Inside the Dual Leadership Structure at Great Lakes Landscape Design, with Desiree Bouchard & Ellen Moore

In this episode, Jeffrey Scott sits down with Desiree Bouchard, Integrator and General Manager, and Ellen Moore, Director of Continuous Improvement — both from Great Lakes Landscape Design in the Detroit, Michigan area. These two have built one of the most intentional leadership structures in the green industry. Des shares how she rose through the ranks over 13 years, from office support to becoming the obvious choice for integrator when the company adopted EOS. Ellen brings an unconventional background — from nuclear power to an MBA to landscape — and now serves as what she calls “the integrator’s integrator,” diving deep into process fixes so Des can focus on running the company. Together, they break down the real work of operational leadership: building meaningful KPIs, implementing daily huddles that actually stick, standardizing sales estimating in LMN, and using tools like the Five Why’s and tabletop customer journey exercises to eliminate process breakdowns for good. They’re honest about what change management actually requires — patience, persistence, buy-in strategy, and the courage to go through the hard stuff, not around it. If you’re a landscape business owner, integrator, or anyone trying to scale with better systems and a stronger culture, this one is packed with actionable insight straight from the field. 🌱 Great Lakes Landscape Design will be co-hosting the Summer Growth Summit — August 18–20th! Des and Ellen will both be speaking, and you won’t want to miss it. 👉 Grab your spot here — Super early bird discount ends May 8 – https://jeffreyscott.biz/summer-growth-summit-26/ Key Takeaways: The “integrator’s integrator” model works. Hiring a Director of Continuous Improvement frees the integrator to focus on operations instead of constant fire-fighting. Daily huddles create instant alignment. A 10–15 minute morning check-in with live metrics gives teams a structured moment to flag issues before they become bigger problems. Track metrics that actually move the needle. Know what numbers to watch daily, weekly, and monthly — not just what’s easy to pull. Standardize your sales estimating process. Inconsistent, individual-driven estimating costs you money. Shared templates and systems keep the whole team on the same page. Announcing a change ≠ implementing one. Real adoption requires training, follow-up, and patience. Most leaders move on too fast. Walk the customer’s journey end-to-end. A simple tabletop exercise — tracing data from first call to final install — exposes exactly where your process breaks down. Scheduling belongs at the leadership level. It takes senior authority to push both sales and production. Don’t delegate it too low. Culture and systems have to grow together. Prep your team before the change arrives — buy-in is built before the rollout, not during it. Bring your whole team to industry events. When everyone hears the same message, going home and implementing it becomes a whole lot easier. Every level of leadership needs a strong second-in-command. It’s not just for owners — it multiplies impact all the way down the org chart. The post Inside the Dual Leadership Structure at Great Lakes Landscape Design, with Desiree Bouchard & Ellen Moore appeared first on Jeffrey Scott.