Meet Shane Anderson, a man of the land and a man of faith who owns Short Green Landscaping with wife, Lisa. Shane believes in connecting with nature, providing genuine, quality service and building positive, honest and deep relationships within his team and his community.

1) As we are now in spring, what should we be doing to have healthy, productive yards this year?

One of the best ways to have a great-looking yard ALL year is to prioritize your irrigation system. Spring is when you should be working through any issues your irrigation system might have. From April to mid-May you have 45 days to get your system ready for the heat of summer. Also, technology has come a long way these past seven years and WiFi irrigation timers have become quite affordable. Many of the timers have easy-to-follow tutorials on YouTube for the do-it-yourself homeowners.

2) What are a few things you most enjoy about your work at Short Green?

By far, being outdoors year 'round is one of the BEST aspects of being a landscaper.

3) What sets your business apart from other landscaping companies?

Our employees care and take pride in their work. One of the biggest challenges employers face is “quality” and “motivation” in their workforce. At Short Green we coach and teach each employee how to care and take pride in their work. We have found that valuing each employee as a person first makes room for the necessary discipline and critique that always comes with growing and learning. At Short Green, we pay all our employees one hour every morning to begin the day with team meeting and prayer. Our leadership offers practical workplace coaching and teaching lessons: how to have confidence in their specific assignments, how to embrace an attitude of a servant, how to better communicate and appreciate teammates/co-workers, how to resolve conflict within ourselves and others. Currently we are all going through a study of, “How to establish healthy boundaries.”

FUN IN SERVICE:

A fun experience we have each year is when we donate our time and equipment to put up Christmas lights at the Post Falls Police Department. My wife and I do it because we care and our employees get “caught up” in the joy and fun of serving. This annual lighting has grown into a fun and very satisfying connection point. Each year we get about 30-40 volunteers to join us and we all get caught up in joy of community and saying "thank you" to the people who serve and protect our community every day. While I still only know three people by name at the police department, it give me a chance to tell everyone wearing a badge and a uniform "THANK YOU!"

4) What's something people would be surprised to know about you?

I'm a teacher/coach before I'm an employer. As a Christian, I've seen a sad disconnect with how most believers live out their faith in the workplace. They preach one thing on the weekend yet on any given workday you’d never know they were a “Christian.”

I've made it one of my biggest priorities to lead and create a safe and redemptive workplace for my employees. When they know they are valued by their employer, they naturally grow in valuing what their employer values, like productivity, efficiency, cooperation, reliability, etc. Whether I'm a landscaper, hairdresser, grocery clerk or homemaker, I see the workplace to be the opportunity to live out my faith in embracing universally accepted and appreciated principles like respect, integrity, good communication and accountability. Now, I don’t always do it right every day, and reconciliation is an essential ingredient to any successful business or relationship. So when my mistakes happen, I have to be willing to let my employees “watch me,” the “teacher/coach,” do my part in making it right, like apologizing. This then becomes an opportunity to show and teach humility, therefore giving them both permission to make mistakes and a recipe to follow when it's their turn to “make it right.”

5) What are a few of your favorite plants/trees/shrubs and why?

My favorite “plant” is a healthy well-maintained dark green Kentucky bluegrass lawn with a clean border and detailed beds with white crushed granite rock, surrounded by a few dogwoods and some extra-large hanging petunia baskets overflowing with purple and yellow flowers. Why? With so much broken and ugly in our world, stepping into a beautifully landscaped yard is very therapeutic. We would all be better to spend more time being surrounded with order, healthy living colorful plants and natural beauty. Nature always speaks, yet we seldom take time to listen.

Do you know someone in Kootenai County who makes our community awesome? Send Fast Five suggestions to Devin Weeks, dweeks@cdapress.com, to highlight locals who contribute their time and talents to make North Idaho such a special place.