WORRY-FREEBUSINESS
Less pain, more joy
A PHILOSOPHY FOR BUSINESS AND LIFE
BY GEORGE URVARI WELCOME TO A NEW COLUMN crafted for business owners and leaders in the landscape trades where I will share lessons learned throughout my career. My background Over the past 40 years, I built Oriole Landscaping Ltd. in Toronto, Ont., making every mistake imaginable. Along the way, I’ve had the privilege of working with incredible employees and customers — and faced my share of challenges working with some difficult ones too. As a leader, I’ve stumbled, learned from my mistakes and grown because of them. I’ve worn nearly every hat in the business — excelling in some roles and struggling in others. Today, the business runs smoothly without me and I’m free from the stress I once carried. However, it wasn’t always like this. I’m now in a position to share my hard-earned wisdom — what to do, and more importantly, what not to do. Later in my career, I transitioned into business consulting, which gave me incredible insight into how other businesses operate — some exceptionally well, others less so. These experiences have broadened my perspective and enriched my understanding. By studying best practices, I’ve cultivated a deep knowledge of leadership, effective systems and thriving company cultures. I’ve had the chance to observe, adapt and implement successful strategies. While I don’t claim to know everything, I remain eager to learn, adjust and admit when I’m wrong. My guiding principle is simple: never give advice that could compromise the fundamental health of a business.
A philosophy for business and life I believe the goal of running a business is to create a life of less pain, more joy and greater financial success for everyone. Of course, the challenge lies in achieving that balance. The philosophy of Kaizen — continuous improvement — offers a cure for stagnation, apathy or dissatisfaction. Growing a business may seem daunting, but positive change happens incrementally, with small improvements adding up over time. The formula for success is distilled as: People > Culture > Process . It begins with hiring people who share good intentions and teaching them the processes needed to build an efficient workflow. Importantly, intentions must align with behaviours. A thriving workplace culture embraces a “we, not me” mentality and fosters a “yes, we can” attitude. It’s simple: if you believe you can’t, you’re right. When people are happy and feel positive, possibilities are endless. If you have good people with good intentions, most problems stem from processes — not people. This perspective is liberating and eliminates toxic blame within a culture. The key question then becomes, “How can we fix this process and learn from the mistake?” Driving change Change begins by preparing your team — explain what’s coming, why it’s necessary and how it benefits everyone. Allow time for them to learn and adapt. In my experience, the journey to continuous improvement follows five stages:
Awareness, Understanding, Acceptance, Leap of Faith and Actualization. It can take over a year for these changes to fully take root, as people need to see the benefits before they believe in the process. One of my mentors, Jim Paluch, wisely said: “People will change, or people will change.” Those who resist progress must eventually embrace it — or move on. Once a positive culture takes hold, new processes can be introduced with greater ease. There are two types of change: bold, transformative moves and smaller, incremental adjustments. For example, asking employees to regularly work in the office again might generate friction, but it strengthens team cohesion and improves culture. After all, if field staff are required to show up daily, shouldn’t office staff as well? From a leadership perspective, fairness is crucial: teamwork means everyone . Fairness versus stress In the early days of my business, the lack of great people and systems caused significant stress to my own health, leading to burnout, shingles and psoriasis — physical manifestations of pressure. This is why I advocate for a “fairness- first” philosophy. A “profit-first” mindset often fosters toxic cultures, burnout, anxiety and broken relationships. In extreme cases, it can even lead to devastating personal consequences. True wealth isn’t just financial — it encompasses health, fulfilling work, family, friends and altruism. Fairness at work means eliminating the
40 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
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