Every month, we run a short conversation with owners of companies from our Top 100 list. We try to pick their brains on how they got to this point, running some of the largest companies in the industry.

In August, we’ll bring you a conversation with Bob Wilton from Clintar.

Here’s a quick preview:

L&L: To what do you attribute your growth?
Wilton: Our people. It’s not a very unique answer, but it’s the truth. I truly believe that selecting only good people makes it so much easier. And I think that for anybody that’s grown beyond a certain size, it has to be the people. Anybody can buy a truck or a lawn mower and a snowplow, but you’ve got to have very good people to make it all work and keep the customers happy. Our retention rate is basically due to having people who love their job.

We spend a lot of time thinking about how to approach training – we probably spend a disproportionate amount of time on training. We’re not one-man bands, we’re teams. I was thinking of that the other day watching the Masters – it’s an individual sport, it’s not a team sport. We’re the opposite, we’re a team sport, and I’m kind of the coach.

The deadline is fast approaching for you to send in your numbers for our annual Top 100 list.

You can download the entry form here.

For this year’s list, we’ve added a new section on brand preference, to learn more about what specific equipment and products the biggest companies are using.

And remember, this is a list of the 100 biggest companies by revenue. So remember to put your 2011 numbers on there.

Thanks for your help, and good luck!