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The session, titled “Emerging Generations & How it Effects Corporate Culture,” kicked off the 11th annual NPMA Academy, lead-sponsored by Syngenta Professional Products and being held this week in Lake Las Vegas, Nev.
Featured on the panel were subsequent generations at leading pest control companies, including:
Griffin Pest Control — Linden Griffin and Jeff Spencer.
Lloyd Pest Control — James (Jim) Ogle II and James (Jamie) Ogle III
Okolona Pest Control — Donnie Blake and Kassandra Mills
Presto-X-Co. — Jerry Keown and Karie Keown
A common theme among the panelists was the need to set aside egos. For some of the sons and daughters of PCOs this has meant tempering some company-wide ideas/changes, while for some of the parents this has meant being more open-minded to some of these new proposals.
For example, at Griffin Pest Solutions, 3rd-generation PCO Jeff Spencer has made subtle but important (and profitable) changes, such as the introduction of add-on offerings, including insulation services and holiday lighting services. At Presto-X-Company, Executive V.P. Karie Keown has been instrumental in the company’s introduction of paperless technology, a change she felt was needed as the company transitions from a “family company” to a “family corporation.” Similarly, Kassandra Mills has helped introduce various technologies at Okolona Pest Control.
The panel also was very forthcoming about some mistakes they made. For example, when Jamie Ogle took over as president of Lloyd Pest Control, some Lloyd employees tried to bring back proposals that were vetoed while his dad, Jim Ogle, was president. Jamie Ogle said the lesson learned was the need to communicate better with his dad.
This year’s NPMA Academy, titled “Guiding You to Excellence,” continues through Sunday and is filled with speakers and team-building activities aimed at providing attendees with innovative business and marketing solutions for improving their businesses.
Other NPMA Academy sponsors include Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, FMC and Oldham Chemicals.