A Few Words From Frank Mariani
Several years ago our president Fred Wacker introduced the ISO certification process to Mariani Landscape. In Fred’s past life as the president of Liquid Controls, he and his management team became students of the world-class quality movement and were committed to the pursuit of continuous improvement. The companies that purchased products from Liquid Controls demanded ISO certification, and the Liquid Controls team believed in going above and beyond getting the ISO certification by developing a robust quality system in the company that would pay added dividends, and the desired results followed. Fred believed in this for Mariani, asking our management team to consider using concepts and techniques from the modern quality movement as tools that could assist us with our quest for industry leading quality. We spent some time discussing the pros and cons and came to a consensus that the pursuit of excellence is a nonstop effort. ISO was in fact the perfect vehicle to use as it provides a compliance standard against which we hold ourselves accountable. More important than ISO certification (and we are said to be the first company ever in the landscape industry to receive it) is the relentless effort and determination we put against improving both our client-centered and internal business practices. In a nutshell, it’s all about seeking out better ways to perform the very single thing we do to make our business run. And once we fine tune it, we keep the door open to refine the process again!
At Mariani, being known as relentless is a badge of honor! We know we are very good at what we do, but we also know that we can always get better, and in fact, it’s what keeps every single day fresh and exciting. Many times I have written about our mission statement. I have asked our team to use the mission statement to answer questions about how to react to everyday issues and to help define long-term goals. Our mission statement guides us and keeps us on track to attain the reachable goal of becoming the finest landscape company in the nation! Not the biggest, just the best in residential landscape design, construction, maintenance and garden care. This, my friends, is not for bragging purposes. This is what is necessary to have a working environment where we can celebrate our chosen creative path and pride ourselves as craftsmen. And as we grow and move ahead, we choose to never stall or rest on our accomplishments of today. For the moment we rest on what we did yesterday, the flower has been cut and it will never be as lovely as that day.
World-class quality, the pursuit of continual improvement, LEED and the efforts to be green and sustainable, contributing back to the community, creating and maintaining unique landscapes, creating a business that enables our associates to buy a home, raise a family and prosper—these are just some of the items that our mission statement demands
of our team.
Thank you very much for your business and friendship.
