Photo: Istock

The best-designed systems are no match for mismanagement. When people get involved with systems, suddenly all the parts shown on blueprints and described in standard operating procedures (SOPs) start moving, and someone needs to keep them all under control. That task falls to the operations management team.

Operations management is chasing down a missing shipment of something needed yesterday, dealing with facility issues, training a new hire, talking to a regulator who dropped in and scheduling an employee to sub during another’s vacation. The complexity of operations management increases as the number of operations managers/team members decreases. This suggests lone rangers might have an infinitely complex task, one that may only be manageable in smaller operations or with significant automation. Aside from cultivation, elements such as regulatory compliance, for example, can easily consume a full-time employee’s time as the operation size grows. Expect operations management to be a department, not a person.

People

A reliable and steady workforce is a blessing all operations would love to have, but we must be realistic in recognizing that cultivation jobs in the industry are subject to high turnover typical of entry-level positions. Reliability comes from appropriate training, supportive management and further opportunity. SOPs provide the bulk of information that staff need to learn their jobs quickly and perform them reliably, and management makes sure the education is working. Operators can’t do anything about market forces, but they can recognize and incentivize the best of their staff to stay and contribute, helping provide a stable knowledge and skill base within the operation.

Personal issues are the same in this industry as any other: Some issues aren’t harmful or even noticed, while some are annoying and detrimental to the operation. Company policies and strong people skills within the management team can make the difference between an operation in turmoil and one that hums along.

Communication

In dealing with people, we are reminded that the best plans can often go awry. Ample examples exist of how poor communication has changed the course of history. Our inability to use our sophisticated communication skills to relay information effectively remains a curse and a mystery. Needless to say, over-communication is better than under-communication. Day-to-day exchanges keep the wheels turning, but when there is a flub, good communication can mitigate its impact.

For example: A new growing medium has been approved, and the purchasing department was asked to stop placing orders of the old medium and start purchasing the new medium, but an interruption prevented purchasing from hearing the request. When the account showed no media inventory listed, rapid communication of that fact allowed expedited handling of a small emergency order to enable production to continue.

The direction to execute a task is a command that may be verbal or written, and usually comes with some prioritization. When spoken, commands will occasionally be misunderstood in the heat of battle, and senders of verbal commands need to ensure the receivers understand what they are being asked to do. Even then, verbal commands should be followed up to ensure action. Leave nothing to chance.

Alternatively, written commands, like “Chad and Sam are harvesting Flower 1 today,” are difficult to mess up. Write things down.

Management toolkit

Even the best managers need tools to help them keep up with things, and assess and report how the operation is performing. Here are several useful tools:

Standard operating procedures: These take a load off management. They contain the blueprint of the operation, document all procedures, and make clear standards of performance and data-gathering instructions.

In a nutrient SOP, process designers specified that media pH be held between certain levels. They specified instructions for use, as well as meters to use to measure the pH in the media. They provided a chart on which to record each week’s data. They provided training on how to read the charts, a file cabinet drawer to archive the charts, and a stated policy that this data was to be kept for one year and then destroyed. To educate and retrain staff, clear and concise documentation helps bring workers up to speed quickly and avoids extensive management hand-holding.

Instrumentation: Data’s importance cannot be overstated. Business runs on data. W. Edwards Deming, the architect of modern manufacturing practice and quality control, famously noted that without data, you are just another person with an opinion. Whether you’re evaluating minutes to complete a task, gallons of gas to cut the landscape or the cost of materials, information allows the operation to be understood — and with understanding comes the ability to manage.

When administering nutrients and pesticides, for example, logging the details of what was applied when and by whom provides managers with critical information to know exactly what the plants are being given and see links between applications and plant response. The same goes for light in greenhouses. These structures don’t receive the same light every day, so measurement and documentation of the natural light received inside provides insight into the likely yields that light can deliver along with insight into how much supplemental light might be cost effective.

People: Aside from performance data, the daily huddle, weekly status-reporting sessions and even the weekly ops luncheon provide human input. We all hate meetings, but they are valuable forms of intelligence gathering.

Instrumentation data needs to be handled appropriately. Some data, such as high CO₂ levels, are so important that they trigger an immediate alarm. Other data is used every day, like checking whether the cleanup checklist has been completed — while some data is used only occasionally, like pesticide logs. Regardless of usage frequency, all data is important as it is management’s eyes and ears on the operation.

Decision making

The story data tells management is the basis for making decisions about whether the operation is performing properly. Plants growing to schedule, pests under control and a smooth-running staff all feed a “green light” status, indicating everything is within specified parameters. Mite outbreaks, stunted growth or other maladies indicate “yellow light” status, suggesting added focus and monitoring. The realization that no one ordered the new growing media is a big “red light,” indicating potential imminent financial impact requiring immediate action.

A big part of what goes into the status report is consideration of the threat an event poses. The threat of a mite explosion would be considered high if populations exceed the operational control capability of a pesticide, but low if only a few mites are present. This is why performance metrics are an important part of SOPs. They provide the unvarnished and objective truth about an operation’s efficiency, as well as what corrective action might be taken if processes aren’t being followed properly.

Who fits the bill?

So where does one find superheroes who can do all the above, let alone all by their lonesomes? We are happy to say there are many more people around with management skills than with growing skills. And once growing skills are written down, management skills are what keep investors and regulators happy.

General contractor-like skills, restaurant management, crew bossing — those industries need the same skills cannabis operations need to keep running. Essentially, this is someone to protect the investment. The ability to follow a plan and solve problems on the fly is more important than whether they know how to mix nutrients. Nutrients can be taught, but the skill to handle that chronic absentee effectively, stay on schedule and deliver consistent results most often has been honed through one of these other high-energy, high-stakes lines of work.

Operations management is a daily grind in almost all manufacturing, but it is also what pays the bills, so build a diligent and demanding management team and pay them well.

Kerrie and Kurt Badertscher are co-owners of Otoké Horticulture, LLC and authors of “Cannabis for Capitalists.” This article originally ran in sister publication Cannabis Business Times.

Graphic: Adobe Stock

Sometimes it seems like the workplace is designed to keep you doing anything besides, well...working. If you’re a manager, this is a serious problem because everything at work hinges on your ability to effectively lead your team. Still, distractions abound in most offices, from buzzing phones to watercooler chit-chat to the endless lure of surfing the web. With all this chaos, it’s difficult to achieve the intense state of concentration known as flow, where employees of all levels do their best work.

Flow is a state of mind that occurs when all your conscious thought is focused on what you are doing. Unfortunately, in the modern workplace, flow can be difficult to achieve and maintain. As a result, you are a less productive manager and stay stressed out at work. But by weeding out typical office distractions and interruptions, you can improve your focus, get more done and become a more effective manager.

Even if you’re one of the many managers struggling to maintain focus at work, you can achieve a state of flow — which was first described in detail by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — by managing or eliminating the distractions that pull you out of concentration.

Flow breakers

Email, email, and more email. Many emails in your inbox are probably not particularly important, and yet you may feel you must look at them when they arrive. Instead, try these tactics:

• Schedule checking time. Turn off the alert that appears on your computer screen when you receive an email, and check and respond to messages at set times instead. This helps you manage your coworkers’, managers’, and customers’ expectations about how and when you will reply to them.
• Choose “low-productivity” times. There are likely certain times of the day when you do your best work, like first thing in the morning or maybe late at night. Schedule email check-ins for your less-productive times and save your peak hours for high-value work.
• Turn emails into actions. If you need more than a few minutes to read an email, add it to your to-do list.

Confusion due to overwhelming workload. Always try to have a manageable to-do list, because having one that’s too long can lead to procrastination, as you wonder which task to tackle next. Each day, commit to accomplishing the two most important tasks on your list, and put the rest on hold until tomorrow.

In our study we found that 79.5 percent of managers view prioritizing tasks effectively as one of the most important planning and time management skills.

Other people. Colleagues visiting your desk can be a big source of distraction, but you’re also a manager who wants to be available for your team members. So, if you don’t want to be disturbed at times when you need to focus on a task, consider either working at home or in a conference room. If you have your own office, close the door and tell your team that you need to be left alone to concentrate for a while.

Shortfalls in your own well-being. It takes a lot of mental and physical energy to juggle your priorities, manage visitors and have the discipline to control your use of technology. So it’s vital that you take care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep and make sure you drink enough water, as dehydration can make you feel tired and impact your thinking. It’s also important to get some fresh air and take a brisk walk during the day — this will energize you. And try to avoid heavy lunches and sugar-laden snacks, as they can lead to a slump in concentration later in the day.

It’s easier than ever to lose track of what you should be doing at work, but you can still take steps to avoid distractions and improve flow. Learning to better manage these “flow breakers” is a valuable skill that can be practiced and sharpened over time. And when you can achieve flow more easily, you will not only become a better manager, but you’ll set a great example for your team as well.

James Manktelow and Julian Birkinshaw are the authors of Mind Tools for Managers: 100 Ways to Be a Better Boss. Birkinshaw is academic director of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School. Manktelow is founder and CEO of MindTools.com. www.mindtools.com/mindtoolsbook

Photo courtesy of Hoffman Nursery

This summer, Hoffman Nursery founder and owner John Hoffman was seemingly everywhere. He attended Cultivate’18 in Columbus, meeting with clients and networking with the industry. A few weeks later, he helped host the 2018 Perennial Plant Association Symposium in the Raleigh area and welcomed industry members to his business. After the PPA Symposium wrapped up, he and his wife, Jill, flew to Poland for the Internationale-Stauden Union’s Summer Days 2018, which Hoffman calls the European PPA.

Below, Hoffman reflects on his busy summer.

Greenhouse Management: This summer, you were recognized with a Horticultural Industries Leadership Award at Cultivate’18 and the Award of Merit and Grower Award at PPA. What does it mean for you and your business, to be recognized by your peers?

John Hoffman: It’s an honor. It feels good. I certainly enjoyed the moments, both at Cultivate and PPA. But as I said on stage at both events with all of the awards, [the] people around me put me on the stage. It’s something I always try to do and make sure that people know that it’s not just me. There [are] so many people from family to friends to employees and so on that are involved with all of that. I keep telling people that [the] people around me make me look good — I don’t do all that work, they do all that work. Luckily, they hand me the awards in some cases. It is nice to receive the recognition, but I take it in stride.

GM: Was there anything you learned this summer that you plan to apply to your business moving forward?

JH: We do look at the economy, we try to talk about that a little bit and see how businesses are doing. We have a lot of friends in the industry and you talk about these things with customers to see how they are doing and how they are feeling about the future. Any information we collect, we can apply to the businesses — the ups and the downs. Things are going to happen and slow down eventually, so you just have to be prepared for that. We listen to Charlie Hall a lot. Whenever he speaks, we try to get to his talks and ask him what he sees coming. I think the last time we saw him, at Cultivate, he’s saying we’ve got a year-and-a-half to two-year run [until the next recession] and then it’s something to look at that point. It’s just trying to figure out what the economic indicators are telling us.

GM: What did you learn in Poland at the Internationale Stauden-Union event?

JH: We mainly sit on a bus and drive to different gardens and wholesale nurseries and that sort of thing. That’s what we did over there for four or five days. I’m going over to network, to see the automation. It’s high-tech — very few people [are] in line producing products and potting the plants themselves. It’s looking at different operations and how they handle production, marketing and plant movement and all sorts of things. And new plants are my big deal. I’m trying to find new grasses, and we found a bunch this year.

Steve Garvey doesn’t look like a typical flower grower, so people are often shocked to learn that he’s spent his entire career in greenhouses. That’s why you can never judge a book by its cover — or a grower by the tattoos covering his arms.

Garvey repeatedly challenges the status quo to push greenhouses toward new technologies and growing methods. Since joining Dallas Johnson Greenhouses in Council Bluffs, Iowa as head grower four years ago, Garvey has implemented automation equipment and other improvements to improve quality and efficiency — resulting in expansion as the company continues to grow.

“My No. 1 priority is that we have top-quality plant material leaving our building,” Garvey says. “There’s a lot of plant material in the market that’s just okay, so I stress that we don’t want okay — we want top-quality.”

Evolving to improve

Garvey started working in the garden at a young age, alongside his grandmother. He pursued plants as he grew up — working at a greenhouse during high school, and then earning a horticulture degree from South Dakota State University.

After college, Garvey worked at a greenhouse for about a year, and then went to work at an independent garden center as head grower. The garden center didn’t even grow any of its own plant material when Garvey first joined, but by the time he left 15 years later, they were growing all of their annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees.

“Nobody taught me how to grow plants, so those first couple years, I just dabbled,” Garvey says. “Every year I got better, and every year I refined my approach using technology and chemicals.”

This hands-on experience taught Garvey that growers and greenhouses had to evolve to improve. When hand-watering and spraying several acres became too time-consuming, for example, he helped the garden center adopt automated watering booms for greater efficiency.

Embracing automation

When Dallas Johnson Greenhouses recruited Garvey four years ago, he was relieved to see that they already had booms and flood floors. But he saw opportunities to utilize these tools more effectively.

“A lot of people have technology, but they don’t use it when they should, or they use it when they shouldn’t, or they don’t use it properly,” Garvey says. “A lot of young growers don’t know what it’s like to not have technology. They don’t know how to water properly with a garden hose, so I teach them: ‘This is how you water properly with a hose, and this is how we use technology to make our day easier and more uniform.’”

By giving newer growers a glimpse into the once-manual processes that he learned the hard way, Garvey reminds his team not to take technology for granted. He says automation can make growers more efficient, but it shouldn’t replace the hands-on approach of monitoring crops the old-fashioned way.

“Someday, we’ll be able to control the booms from our phones, but I’m not going to give [my growers] that option,” he says. “If you don’t walk your crops, you don’t know what to [program the automation equipment] to do.”

The last thing Garvey wants is a team full of “recipe growers” who just push buttons to follow production schedules, instead of tuning into the tiny adjustments that plants need as conditions change.

“A recipe grower says, ‘I did this last year at this time, so I’m going to do it this year,’” he says. “Just because you did something last year doesn’t mean you necessarily need to do it this year. You’ve got to read the weather, read your customers and read the plants.”

For example, when Dallas Johnson switched soils last November and started using HydraFiber, there was no recipe to follow. Garvey and his team had to closely monitor how the new growing material held moisture and adjust their inputs and application rates to maintain high quality.

Growing more efficiently

Over the past two years, Dallas Johnson has added almost 17 acres — bringing the total to nearly 85 acres of covered production space spanning two locations. Garvey tries to walk (or bike) all of it once or twice a week while checking in with his team of 30 growers.

As Dallas Johnson has grown, Garvey has helped implement more automation technology to streamline production. About three years ago, the company installed an Echo Veyor conveyor shipping system to move plants from the greenhouse to the loading dock more efficiently.

“We used to struggle to get 30 semi-loads of product out a day, and it would take eight to 10 people nearly 12 hours,” he says. “Now with this Echo Veyor system, we can do 50-plus semis; we actually had a 74-semi day this year — with the same amount of people working a 10-hour day.”

This year, Dallas Johnson also added an automated sticking machine. “This takes our unrooted cuttings and sticks them for us,” Garvey says. “We can do about 11,000 of them an hour, so it will replace about 11 people, but the consistency is the same every time.”

As labor challenges escalate across the industry, Garvey says automation will be essential for growth and quality improvements.

“We can always do better,” he says. “We can always be more sustainable or more profitable, and that’s how I want to evolve.”

Brooke is a freelance writer living in Cleveland.

Editor’s note: We recently spoke to Garvey about Dallas Johnson Greenhouses’ More Profitable Sustainability (MPS)-ABC certification. Learn more at bit.ly/dallas-johnson-mps