome.
Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (New York: Routledge, 1990).
William Cronon, Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing Nature (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1995), 83.
Michael Pollan, Second Nature (New York: Dell Publishing, 1991).
Peter Berg and Raymond Dasman. “Reinhabiting Califormia” In Architectural Regionalism: Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity, and Tradition, edited by Vincent B. Canizaro, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007), 355.
Ibid, 355
Jim Dodge. “Living by Life: Some Bioregional Theory and Practice” In Architectural Regionalism: Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity, and Tradition, edited by Vincent B. Canizaro, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007), 341-349.
David Hopman, ASLA
The University of Texas at Arlington
Nature in Complex Cultural Environments
Performative theory has been applied to many facets of social theory including economic theory, and regionalism in architecture. Simply stated, it is the notion that a thing becomes what it purports to be through actions and behaviors. The term is applied here to landscapes in complex cultural environments with environmental features that are used to mitigate or even to enhance the environmental footprint of the landscape. These landscapes are a recognition that designers should no longer separate “natural” areas from the places where people actually live and work.
“Idealizing a distant wilderness too often means not idealizing the environment in which we actually live, the landscape that for better or for worse we call home. Most of our most serious environmental problems start right here, at home, and if we are to solve those problems we need an environmental ethic that tells us as much about using nature as about not using it.”
In a performative landscape, the designer creates what Michael Pollan has called “second nature”. It is a man-centered nature that seeks ecological balance but recognizes that any natural ecological system in a complex urban environment is “man centered” and subject to all the decisions involved in its inception. The projects illustrated in my presentation for the TNLA conference take an incremental approach to environmental benefits with a design of man created nature that is self-examining and self-questioning.
Addressing the actual conditions of our lives means that any, including small, movements towards future viable practices are environmental benefits worth pursuing. Peter Berg refers to the frame of mind necessary to address these actual conditions as “living in place” and “reinhabitation”. Living in place means keeping a balance between “human lives, other living things, and the processes of the planet”…Reinhabitation means working with and restoring the ecological relationships of a place and establishing a socially and environmentally future viable landscape. Berg considers this type of landscape the minimum requirement for a long-term strategy of survival.
“Reinhabitation means learning to live in place in an area that has been disrupted and injured through past exploitation. It involves becoming native to a place by becoming aware of the particular ecological relationships that operate within and around it… It involves applying for membership in a biotic community and ceasing to be its exploiter.” Dodge believes that the most important issues in ecologically performative design are “practice and engagement” and not endless theories and debate. He understands that while theory sets the parameters, it is the difficult and uncertain realities of practice that determine the outcome.
Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (New York: Routledge, 1990).
William Cronon, Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing Nature (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1995), 83.
Michael Pollan, Second Nature (New York: Dell Publishing, 1991).
Peter Berg and Raymond Dasman. “Reinhabiting Califormia” In Architectural Regionalism: Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity, and Tradition, edited by Vincent B. Canizaro, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007), 355.
Ibid, 355
Jim Dodge. “Living by Life: Some Bioregional Theory and Practice” In Architectural Regionalism: Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity, and Tradition, edited by Vincent B. Canizaro, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007), 341-349.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
VISIT THE WATER CORNER AT EXPO!
When show management was brainstorming about how to give attendees more value for their visit to the Nursery/Landscape EXPO, we considered some of the topics and issues they are dealing with today. WATER rose to the top of the list. So, what did we decide to do...
The EXPO is partnering with the Texas Turf Irrigation Association (TTIA) on our irrigation tracks during the EXPO Education Conference on Thursday. The Irrigation Association classes have been chosen by TTIA and will be monitored by them as well. THANK YOU, TTIA!
We are going one step further. There will be a smart irrigation pod of suppliers that currently handle smart water technologies. This will be in Hall F close to the Food Cafe. Across the aisle from the "pod" will be organizations and state agencies that deal with water: TTIA, Irrigation Association, Texas A&M Irrigation Technology Center, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the WaterWise Council. Finally, the WATER Corner will be rounded out with a discussion area that will be used by the smart irrigation companies or the organizations listed above for informal discussions on water. Be sure and look for the WATER Corner sign in Hall F by the Food Cafe!
The EXPO is partnering with the Texas Turf Irrigation Association (TTIA) on our irrigation tracks during the EXPO Education Conference on Thursday. The Irrigation Association classes have been chosen by TTIA and will be monitored by them as well. THANK YOU, TTIA!
We are going one step further. There will be a smart irrigation pod of suppliers that currently handle smart water technologies. This will be in Hall F close to the Food Cafe. Across the aisle from the "pod" will be organizations and state agencies that deal with water: TTIA, Irrigation Association, Texas A&M Irrigation Technology Center, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the WaterWise Council. Finally, the WATER Corner will be rounded out with a discussion area that will be used by the smart irrigation companies or the organizations listed above for informal discussions on water. Be sure and look for the WATER Corner sign in Hall F by the Food Cafe!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
NO ONE is good at Multi-Tasking - GUEST BLOG
This blog is written by one of our excellent speakers that will be featured during the Education Conference on Thursday, August 13, 2009.
Job Advertisement: “Must be good at multitasking.”
Obviously the company that posted the above ad is not up-to-date on current research which shows that no one is good at multitasking. Now I realize that you are probably disagreeing with me right now, since you multitask throughout the day, but reality is that our brains are not good at executing demands to perform multiple activities simultaneously.
What actually occurs is a mental traffic jam where eventually one item breaks through, followed close behind by a second, and then a third. They may be so close together that it seems simultaneous, but in actuality one precedes the next.
When MIT students were given two simple tasks to perform at the same time, identifying shapes and letters or colors, they could not do it and lost their composure. Once they were allowed to switch back and forth, they could do it, but it was very slow because they were forcing their brains to fire in different directions so quickly.
This mental traffic jam is causing stress as we pump adrenaline throughout the day. Over an extended period, there are both short-term (absentmindedness, since we are not focused) and long-term results (brain damage in our prefrontal cortex and hippocampus). Those two brain regions are associated with short-term memory and the abilities to assess and prioritize. The extended stress also ends up causing physical illness (80% of sickness according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
It can appear that teens and even younger children may have a better ability to multitask. Again, reality is that they are not better at it, they just have more practice. If you must multitask, be sure that one of the two things you want to do can be done without any thought, like running and listening to your iPod.
Denise Landers is the author of Destination: Organization, A Week by Week Journey and the owner of Key Organization Systems, Inc. (www.keyorganization.com). Based in Houston, she is a national speaker, trainer, consultant and coach providing conference sessions, corporate training, and individual assistance to improve daily work flow and time management skills.
Job Advertisement: “Must be good at multitasking.”
Obviously the company that posted the above ad is not up-to-date on current research which shows that no one is good at multitasking. Now I realize that you are probably disagreeing with me right now, since you multitask throughout the day, but reality is that our brains are not good at executing demands to perform multiple activities simultaneously.
What actually occurs is a mental traffic jam where eventually one item breaks through, followed close behind by a second, and then a third. They may be so close together that it seems simultaneous, but in actuality one precedes the next.
When MIT students were given two simple tasks to perform at the same time, identifying shapes and letters or colors, they could not do it and lost their composure. Once they were allowed to switch back and forth, they could do it, but it was very slow because they were forcing their brains to fire in different directions so quickly.
This mental traffic jam is causing stress as we pump adrenaline throughout the day. Over an extended period, there are both short-term (absentmindedness, since we are not focused) and long-term results (brain damage in our prefrontal cortex and hippocampus). Those two brain regions are associated with short-term memory and the abilities to assess and prioritize. The extended stress also ends up causing physical illness (80% of sickness according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
It can appear that teens and even younger children may have a better ability to multitask. Again, reality is that they are not better at it, they just have more practice. If you must multitask, be sure that one of the two things you want to do can be done without any thought, like running and listening to your iPod.
Denise Landers is the author of Destination: Organization, A Week by Week Journey and the owner of Key Organization Systems, Inc. (www.keyorganization.com). Based in Houston, she is a national speaker, trainer, consultant and coach providing conference sessions, corporate training, and individual assistance to improve daily work flow and time management skills.
Monday, May 11, 2009
FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!
Wow. Just came back from vacation and the world did not stop while I was gone. It is a great feeling to come back feeling refreshed and face the mountain of work on your desk! Ugh. Thanks to great EXPO staff the trade show continues to progress forward - nicely.
It is now time to FOCUS. Focus on the end game - Nursery/Landscape EXPO. Have you reserved your booth yet? Have you logged in and registered yet? Are you waiting for the printed brochure before you act? Don't wait! The time to focus on EXPO is now.
www.nurserylandscapeespo.org
Make your hotel reservations, so you can be sure you are in the headquarters hotel. There is still time to reserve a booth but the best ones are going fast. Let us know if you have questions by emailing expo@nurserylandscapeexpo.org
It is now time to FOCUS. Focus on the end game - Nursery/Landscape EXPO. Have you reserved your booth yet? Have you logged in and registered yet? Are you waiting for the printed brochure before you act? Don't wait! The time to focus on EXPO is now.
www.nurserylandscapeespo.org
Make your hotel reservations, so you can be sure you are in the headquarters hotel. There is still time to reserve a booth but the best ones are going fast. Let us know if you have questions by emailing expo@nurserylandscapeexpo.org
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