Busy September 28, 2016

Busy busy busy.

Do you ever have a free moment just to stop and ‘smell the roses’…?…

A friend of mine contacted me recently to say ‘Mikey…long time no see? When can we get out and have a beer …?’ I looked in my diary and the first free night I had was in December?!

A client had been trying to ‘do lunch’ with me for weeks and neither of us can seem to make it happen? Diary conflicts just can’t seem to make it work …so 2017 has been talked about.

Appointments, presentations, board meetings, steering group meetings, management figures, yearend planning, blah blah blah…

(Note – My wife has been trying to have s*x with me for months but I just can’t seem to… fit it in – but this is a different problem…)

So what’s going on? Is it just me being busy or is it a global epidemic of everyone trying to appear important? Personally I’ve been trying to get my diary in order – trying to stop travelling all over the country piling the miles on the car and piling the miles on poor old ME….

I used to have one car and averaged about 30K miles per year – I now have three cars and have only just realised …that if you add up the mileage on all three then I’m doing more like 40K …even though I’m supposed to be doing ‘less traveling’…

Luckily I’m young, fit, slim, healthy and eat all the right things* …otherwise I could be in for some problems.

(* note: I’m also in denial)

Actually it’s lucky that my car pretty much drives itself – in fact – maybe a driverless car would be the answer? I could catch up on all my e-mails, liaise with the team via Skype whilst doing 70mph to my next appointment??

Thinking about my earlier comment – stopping to smell the roses – don’t think I know what roses smell like?

Maybe it’s about time I found out??

Mike C

Busy September 28, 2016

Busy busy busy.

Do you ever have a free moment just to stop and ‘smell the roses’…?…

A friend of mine contacted me recently to say ‘Mikey…long time no see? When can we get out and have a beer …?’ I looked in my diary and the first free night I had was in December?!

A client had been trying to ‘do lunch’ with me for weeks and neither of us can seem to make it happen? Diary conflicts just can’t seem to make it work …so 2017 has been talked about.

Appointments, presentations, board meetings, steering group meetings, management figures, yearend planning, blah blah blah…

(Note – My wife has been trying to have s*x with me for months but I just can’t seem to… fit it in – but this is a different problem…)

So what’s going on? Is it just me being busy or is it a global epidemic of everyone trying to appear important? Personally I’ve been trying to get my diary in order – trying to stop travelling all over the country piling the miles on the car and piling the miles on poor old ME….

I used to have one car and averaged about 30K miles per year – I now have three cars and have only just realised …that if you add up the mileage on all three then I’m doing more like 40K …even though I’m supposed to be doing ‘less traveling’…

Luckily I’m young, fit, slim, healthy and eat all the right things* …otherwise I could be in for some problems.

(* note: I’m also in denial)

Actually it’s lucky that my car pretty much drives itself – in fact – maybe a driverless car would be the answer? I could catch up on all my e-mails, liaise with the team via Skype whilst doing 70mph to my next appointment??

Thinking about my earlier comment – stopping to smell the roses – don’t think I know what roses smell like?

Maybe it’s about time I found out??

Mike C

Aims and ambitions…. September 21, 2016

Somebody far richer and cleverer than me asked me the other day… ‘what are your aims and ambitions??’…and I’ve been struggling with it ever since. I’m struggling mainly because I’m thinking that maybe because I don’t think of these type of questions – this could be the reason that I not a millionaire yet?

Maybe instead of getting up everyday and thinking …’thank god I’m still alive’…I should actually be thinking…. ‘hmmmm what are my aims for today… and how can I realise my ambitions?’

Maybe instead of thinking …’phew, made it through another week’ ….I should be thinking a little longer term?

What could I achieve this month, this quarter, this year….this decade…what could I do with my life!’

So you will be seeing a new Mike Clough in the coming weeks and months. No longer the shallow, materialistic, loud mouthed oaf …but a more dignified thoughtful man… perhaps influenced by zen and a little Buddhism. ‘Karma’ shall be my new key word – I will no longer feel the need to cause my enemies pain or to take umbrage against those that wrong me – for I shall be calm in the knowledge that karma will sort these type of problems for me.

As for my aims and ambitions – I think I’ve achieved most of what I set out to do thirty odd years ago when I first set up in business. I’ve bought the house, had the cars, paid for my kids education and generally done pretty much everything I’ve wanted to do. I’ve made a bit of a difference in the world and hopefully raised the profile of the invasive weed industry.

On the downside – I haven’t had many holidays and that’s a bit of a bugbear with Mrs C – but in my defense I’ve never been that bothered about sitting on a beach or wandering around churches and relics in foreign lands…I’d rather be at work.

Things left to do …?

Well maybe some sort of final flurry of activity would be nice? Maybe a book deal ….and a short but successful series on the BBC? Maybe a blog that goes viral….

I think maybe a dignified slowing down towards the end of my working life would be nice? Maybe four days a week, then three, then two, then just an occasional speaking engagement….?

Maybe seeing the kids established and secure – that’s something I could aim to resolve in the next five or six years.

So the next time somebody asks me what my ‘aims and ambitions’ are I can actually come up with an answer – and sound like I’ve been working to some great master-plan – and not just getting up each day and being surprised to still be here.

 

Mike C

Feeling Guilty? September 21, 2016

When I qualified as a landscape architect, one of the first jobs that I had was tidying up small areas of waste ground in Oldham. These areas were pretty straight forward in that anything you did would be an improvement – full of old prams, shopping trolleys and any other discarded rubbish that couldn’t find a home.

So as the office junior, I was allowed pretty much free reign in what I did – planting of trees and shrubs with associated seating areas was the order of the day. The work was done by the ‘job creation’ teams – basically this was taking unemployed kids and teaching them a skill whilst improving the local area…a ‘win win’ scenario.

The next job I had was working on the Stoke garden festival – again pretty much a ‘win win’ scenario – taking a god forsaken piece of land which nobody would ever do anything with …and create a ‘garden for the people’ – something that could be used by generations to come. The site had been an old steel works and also suffered badly at the hands of the pottery industry – slurry pits, slag heaps – you name it, this site had a problem….

This was transformed over a period of three years into parkland with a network of paths and planting with water features and sculpture – something that we could all be proud of.

However …in the longer term, the site did begin to nibble away at my conscience. The budget was in the millions – all funded from the public purse – yet huge plots of the ….’Garden for the People’ was being sold off for development??? Duuuuuh this wasn’t the reason for the Garden Festival movement??? Very little of the Garden now remains – with the bulk of the site taken up by business and housing units.

Following the job at the Garden Festival, I went to work for a playground company who sold their designs throughout the UK. Great company to work for, great learning experience and a few more valuable lessons in life. The mark up on the equipment sold was huge – made from locally sourced timber the ‘equipment’ was basic to say the least.

Foreign imported kit was machined and treated to the highest of standards with the highest of health and safety ratings that could be attained. The company I worked for milled a few posts bolted them together and called it ‘Tarzans adventure’ – if the bolts came loose they tightened them up – job done.

The parting of the ways came with this company when I worked with them to provide a play area for severely disabled children. The parents raised the funds with hours and hours of raffles/barbecues/bingo – they spent years getting a grand total of 30 thousand pounds together to create something special for their children.

But, did the company I worked for give them any discount – NO …did they get anything extra – NO ….I was told that this was… ‘how business works’ ….and that we weren’t  …’a charity’….

Sorry – couldn’t work there any more….200% mark up on equipment …maybe could have given a little of the margin to help create something special that they could have used as PR??

After this, I started my own practice, but the guilt at what I do just didn’t go away. I worked as a Landscape Architect – but – kept finding myself working on beautiful tree covered green field sites ….then turning them into housing estates….

I’m not stupid – and I know that if it wasn’t me doing these type of projects – then somebody else would be. I also know that as a nation – we have a housing shortage and that various people far cleverer than me have given planning permission for these places to be developed – but it still left me feeling that I was somehow party to destroying the very countryside that I loved.

Identifying the issues with invasive non-native plants was a real eye opener for me – and perhaps something I could do to benefit the environment – with no guilty feelings – I would be saving native vegetation and destroying the nasty ‘alien’ invaders.

We generally arrive on brownfield sites that are lying dormant – having passed their useful period generally about a hundred or so years ago when a lot of these sites were the scene of frantic industrial goings on – now left like dinosaurs to rot away. They have become overrun with every invasive species known to man and are in a pretty poor state.

The majority of the time I do come away with a feeling that we have improved the situation – but just recently one or two guilty feelings have begun to re-appear? Are these sites actually in such a ‘poor state’ or are they actually the beginnings of a ‘new landscape’…??

Plants and animals tend to thrive when left alone – and many of these sites have literally been locked and barred to prevent people from trespassing. So what we actually have here are biological and ecological marvels… where man has done nothing to stop and prevent the ‘new landscape’ from developing.

Now I’m not saying that these types of sites are a return to native ecology – they aren’t…

What I am saying is that maybe we should stop and hesitate a bit before we blaze in with chemicals and destroy what’s been developing untouched for years. Maybe these sites do have something to offer…?

It also strikes me with hind sight – that a lot of the ‘greenfield’ sites that we fight so hard to preserve are actually pretty barren pieces of land? Farmed to within an inch of their lives for years – many of our fields hold very little in the way of insect and plant life. Many of our hedgerows have disappeared altogether – so actually whilst these areas may be classed a ‘greenfield’ they actually have very little to offer in terms of bio -diversity.

OR…am I just a sucker for feeling guilty about everything I do…??

I blame my parents.

 

Mike C

Manchester United September 20, 2016

Sat watching the football on a Saturday afternoon imagining myself as one of the two managers – running my business whilst organising things from the sidelines. But am I the quiet calm manager… or the screaming madman gesticulating wildly as the team ignores my demands??

It’s amazing seeing the different managerial styles – both successful yet completely different.

I would like to think I’m pretty calm – it’s a rare thing for me to lose my temper – and as I have been known to say…’It’s ages since I hit anybody…’

I am older and calmer than I was on the famous occasion that I decked one of the team, in fact I doubt that any of the current crop of staff have even seen me get angry – let alone lose my rag. Maybe I’ve even ‘grown up…? Maybe I’m realising that encouraging the team rather than berating them works better – the old carrot vs stick analogy…?

At the end of the day we are at work, far more than we are ‘at leisure’ and the best way to keep everyone happy is to try and create an atmosphere where everybody works together and supports each other.

I’ve learnt over the years that whilst maverick, loner types can have their uses – the people you want around you at work, are the cheerful, hardworking, team players.

We currently have a crop of very able ‘players’ on the JKSL ‘home” team; from the centre forward and attack team of Alex, Natalie, Stuart and Jonathan ably supported in midfield by Chris and Rob with the defence providing a solid support from Suzanne, Holly, Jamie and Ruth with our two goalkeepers Toni and Ann (ok that’s cheating …)

The ‘away’ players (site teams) are also well represented with Phil captaining the ‘boys’ – Ric, Pete hitting the headlines as the top scorers …

All in all a very capable teams, supported by an older, wiser manager.

So nothing like Manchester United then?

 

Mike C

What Actually are Invasive Species? September 20, 2016

I was recently involved in an exchange on twitter where my understanding of the term “invasive species” was questioned, so I thought I would look into other points of view and share a little information.

In many places (particularly South Africa and Australia), “invasive species” is a term used exclusively to identify non-native species which cause damage to the environment, agriculture, infrastructure or health.

Recently in the UK, the code of practice for invasive species formerly known as “the Invasive Non-Native Species Code” (INNS Code) – has changed its name to the Invasives Code, showing that the terms “invasive species” and “invasive non-native species” are interchangeable to some degree in this country too.

Here’s a quick glossary that has served me well in the circles that I move in, (focussing on the treatment and eradication of both native and non-native plant species), which I find communicates most effectively.

A weed – is any plant growing where you don’t want it to.

An invasive species – is any species (plant, animal or fungus) which is invasive – that is: it spreads to a degree which causes damage to the environment, infrastructure or health.

A non-native species (or “introduced” or “alien” species) – is any species which has been introduced into an environment which is not its original range.

On this basis, the terms “invasive non-native species” and “invasive alien species” should be easily understood. The debate arises when we ask whether native species can also be invasive.

Wikipedia defines invasive species as exclusively non-native – although there is some debate among contributors about this.

Various UK sources including the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat, the Wildlife Trust and Plantlife UK, hold that native species can become invasive too. This is the terminology which I use but I am happy to accept the term “invasive” if someone uses it to refer exclusively to non-native species.

So We’ve Got That Sorted, Then?

The controversy doesn’t end there, though. Even if we agree on exactly what invasive behaviour looks like, and how to identify it, there are other questions which many people overlook.

Firstly: are non-native species only those spread by human activity?

It is possible that the ash dieback fungus migrated to the GB mainland on the wind or via other non-human activity like migratory birds. However, this is being treated by the UK as another invasive non-native species.

Another major question is “in what timescale” – because of course, many species are “non-native” in the sense that they have only been here for a limited time, having spread from another geographic location.

Some species of antelope, lemming and wolverine wouldn’t be widely considered as “native” to the British Isles, despite their presence here as recently as a few thousand years ago. Many people would say the same of the wolves, bears and beavers which were eradicated from the UK through human activity over the past thousand years or so.

And on the other hand, most people would consider rabbits to be native to the UK, although they were initially brought to these islands by the Romans only a few thousand years ago. In fact, rabbits may not have established wild populations until as recently as the 13th century. In 2010, rabbits were named by CABI as Britain’s most costly invasive species .

The UK government doesn’t always make the issue clearer, with often curious and sometimes contradictory positions about certain species made extinct in recorded history, such as wolves, lynx and Eurasian beavers – with some bodies overtly taking the position that these species are no longer native and should be eradicated, while other arms of government are explicitly consulting on the role of managed rewilding in improving the UK environment…

One definition for a non-native species is: anything that has been introduced ‘since the last ice age’ (or more specifically since the formation of the English Channel through rising sea levels (approximately 10-12,000 years ago).

Another definition, which applies only to plants which have become established in their non-native range, has the specific name ‘neophytes’, and covers any species introduced after 1492; non-native species introduced before 1492 would be known as ‘archeophytes’ – a definition which would include the cute little bunny wabbits, if it could be applied to animals too.

But Why Does It Matter?

While we can all quite easily move beyond differing interpretations of words like potato and tomato (or at least agree to disagree), the key point which shouldn’t be overlooked is that native species can cause damage by displaying the same sorts of behaviour as invasive non-native species.

Despite a bill estimated at £1.7bn or more, and with Japanese knotweed alone costing the UK economy an estimated £166m, the UK’s problems with invasive non-native species are less pronounced than countries like Australia and New Zealand. UK agriculture is arguably under greater pressure from native plant species than non-native ones.

Even long-established native species can become an environmental problem when man causes changes to the environment. This can be seen in particularly vivid examples across Vietnam, after the massive deforestation caused by Operation Ranchhand during the Vietnam War was followed by the colonisation of formerly dense broadleaf woodland by species of grass and bamboo which are very difficult to displace. These areas may never return to their former, more biodiverse state without human intervention.

Less visible but more economically-damaging problems can be seen in UK agriculture, where managed agricultural land is subject to a variety of native diseases and pests (those darn bunnies are back!) as well as invasive plants which can cause harm to cropland, pasture and grazing animals.

Admittedly, agricultural land could be called an “unnatural” environment, low in biodiversity and often tending towards a monoculture. It is also heavily reliant on human intervention of one form or another to keep it in its desired state. Nevertheless, there can be no disagreement that agriculture is essential for human civilisation, and that this relatively new but hugely valuable “environment” needs to be protected as well as carefully managed.

The Weeds Act 1959 (along with the Noxious Weeds (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 and the Ragwort Control Act 2003) lists a number of plants which can cause damage to agricultural environments in the UK: broad-leaved dock, curled dock, creeping thistle, spear thistle and ragwort. It gives various powers to official bodies to order the control of these species, and in doing so, UK law acknowledges the damage that these native plants can cause.

What’s more, UK farmers battle bracken , nettles and a variety of other native species in the course of managing their land – especially pasture and some of these species can become invasive due to factors like nutrient run-off or the removal of previously-existing ecosystems in areas like sheep pasture where broadleaf forest has been replaced by virgin grassland.

So even if you don’t agree that this behaviour of colonising areas at the expense of other species is “invasive”, or if you steadfastly insist that only non-native species can be considered “invasive”, my point is that there are native species in the British Isles and other places around the world which can displace other species and cause damage to a variety of valuable environments.

An INNSA member will be able to advise you on invasive species, whether native or non-native – and the INNSA Member Search allows you to search for specialists based on the species that you need help with.

Chris Oliver
Operations Manager

Trends September 14, 2016

Every once in a while, we get a ‘trend’ – something that just keeps recurring again and again.

Currently it’s price – with every job we look at…lacking the funds to do the work required.

We have a pretty accurate pricing structure at JKSL, we know what every element of a project will cost and we know what money we need to charge to do the work, and make a profit. It appears however that most of the bigger main contractors don’t have this ability.

They say things like… ‘we’ve gone in sharp’ or ‘we’ve been battered on price’…. what this actually means is – they haven’t got enough money in a project to actually do the work. They then rely on screwing every subbie on the job so that they can complete the project.

We put a price in of say £42,500.00 but the main contractor says we’ve only got £30,000.00 in the budget.

Now whichever way you sharpen your pencil this means one of two options;

  1. You make no money whatsoever
  2. You don’t do the job properly

In a world where everything is run by the Health and Safety book why is it we are constantly being asked to cut margins and inevitably cut corners? We are all encouraged to have every new regulatory acronym – and every new piece of PPE – which all costs money ….and which I fully support.

But how can we also be expected to be doing projects at lower and lower prices?

I’ve always lived by the premise… ‘you get what you pay for’ ..

It’s impossible to ask for higher and higher training standards, more and more paperwork and better guaranties – and expect this for less money.

Perhaps it’s down to people not understanding what it is we do when removing Japanese knotweed?

To be clear – what we do when removing Japanese knotweed is to …remove… the Japanese knotweed.

One way of doing this for less money is to remove less Japanese knotweed…

We know what the cheapest landfill costs are, we know what screening costs are, and we know what burial costs are. Nobody is getting you a cheaper cost by knowing more than we know at JKSL  – sorry we’ve been doing this a long time and we know everything there is to know ….

So – Mr Client – how do you want this played out?

Do you want us to work for nothing – or do you want us to take less than the requisite amount of Japanese knotweed off site.

Well I’m afraid that JKSL won’t do either of these options.

We do it properly, we make a profit margin – then we go home.

Or we don’t get out of bed at all.

 

Mike C

Workaholic September 7, 2016

Hello my name is Mike Clough and I’m a workaholic.

I’m thinking maybe I need to I join some sort of group therapy sessions; I just can’t stop myself.

Don’t get me wrong – I do take time off – I even get time away from the office… but the truth is, unless you turn off all mobile devices… then you are just working 24/7.

Other people seem to manage to have a break but I just fail miserably.

My accountant takes months at a time off.

My brother only works 3 days a week.

My team at JKSL all have their set holiday allowance every year

My next door neighbour (a teacher) has weeks and weeks off –

My barber/mechanic/plumber* (*insert anything here) has two weeks off every summer and the same during winter

Me – well…. I book two weeks off – but here I am on the Monday of the second week I’m supposed to be off and I’m sat in meetings, looking at cash flow and organising the site teams.

The stupid thing about this situation is that I have somebody that does cash flow, and I have somebody that deals with site works….so in fact all I am doing is sticking my oar in on things that are running quite smoothly without me…

I blame the i-phone and the i-pad and the way we all programmed to answer questions quicker with instant responses required to ensure clients are not upset by any delays to their requirements.

I also suspect that I am a control freak.

I actually get physically sick if my phone doesn’t have reception. I shake and sweat and get into a complete panic until the little bar thingy on the phone comes back to life ….aaaah ….phew….normality has resumed….

I’m not exactly sure what it is I’m scared of? Maybe losing a job, missing an opportunity?? Not sure…?? I think part of me thinks that unless I’m am fully concentrating on holding the business together then for some reason it will all just fall apart? If a relax then all will just flop on to the floor like some wet fish…

A part of me also sees my role as that of the ‘plate spinner’ – constantly giving each plate a little ‘twiddle’ to keep things moving…in my mind imagining that without my input…. all the plates will fall…

What is the answer to this dilemma? I’m not sure? Maybe taking a little time out each day and turning everything off? Maybe not looking at my e-mails after 6 o clock at night (OK make that 7)…

I’m pretty sure if I took a month off nothing would happen – in fact probably nobody would notice – maybe I should start small…aim to do a day without mobile or i-pad …?

Watch this space.

 

Mike C