Fullerton Unfiltered – Episode 938: Systems, Efficiency, and Profit: One Year of Leanscaper with Tommy Cole

Date: March 11, 2026
Host: Brian Fullerton
Guest: Tommy Cole, Leanscaper

Episode Overview

This episode marks the one-year anniversary of Leanscaper, an operations-driven organization and community aiming to revolutionize efficiency and profitability in the landscaping industry. Brian Fullerton and Tommy Cole discuss how Leanscaper empowers businesses—especially those on the owner-operator to multimillion-dollar company journey—to systematize their processes, eliminate profit-sapping inefficiencies, and leverage AI-driven technology. Tommy shares both industry wisdom and his personal experience scaling a landscaping company from $4M to $30M, offering practical insights for listeners at all stages.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Scene & Energy at Leanscaper Event

• Both Brian and Tommy report live from a vibrant Leanscaper conference in sunny Cape Coral, Florida, highlighting the boost in energy, collaboration, and optimism among landscaping business owners.
  • “There's an energy here. I’m just feeding off of adrenaline rush... it’s just my favorite, favorite week.” — Tommy Cole [08:36]

The Purpose of Leanscaper & Operations-Centric Mindset

• Leanscaper’s Mission: To build a better landscaping industry from the inside, by listening to pain points from business owners and systematically solving them.
• Operations as the Heartbeat: Operations is the “make-or-break” segment of business—the hardest, but most vital.
  • “This industry deserves much better... we deserve to pay our teams better, have the best processes, technology, relationships. That’s what we do at Leanscaper—build it for you guys.” — Tommy Cole [05:06]
• Community-driven approach: Leanscaper isn't top-down—solutions are created by first asking contractors and field workers, “What five pain points do you stress about most at night?”

Tommy Cole’s Background & Operational Experience

• 5 years as a landscape architect, experience in civil construction and landscape operations, and years of industry consulting.
• Scaled a Dallas landscaping company from $4M to $30M, rising from Project Manager to VP of Operations.
  • “My first job as employee number one was: go install a $1.5M estate and don't f*** it up.” — Tommy Cole [09:54]
• Emphasized the transformative impact of building and actually using SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for everything.

Why Operations Is So Challenging for Landscape Companies

• Owners get stuck as owner-operators, unable to scale because “it’s all in my head.”
• The danger of hiring someone to “just figure it out” with no handoff, systems, or defined expectations.
• Common pitfalls:
  • Lack of standardized procedures
  • Constant communication breakdowns and “leakage” (losing profit through inefficiencies, lost tools/materials, or rework)

The Cost of Inefficiency & Touching Dirt Twice

• In landscaping, profit "leaks" often occur through unnecessary steps—handling materials multiple times, poorly coordinated logistics, or repeated Home Depot trips.
  • “Leakage, it’s like...dollar bills flying out of the back pocket for sure.” — Tommy Cole [13:59]
  • “Don't touch dirt twice—you lose money for sure.” — Tommy Cole [09:24]; example: moving topsoil multiple times destroys razor-thin margins.
• Real-world examples: handling mulch, plants, and materials multiple times instead of direct-to-site efficiency.

Lean Principles Applied to Landscaping

• Lean = Eliminating Waste. Up to 40% of a landscape company’s activity is unnecessary waste.
  • “40% of our business is waste... Our industry is very inefficient.” — Tommy Cole [16:45]
• Benchmark: Other trades have efficient systems—fewer steps, less double-handling, and real-time invoicing.
• The importance of “flawless execution” (Tommy references the book by that name): Always be prepared with Plans A, B, and C for the crew, like a fighter pilot.
  • Take 30 minutes to plan for contingencies, reduce on-the-fly decision-making and scrambling.
• Leanscaper as the answer: a centralized, AI-powered operating system to capture and coordinate these processes.

Real-World Applications & Technology

• Leanscaper’s AI-powered platform (including the new “Lana” AI) allows voice/text/photo capture in the field, automates incident reporting, assigns follow-up, and eliminates communication bottlenecks.
  • “Let’s say I run over a sprinkler head—I can immediately take a picture, tell Lana, and it goes on the lean board. Instantly, it notifies a tech to go repair it.” — Tommy Cole [19:43]
• Organizational communication: 25% of all company time is spent “re-communicating” (per Mark Wecroft).
  • “Where do I spend a lot of my time? Re-communicating. Right. And that's because certain things aren’t explicitly written out, expressed, trained, etc.” — Brian Fullerton [21:24]
• The AI tracks “wins and wants” daily for visibility and follow-up—by capturing every conversation and operational touchpoint, nothing gets lost.

Home & Life Analogies to Lean Thinking

• Lean mindset doesn’t stop at work—applies at home (e.g., how you unload the dishwasher or plan freezer logistics at Sam’s Club).
  • “My wife’s like, you’re always thinking of a better way to do things!” — Tommy Cole [23:36]
• Preparedness and pre-planning for every day or project is essential—if you’re defining the plan for your crew in the morning, you’ve already lost.
  • “If you’re lining out the crew in the morning, you’ve lost.” — Tommy Cole [25:11]

Practical Lean Wins — Fuel Delivery, Material Handling, and More

• Example: Instituting twice-weekly fuel truck deliveries, eliminating all roadside gas-shack stops and the need for fuel cards.
  • Saved thousands monthly and gained traceability.
• Modern analog: Brian shares his move to bolt-on undercarriage fuel tanks to avoid mid-day fuel stops—these small investments eliminate waste and dramatically increase daily production.
• Every inefficiency—like multiple fuels stops, lost materials, or “death by a thousand paper cuts”—comes out of profit.

The Power of Immersion & Implementation

• Brian’s testimonial: Immersing himself in Leanscaper’s community and systems over the past year has elevated both his mindset and his bottom line. Implementation, not just knowledge, caused real change.
  • “The growth that we've had at Brian’s Law Maintenance—tangible growth—is 100% directly correlated to what we've learned and implemented from the Leanscaper environment.” — Brian Fullerton [35:12]

The Future of Leanscaper: AI-Driven Growth

• The next year will see the release of more AI-driven agents, starting with inventory management, tracking every material and tool via QR code. Other tools: Crew Huddle (logs and synthesizes daily team meetings for actionable follow-up).
  • “This industry has needed something, and now we have the technology—AI that’s powered by all this, which is the most fascinating thing.” — Tommy Cole [32:34]
• Tommy emphasizes Leanscaper’s dedication to keep building and iterating based on input from contractors in the field.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Leakage, it’s like...dollar bills flying out of the back pocket for sure.” — Tommy Cole [13:59]
• “Don’t touch dirt twice—you lose money for sure.” — Tommy Cole [09:24]
• “If you’re lining out the crew in the morning, you’ve lost.” — Tommy Cole [25:11]
• “The growth that we've had at Brian's Law Maintenance—tangible growth—is 100% directly correlated to what we've learned and implemented from the Leanscaper environment.” — Brian Fullerton [35:12]
• “This event has a special place in my heart. I will 100% look back on it...as the week that I put my flag in the ground that we're going to build a $5, $10 million company.” — Brian Fullerton [04:14]
• “We owe it all back to you guys. The men and women out there that need an operating system that’s helpful for them...the problem is our industry is fragmenting—shiny object syndrome. We take that all into one system.” — Tommy Cole [32:34]

Noteworthy Timestamps

• [04:01] – Leanscaper hits the one-year milestone; reflections on founding event.
• [05:06] – Leanscaper’s vision and the importance of community-powered solutions.
• [09:54] – Tommy’s background: from design, construction, to scaling a $30M company.
• [13:59] – “Leakage” explained as business profit loss by inefficiency.
• [16:45] – “40% of our business is waste”—lean principles for landscaping.
• [19:43] – How the Lana AI system enables cutting-edge, real-time field reporting and accountability.
• [25:11] – “If you’re lining out the crew in the morning, you’ve lost”—operational discipline.
• [28:40] – Success story of lean-minded fuel delivery, material tracking.
• [32:34] – Leanscaper’s next-gen AI releases and commitment to unifying systems for the industry.
• [35:12] – Brian’s testimony: business and mindset transformation after one year of Leanscaper immersion.

Takeaways & Looking Forward

• Operations is the lever for scaling and profit—but it demands systems, not heroics or ad hoc “figuring it out.”
• Lean thinking applies everywhere: eliminate every unnecessary touch, step, or communication.
• Modern technology, especially AI, is finally empowering landscaping companies to capture, act on, and preserve operational intelligence.
• Leanscaper’s mission is uniting fragmented industry tools and voices into a single, actionable nucleus—solving real-world pain points through an evolving platform.
• The biggest ROI comes from not just knowing what to do, but from implementing and scaling systematic, lean methods—a key differentiator between working hard and building a truly profitable company.

Connect with Tommy Cole and Leanscaper

• LinkedIn: Tommy Cole
• Leanscaper.com — Try the community, explore the Lana AI, and follow up for the latest releases

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