Texas Promise
The Great State of Texas is a big place, one full of big opportunities and matching expectations. This week I had the pleasure to meet the leadership team at Texas Services, another division of the parent company that also owns Austin Outdoor. Those folks are running an arbor care business that produces strong results above our heads, year after year.
How do they do it? Their operation is a classic example of what happens when “the mission meets the market”, as I wrote about last week. They clearly love what they do, by making the world more beautiful one tree at a time. I found it intriguing that, while the former owners actually sold their business a couple of years ago, you’d never know it from how they act. They still exhibit a Texas-style entrepreneurial spirit in their daily operations and get-it-done attitude.
As I pulled up in front of their Southwest Houston shop at 7 AM on a rainy and dreary January morning, I was greeted by a bee hive of activity. Planning, scheduling and equipment maintenance were all under way. These folks were clearly not going to waste an opportunity to be ready to roll when the sun came back out. A hot cup of pretty decent coffee in a real cup and an interactive shop tour later, I caught a glimpse of what makes this division tick. It’s the driving spirit of the leadership, backed by crews and support personnel who just plain like what they do.
I enjoyed stimulating conversation about processes, employees, customers and achieving success. And then Jim Sivils summed it all up by saying: “It’s pretty simple, really. We just do what we say we’re going to do, when we say we’re going to do it.” Now that Texas Promise is one we should all learn to keep!
How do they do it? Their operation is a classic example of what happens when “the mission meets the market”, as I wrote about last week. They clearly love what they do, by making the world more beautiful one tree at a time. I found it intriguing that, while the former owners actually sold their business a couple of years ago, you’d never know it from how they act. They still exhibit a Texas-style entrepreneurial spirit in their daily operations and get-it-done attitude.
As I pulled up in front of their Southwest Houston shop at 7 AM on a rainy and dreary January morning, I was greeted by a bee hive of activity. Planning, scheduling and equipment maintenance were all under way. These folks were clearly not going to waste an opportunity to be ready to roll when the sun came back out. A hot cup of pretty decent coffee in a real cup and an interactive shop tour later, I caught a glimpse of what makes this division tick. It’s the driving spirit of the leadership, backed by crews and support personnel who just plain like what they do.
I enjoyed stimulating conversation about processes, employees, customers and achieving success. And then Jim Sivils summed it all up by saying: “It’s pretty simple, really. We just do what we say we’re going to do, when we say we’re going to do it.” Now that Texas Promise is one we should all learn to keep!
