2.01.05

It’s in your hands

It’s bold, it’s beautiful, it’s precious and like good jewelry it needs to be displayed in public. And just like the unapproachable red carpet bling, it is envied by many and often parleyed into bigger and better things. I speak, of course, of the newly published industry survey from Maryland titled, The Maryland Horticulture Industry, A Statistical Profile and Economic Survey 2003.
No doubt you will already have been introduced to some of the survey details in this issue of The Mid-Atlantic Grower. Editor Carol Kinsley is very keen to place the important stuff at the front of her publications. So, the dribble in this article won’t repeat the details of the survey or reveal the economic impact of our industry in Maryland. The dribble in this article is reserved for more important thoughts about what you should be doing with this survey.
Don’t be distracted by the graphs, or the charts, or the numbers or words like “statistical” or “profile”. Think of this survey publication as a beautiful woman (or man). Picture yourself getting to know this dream person a little better. Think about how much better and younger and more alive you look when the two of you are together.
Soon, it won’t be enough just being together. You will need to be seen together by other people, important people, people who aren’t easily impressed. The two of you will need to subtly strut and parade your good looking selves among your peers, your neighbors, your elected officials and even your family. These people will begin daydreaming about how much better and younger and more alive they will look being seen with you. And the next thing you know, these other people, your new best friends, can’t live without you. They need to be seen with you so that they can brag to their friends about how much they help you and you depend on them. They’ll even let you borrow stuff without ever expecting the stuff back.
This is the power of the survey! That is to say, this is the power of the survey in the right hands. In the right hands, your hands, the survey data can be parlayed into creating better businesses, less restrictive zoning, manageable regulations, better labor sources, access to better resources, and credibility in the eyes of your lenders, your neighbors, your friends, your families and maybe even your spouse.
So, get closer to your survey, speak of its attributes often and in mixed company. Let the decision makers see you together so they’ll remember you and want to take good care of you. Treat yourself to the red carpet – it is worth the trip.