A recent study from RPA, a big-time marketing agency with a behavioral science unit, revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, not only have people’s behaviors changed, their psychology has, too. Which means brands (RPA studies brands, but the same thing could be said of products, such as plants) can help “people connect with others, feel empowered and tap into passions and purpose.”

RPA represents powerful brands such as Honda, Southwest Airlines and Farmers Insurance. (Admit it. You just sang the jingle. “We are Farmers. Bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum bum.”)

At this stage of the pandemic, the study suggests that brands — and our products — help people to “loop a habit.” The habit loop is a neurological loop that governs any habit and it consists of three elements: a cue, a routine and a reward. RPA notes a huge shakeup in product purchases and daily activities, and “more gardening” topped their list! Also on the list: more home cooking, more self-care and more all-family activities, all of which can and should relate to gardening. That’s quite the green-industry loop, eh?

To secure a powerful habit loop, RPA suggests communicating regularly, to think about new formats, consider longevity and make it easy.

Communication “When habits get disrupted, people engage in more conscious thought — e.g. thinking through options they may not normally consider. When you’ve already built a solid habit with customers, going silent creates a vulnerability.”

Just because gardening surged in popularity this year, don’t rest on your laurels. Keep talking about the benefits our products provide and keep engaging the end consumer. New formats Find “ways of ‘staying in the loop’ through social media challenges, livestream events or other efforts.”

For example, create a YouTube channel and fill it with how-to videos that your retail and landscape customers can share with their customers.

Consider longevity “Make sure habit loops can withstand continued shifts to people’s situations, and allow time for different patterns to take hold (typically about 4-6 weeks).”

This relates to the study’s first point, communication. Keep talking about plants, shrubs and trees. Your selling season may be short, but if you want to be part of that habit loop, you must make your marketing season much longer.

Make it easy “…the less effort and work that’s needed [to maintain the habit] from them, the better. Think about their current headspace and living situation.”

To keep gardening in people's habit loop, you’ve got to keep those social media channels brimming with tips, videos and photos.

To help people build new habits, RPA also says to “consider the rollout of habits and use rollout tactics that have been shown by behavioral research to help new habits take hold: Make it rewarding; connect it to existing habits; let people start slow and work up; give people some time; and adjust based on the audience.”

The authors also reveal that “habits that help people learn something new also help them to cope better with stress.”

Clearly, gardening is the ideal habit.

You can see the entire study here: rpa.com/marketing-in-anxious-times.

Over the past five years, American fringe trees have faced attacks by the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis. While this is certainly a concern, an ongoing study by Wright State University gives hope that Chionanthus might fare better than ash trees in terms of susceptibility to the beetle. There is evidence that ornamental plantings are not targeted like dense wild populations of fringe trees. Also, trees that are healthy and well cared for are much less likely to be infested.

C. virginicus thrives in rich, moist woods and hillsides. There are numerous specimens at Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello, and it was apparently one of his favorite trees. In the landscape, they do best in full sun to partial shade and they love heat and humidity. They are best grown as a multi-stemmed tree or large shrub and will reach a final height of 20 feet with a canopy spread of 15-20 feet. Chionanthus seldom need pruning and are naturally somewhat slow growing. They do well in urban settings, although perhaps not as a street tree. I say this for two reasons. First, they will not tolerate prolonged drought. Secondly, they are so beautiful while in bloom, I fear they would distract drivers. I can literally see myself trying to take a drive-by video or selfie and ending up in the ditch — or worse. Anyway, you’ve been warned. Seriously though, Chionanthus are beautiful trees, and I wish they were more available to American gardeners.

Do you get it?

Maybe the better question to be asking is “Are you strategic?”

How often have you overheard a group talking about a leader and saying, “She/he just doesn’t get it”? Come to think of it, are your colleagues or subordinates asking that same question about you?

Well, are you tactical or strategic? Does it even matter? A survey conducted with 400 talent management leaders found that the No. 1 most-valued skill in leaders today is strategic thinking. Unfortunately, research with 154 companies found that only three out of every 10 managers are strategic.

So, yes, the ability to think strategically is essential. The real question is how can you continually hone your strategic thinking skills to thrive in today’s ever-changing business landscape?

The fact is most managers are now required to be more successful with fewer resources.

All managers have resources — time, talent and capital — to varying degrees within their organizations. So, technically, all managers are strategists. The reality, however, is that not all managers are good strategists. Herein lies the pearl of great opportunity: the deeper you can dive into the business and resurface with strategic insights, the more valuable you’ll become to your organization.

Strategic thinking is defined as the generation of business insights on a continual basis to achieve competitive advantage. Strategic thinking is different than strategic planning. Strategic planning is the channeling of business insights into an action plan to achieve goals and objectives. A key distinction between strategic thinking and strategic planning is that the former occurs on a regular basis, as part of our daily activities, while the latter occurs periodically (quarterly, semi-annually or annually). Strategic thinking is using a new lens to view the business. It’s not about adding more work. It’s about enhancing the view of the work and improving one’s ability to perform it.

To maximize your resources and profitably grow the business on a consistent basis, there are three disciplines of strategic thinking you can develop to continually ground your business in solid strategy.

Acumen

One of the interesting paradoxes of strategy is that to elevate one’s thinking to see “the big picture,” one must first dive below the surface of the issues to uncover insight. A strategic insight is an idea that combines two or more pieces of information to create new value.

One of the reasons most people don’t enjoy strategic planning is because the plans don’t contain any new thinking. They are repeating Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity by doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. A key premise in business is that new growth comes from new thinking. Carve out time for you and your team to sit down and strategically think about the business, using the group’s insights to identify new approaches to the business.

Allocation

While it’s one thing to have a neatly written strategy on paper, the truth is the actual or realized strategy of an organization is a result of the resource allocation decisions made by managers each day. Therefore, it is critical to have a firm understanding of resource allocation and how to maximize its potential for your organization. With multi-billion-dollar companies going through bankruptcy on a regular basis, it’s obvious in today’s market that having the most resources guarantees nothing. It’s how we allocate resources that truly matters.

The definition of strategy begins with “The intelligent allocation of resources...” Resource allocation is at the core of strategy. Discussions of strategy boil down to how to allocate limited resources to maximize business potential. Where are you currently investing your resources — time, talent, budget — and are they focused on your goals and strategies? While everyone has a to-do list, only the best managers also have a not-to-do list. Remember that great strategy is as much about what you choose not to do as it is about what you choose to do.

Action

How often has your team invested time in developing a plan for the year, only to see that plan slip by the wayside once the fire drills begin? Fire drills come in the form of customer complaints, competitor activity and internal issues that are urgent, but not important. The key is to let these fire drills flame out and stay committed to the plan you’ve developed by focusing on your priorities, not the flavor-of-the-month tactics.

The most important level of strategy is not corporate, business unit, or functional group — it’s you. The individual level is where strategy is actually created. Unfortunately, 90% of directors and vice presidents have never had any learning and development opportunities on strategic thinking.

The good news is that by developing the three disciplines of strategic thinking, you can elevate yourself from tactical to strategic. The better news is that in doing so, not only will you become more valuable to your organization, you’ll separate yourself and your business from the competition.

So, one last time, do you get it?

In April, NurseryManagement magazine conducted a survey to learn how growers across North America administer pest management plans, budget for insect control, scout for pests and much more. Our survey of more than 200 growers found which methods growers prefer and how they manage controls programs. Read on for more insights in insect management.

Editor’s note: Due to rounding, not all percentages add up to 100.