Evan Swieckowski

Is your current process still effective? Most teams don’t struggle because of effort. They struggle because the process they’re using can’t support the pace, volume, or complexity of the market anymore. Here are 5 signs it’s time to reevaluate and restructure: 1. Work keeps getting “stuck” in the same places: If the same bottleneck shows up week after week, it’s not a people issue — it’s a process issue. 2. You rely on an “All-Star” to hit your targets: When success depends on an individual team member to win, the process isn’t scalable. 3. You’re managing to the exceptions more than the actual workflow: If every day feels like a “workaround,” the system is telling you it’s outdated. 4. New team members struggle to ramp up: A good process is learned intuitively. A bad one requires tribal knowledge and constant hand‑holding. 5. You can’t explain the process in a simple sentence: If it takes a paragraph to describe how work flows, clarity is gone, and so is efficiency. Strong leaders don’t just manage to the current process. They shape it so their teams can win.

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Ever seen a RAWS install in fast forward? 👀📡🔥 The AEM team and I spent Monday in the field installing a new Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) for the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA). Big appreciation to Scott Hatch for being a great partner on the OCFA side, and to Michael Biedebach for being out in the field and getting hands-on with us. These RAWS stations deliver real-time, high-quality fire-weather data that supports wildfire preparedness and operational decision-making across multiple agencies. It’s always rewarding to watch it all come together. Behind the “45 seconds” of video is a lot of coordination, planning, and teamwork. Shoutout to Keith Lombard for continuing to lead and support these fire-weather deployments, and to Tim and Gabe for making the install look easy.

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Real sales performance doesn’t come from volume. It comes from clarity, discipline, and timing. The ones who actually perform. The ones who close deals, build trust, and grow revenue year after year. They move differently. They don’t rely on charisma. They rely on consistency. Here’s how I operate: I get clear on the value before I open my mouth: If I can’t explain what we do in one sentence without sounding like a brochure, I don’t pitch it yet. It’s not about sounding impressive, it’s about being understood. I prospect like it’s a non-negotiable: Because it is. I don’t wait for leads to land in my inbox. I build the pipeline before I need it, not after. Proactive, not reactive. I listen more than I speak: You can’t solve a problem if you never really heard it. People tell you what they need if you stop trying to sound smart long enough to actually listen. I create structure, not chaos: Sales doesn’t need to be unpredictable. I follow a process, and I customize where it counts. The result? I’m never guessing what comes next. I welcome objections: The real conversation starts when someone pushes back. I don’t “check in:” Every outreach has a reason and a point. If I don’t have something to say that moves the conversation forward, I don’t send it. I sharpen skills that don’t live in the sales department: Writing. Psychology. Negotiation. People don’t remember your pitch, they remember how you made them feel, how clearly you communicated, and whether they trusted you. I manage my energy like it’s a revenue source: I don’t chase. I don’t overextend. I stay sharp by staying focused. I create the solution, and the value. I become the resource. Sales isn’t about pressure. It’s about precision. — JH

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Energy markets are heating up! Our latest analysis shows natural gas futures pushing above $4.00/MMBtu for 2026-2027, while forward power curves have jumped 10% in major ISOs since September. What's driving the volatility? Cooler temps, LNG project milestones, and evolving federal policy on grid interconnections. The energy landscape is shifting fast—are you prepared? Read our full market update:

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The water & wastewater industry is busy. Capital projects are moving. Manufacturers are growing. Rep firms are expanding territories. And yet… hiring still feels harder than ever. From my desk, here’s what I’m seeing in 2026: • Strong sales engineers are fielding multiple offers • Municipal experience is increasingly valued over pure industrial • Everyone's looking to hire Field Service experts • Rep management experience is becoming a differentiator • Compensation expectations are shifting upward • Hiring processes that stretch past 30–45 days are losing top talent I’m curious: 👉 What’s been the hardest role for you to fill in water/wastewater right now? 👉 Or, if you’re on the candidate side, what’s making you say “yes” or “no” to opportunities? Would love to compare notes with others in the industry. Hunter Crown, LLC

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Valicor transports and processes diverse wastewater streams that result from the manufacture of industrial and consumer goods. Additionally, Valicor focuses on providing sustainable alternatives for recycling, reuse and conversion to improve environmental outcomes and diminish landfill disposal.  

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Managers and Landscape Companies: We need to talk about the "Low Bid Trap." I sent an email today regarding a community that is about to hire their fourth landscape company since 2024. This represents a growing trend I have seen over the past 18 months. As professionals, we have to do a better job of ensuring "low bid" isn't the primary winning criteria. When we lead with the bottom dollar, everyone loses: The Community loses because their expectations are never met and their asset devalues. Industry loses because it devalues the expertise and hard work of real horticultural professionals. Management loses because they spend all their time fielding complaints instead of improving the property. At a certain point, no one is winning. It is time we start valuing the "total cost of ownership" over the "lowest price on the page."

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💧 It was great to meet so many wastewater professionals, engineers, and water sector leaders at WateReuse in Los Angeles earlier this week. There were great discussions that covered a wide range of critical topics, including evolving regulatory frameworks, cost structures, treatment system performance, and the role of advanced technologies in delivering sustainable and resilient water reuse solutions for agricultural, industrial, and municipal applications. WateReuse allows professionals to explore the depth of technical knowledge being applied to address region specific challenges, while also considering scalability, operational reliability, and long‑term economic viability. These conversations are essential as communities balance compliance, infrastructure investment, and resource stewardship. Thank you to everyone who took the time to stop by our booth and speak about Cloacina’s solutions, and especially to those who attended the technical discussion led by my engineering partner, Shannon Jessica of Cloacina. Different conversations this week reinforced the importance of collaboration across engineering, operations, and community leadership. By prioritizing proven technology, thoughtful design, and innovative thinking, we can continue to advance water reuse solutions that provide reliable, high quality water while supporting economic growth and sustainable communities for generations to come.

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People don’t quit companies on a random Tuesday at 4:00 PM. They quit slowly—months before a resignation ever hits someone’s inbox, something else already happened: • Their ideas stopped mattering. • Their effort stopped being seen. • Their growth hit a wall. • Their voice got quiet—because nobody listened anyway. People don’t suddenly walk away from a job they once loved. They disconnect slowly. Emotionally first. Physically last. It’s not dramatic—it’s quiet. It shows up in the small things: ✅ “I’m fine.” ✅ “Whatever you think.” ✅ No questions. No pushback. No energy. The warning signs are always there. Most companies just don’t listen until someone is already gone. Retention isn’t solved with perks. It’s simple: Respect people. Develop them. Pay them fairly. Listen when they speak. Because at the end of the day… People leave when they stop feeling valued.

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Why do we still budget for “normal” quarters? Over the last several days, the operating environment has looked anything but normal. High-wind events knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of customers across parts of the Midwest. In Nebraska, wind-driven wildfires burned across vast stretches of land, with more severe weather still moving across the United States this week and likely adding to the disruption. At the same time, airline prices are climbing amid geopolitical instability tied to the war in Iran, adding another layer of cost pressure and operational uncertainty. This is not a post about climate, decarbonization, or emissions disclosure. This is about the P&L. Disruptions like these now hit the income statement in real time: Outages drive downtime, spoilage, missed shipments, and safety risk Extreme weather creates transportation delays and labor disruptions Wildfire and wind exposure show up in insurance through higher deductibles, tighter terms, and more exclusions Travel volatility raises the cost of doing business when teams, suppliers, and customers need to move quickly The companies that outperform are not treating resilience as a sustainability side topic. They are treating it like productivity. Redundancy, rapid recovery, supplier contingencies, site readiness, and business continuity are being engineered into operations, not improvised after the fact. That raises a bigger question for finance leaders: Are you measuring cost per disruption hour with the same discipline you measure cost per unit? Because “unusual” is starting to look a lot like the baseline. #ExtremeWeather #BusinessContinuity #Climate #SupplyChain #Risk https://lnkd.in/eCNGd7xn

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𝟮𝟲.𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻. That’s how many employees are expected to miss work the Monday after the Super Bowl (Source: Reuters). Here’s the part most leaders miss: This isn’t a people problem. It’s a 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 problem. And predictable problems are.......... solvable. If you KNOW capacity drops on a certain Monday every year, you have 3 choices: 1. Pretend it won’t happen 2. Police people harder 3. Plan like an operator “Operator planning” looks like: • Define the 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗩𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 (what MUST get done) • Pre-assign 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 + backups • Move non-critical meetings off the calendar • Communicate expectations early (simple + human) • Measure outcomes, not chair time Because the real question isn’t: “Why do people do this?” It’s: “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?” What’s your company’s version of “Super Bowl Monday”: month-end, audit week, peak season, weather events, system cutovers? ♻️ Repost - Sharing = Caring. 🔔 Follow Marchello Arcelay for insight on 𝗘𝗛𝗦 (𝗘𝗛&𝗦/𝗛𝗦𝗘), 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, and 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻. Supporting - 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻-𝗼𝗳-𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗱𝘆, and 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀. #Workforce #SupplyChain #Productivity

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🚧 BIG NEWS FROM THE GOLDEN STATE! 🌟 As the FODS message continues to resonate with inspectors, contractors and state entities across the United States, FODS has a major update out of California. CALTRANS has officially approved the use of FODS Trackout Control Mats on all construction sites across the state. What does this mean? It's a HUGE win for the industry leading trackout control device which provides innovative, sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to rock construction entrances. FODS eliminates the need for excavation, stone and geotextile fabric and offers a REUSABLE solution which reduces cleanup, maintenance and those long-term costs. As the FODS momentum continues to build nationwide, with CALTRANS on board, we are ready to ditch the rock and take control of trackout. Let's not just build smarter, but cleaner and more sustainable jobsites. https://lnkd.in/gikFxh83

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Hot take: OLD SCHOOL SALES ADVICE IS KILLING PIPELINES “It’s a numbers game.” “Throw enough at the wall and something will stick.” “Just dial harder.” Cool. Meanwhile, somewhere out there, someone with no budget, no CRM, no pipeline and questionable life choices is waking up every day and relentlessly chasing what they want. But you’ve got Wi-Fi, data, LinkedIn, funding announcements, planning portals, hiring updates… and you’re still “waiting for a good time to call.” Wild. Yes activity matters. But random activity isn’t hustle. It’s hope. Dialling 200 strangers and hoping probability saves you isn’t brave. It’s statistics. Knowing who’s expanding. Who just got funding. Who’s submitting planning. Who’s rolling out sites. That’s business development. Yes volume eventually works. But Intent works faster. Don’t get outworked by someone with fewer tools than you. And don’t hide behind “it’s a numbers game” when what you really need is a thinking game. #BusinessDevelopment #Sales #ModernSelling #Construction #Consultancy #Acoustics #PipelineBuilding #CommercialThinking

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Most missed opportunities aren’t lost at the quote stage. It’s lost in the initial brief. Too often, we plan to “fill the gaps later” instead of uncovering the full requirement upfront. But the highest-converting deals have one thing in common: a structured process that turns requests into solutions. The difference between quoting to respond and quoting to solve is rarely product or price — it’s the quality of the questions being asked early in the conversation and aligning solutions to these answers. This builds trust, drives higher-value deals, shortens the sales cycle, and removes the need to rely on late-stage upsells to complete the solution. For operatives, this isn’t about adding more steps. It’s about raising the standard of what we already have. How robust is your discovery process — and how much growth could be unlocked by making it sharper?

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“Comparison is the thief of joy.” In sales, this hits hard. It’s easy to look at the leaderboard, see someone crushing it, and immediately start comparing yourself: • “Why aren’t my numbers that high?” • “Why do they close deals faster than me?” • “Am I even cut out for this?” But here’s the truth: comparison kills progress. Your journey is your own. The top performers you see now? They weren’t always at the top. They built habits, stayed consistent, and kept learning through the same struggles you’re facing. Instead of comparing yourself to them, learn from them. Instead of tearing yourself down, stack small wins every day. Instead of chasing their path, focus on getting 1% better on yours. Sales isn’t always about beating someone else. It’s about building the best version of you and if you stay focused on that, the results (and the joy) will come.

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It’s disheartening when a company has all the right pieces to build something great, talented employees, a strong client base, and a business model with real potential, yet chooses greed over integrity. I’ve seen situations where sales reps showed up every day, put in full days of work, generated revenue for the business (a lot of revenue)… and then weren’t paid a single dollar. Not only is that unethical, it’s illegal under Delaware wage laws. Employees must be paid for the time they work. You can’t hide behind “quota” clauses or creative commission structures to get around that. The best businesses know this: success comes from creating opportunities where everyone wins. Clients are served well, employees are compensated fairly, and the company grows stronger because of it. Anything less is short-sighted and ultimately self-destructive. For a company to brand themselves as "community focused" and a place that "acts with integrity," but willingly chooses to not pay their employees for the work they have done is a shame and disgusting. My heart goes out to each and everyone of the reps who have been and are being treated this way. Do better Strobert Tree Services, Inc.

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