July 02, 2025

Leadership :The Summer Vacation Test with Marty Grunder

19 minutes

Have a vacation planned for this summer? In this episode, Marty Grunder shares how he uses his out-of-office time as an opportunity for new leaders to learn and develop their skills.

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00:00 - Introduction & Welcome

02:02 - The Origin of “The Summer Vacation Test”

04:27 - Strategic Planning & Leadership with Time Off

07:33 - Three Philosophies with Vacation & Workplace Dynamics

08:18 - Don’t Overstate Your Value

08:48 - Would You Want to Work for Yourself?

13:02 - Vacation is a Chance to Sharpen Your Saw

15:18 - Two Things Before You Leave for Vacation

17:57 - Recap & Final Thoughts

Show Notes & Key Takeaways

The Notebook Strategy - In 1993, Marty gave his right-hand man a notebook to document everything that went wrong while he was on vacation. "Write down all the things that you wish I would've shown you how to do, or things that didn't get done because I didn't train or we didn't have a system in place."

Vacations as Productivity Drivers - "Your most productive time in your business career are the couple days before vacations." Use vacation deadlines to motivate completion of important tasks and proper preparation.

Leadership Identification Tool - Vacations reveal who your real leaders are: "This is an opportunity for you to see who your leaders are. Who's gonna step up when you go away? And who isn't interested in stepping up?"

The Secret Test Method - Give team members specific responsibilities without telling them it's a test: "Give them a couple tests, see what they do. Chances are they won't realize it's a test and you'll see their true self."

Three Leadership Philosophy Foundations:

You're Overstating Your Value - "Most of the time, your team is capable of doing way more than you think they are, and often way more than even they think they are able to do."

Other People Have Goals Too - "Be empathetic... they want the ball, they want a chance, and we don't realize that we get too self-absorbed and focused on only what we wanna do."

Sharpen Your Saw - Use vacation time for strategic thinking and recharging batteries

Three Types of Workplaces:

Raging River - Chaotic, no systems, unsustainable

Stagnant Pond - No movement, no growth opportunities

Lazy River - Perfect balance of systems and movement, like Disney's lazy river

The Lumberjack Lesson - The lumberjack who stopped every 20 minutes to sharpen his ax produced 5 wagon loads vs. 2 wagon loads from the one who never stopped chopping. Strategic breaks and preparation outperform constant grinding.

Two Essential Pre-Vacation Lists:

"I wish to have the following things done before I leave on vacation"

"When I come back, I will have done this" (strategic work while away)

The Ultimate Business Goal - "Your business will realize its utmost potential when you have figured out a way that it can run without you." After 41 years, both of Marty's companies run without him.

Going Away in Good Order - "You don't go away and leave bombs for everybody to uncover that you've buried around the office." Proper preparation shows leadership and respect for your team.

Trust and Empowerment - "Would you wanna work for you?" Consider how you'd want your own family members to be treated at work - with opportunities for growth and advancement.

The Growth Mindset - Stop assuming people can't handle more responsibility. Marty's son example: waited until age 13 to let him use the mower when he could have done it much earlier due to neurotic control issues.

Resources:

Virtual Sales Bootcamp

Grunder Landscaping Field Trips

The Grow Group

Grunder Landscaping

Marty Grunder LinkedIn

Stihl

...more

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By Marty Grunder

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