B
How Ground Level Started
Ground Level started with a simple idea.
The best lessons I've learned about leadership didn't come from a boardroom.
They came from the field.
I started cutting lawns when I was twelve years old and have spent most of my life working alongside, leading, and learning from people who get their hands dirty for a living.
Over the years my titles changed and my responsibilities grew, but I never forgot where I came from.
After nearly forty years in the field, I wanted to create a place to share those lessons.
The mistakes. The wins. The people who shaped me. The leadership moments that rarely make it into a textbook or a training seminar.
But Ground Level is also about something I've become more passionate about as the years have gone by.
Helping people understand not only how to do the work, but why their work matters.
Because the person closest to the work is often the person closest to the client.
They're the person a client sees pulling into the property in the morning. The person they stop to ask a question. The person who notices something before it becomes a problem.
And they're often the person whose attention to detail, attitude and pride in the work shapes how that client feels about the entire company.
We can measure production.
We can measure revenue.
We can measure margins and growth.
But somewhere behind all those numbers is a person deciding whether they trust us enough to call us again.
And very often, that decision is influenced by the people doing the work.
I want those people to understand just how much they matter.
Not only to the company.
To the client.
To the people working beside them.
And to the reputation we're all building together.
That's part of why I started Ground Level: The Crew Connection with one subscriber.
Me.
And starting it meant stepping outside my comfort zone.
Putting my thoughts out there wasn't something that came naturally to me. Neither did putting myself on video, building a website, or believing that some of the things I've learned over the years might be worth sharing.
But I'm glad I did.
Because every time I've stepped outside my comfort zone and realized I was okay on the other side, it has made the next step a little easier.
What started as a weekly LinkedIn newsletter has opened doors I never expected.
New conversations. New relationships. New ideas.
And maybe most importantly, it has challenged me to keep growing too.
Ground Level started as a place to share what I've learned.
Along the way, I've realized I'm still learning.
And maybe that's exactly how it should be.
Leadership doesn't start in the boardroom.
It starts at the tailgate.
WHAT IS GROUND LEVEL
Ground Level is about real leadership, built from the boots up.
It's a place for honest conversations about people, leadership, culture, business, growth and the client experience, and the lessons learned from those closest to the work.
Built on the belief that leadership isn't defined by a title or an office, Ground Level is for anyone who leads people at any level, from the crew to the boardroom.
Because business is ultimately about people.
The people doing the work.
The people leading the work.
The people trusting us to do the work.
We need all of them.
And maybe we've spent too much time treating their experiences like separate conversations.
We work incredibly hard to become the company our customers want to keep choosing.
What if we put the same intention into becoming the company our best people want to keep choosing too?
Not because they don't have other choices.
Because they do.
And they keep choosing us.
When we develop people, give them clear standards, help them understand why their work matters, give them opportunities to grow and trust them with real responsibility, they become better equipped to create value for the customer.
And that's where the two experiences meet.
The employee experience and the client experience aren't separate worlds.
They meet at the point where the work gets done.
Take care of the people.
Take care of the client.
Build relationships worth protecting.
That's how people grow.
That's how businesses grow.
And that's how we build something incredibly difficult to compete with.
The people are not the means to the mission.
They are the mission.
Stay grounded. 🤙
THE CREW CONNECTION
Real leadership. Real stories.
From the people closest to the work.
FROM THE ground
Podcast + Video
Real leadership. Real conversations. No corporate polish.
Ground Level is going beyond the written word.
We're developing From the Ground, a podcast and video platform built around real conversations about leadership, people, culture, business, growth, and the lessons learned from those closest to the work.
Coming soon.