Innovating in the springtime, outdoors, in the sunshine!

In the last week, Europe has suffered through a dreadful cold spell. A huge polar arctic air mass is coming into North America next week. It could very well snow in Washington on or around Inauguration day.

My family and I ski every weekend, and I love the cold.

There are many others who don’t. And this cold winter, combined with dark economic clouds, provides people with a degree of gloom.

That’s why innovation and thinking about future trends is important! And always after winter, there’s a springtime!

I’m thrilled that I’ve been confirmed to be the closing keynote speaker for the American Nursery and Landscape Association annual conference, aka as the 2009 Management Clinic.

The cool thing is that this is a repeat booking; this organization had me in for another event in 2006 in Vail. It’s always a thrill to know that you’ve had such an impact on people that they bring you back for more.

My focus for this closing keynote is how to go forward; innovate; adapt; find new opportunity; and get in the right frame of mind to succeed in tumultuous times.

As spring comes along, people will find solace in the warmth and comfort of the sun. They’ll visit their local garden store, and will gaze at their backyard and think about whether some work needs to be done. They might not spend as much as in prior years, and their purchasing patterns will be different. But they will be there, and the key to capitalizing upon this will be to understand the new emerging consumer mindset as it might exist this spring. I’m starting to do some detailed research on that trend now (as I do for every event I go into) and by early February should have a good handle on what comes next in this sector.

Think GROWTH!

:

• Read the 2009 ANLA Management Clinic
• 2006 posting Trends Shaping the Future of Commercial Horticulture