[View Point] A 'Truly' page-turning read

The first time I remember seeing Truly Nolen was during a special reception held for PCT/Syngenta Crown Leadership Award winners during the 1999 NPMA convention in Atlanta. As is customary at these events, each Leadership winner accepts his or her plaque and says a few words. In most cases, honorees use this opportunity to acknowledge friends, coworkers and colleagues, or perhaps to comment on the current state of the pest management industry. This was not the case with Truly Nolen. Upon accepting his plaque, Truly told a joke, did a 360-degree spin and walked off stage. The general reaction from those in attendance was to laugh, then turn to one another and say, “That’s Truly.”
The second time the name Truly Nolen caught my attention occurred while driving on the Florida Turnpike. From a distance, I saw a big yellow billboard that appeared to have had its top partially destroyed. As I got closer, what came into focus was a billboard in the shape of a slice of cheese whose top was made to appear nibbled away by a rodent. Included on this billboard was a Truly Nolen logo. What a brilliant piece of advertising, I thought.
From these early encounters I developed an appreciation for Truly Nolen the company and its colorful “Head Mouse.” So, I was eager to read the newly published “Truly Original” by Truly Nolen and Fielding Epstein. The book did not disappoint. I was struck by several of his life’s struggles and triumphs, including:
• At age 16, Truly and a friend sailed a 21-foot sailboat from Miami to Annapolis — a 1,200 mile journey. When asked by a Baltimore Sun reporter if he was returning to Miami, Truly responded: “I’ve got to get rich first. Some day I am going back with my own ship.” This proved to be a prophetic statement. Truly Nolen today boasts annual revenues of $72 million with locations in the U.S. and 38 countries.
• Truly credits his father for teaching many important business practices, but the two often were at odds regarding how to run a business. “He needed to control all aspects of the business and was not open to my new ideas. I saw the need to grow and I had many new ideas. He said no to most of many new ideas.”
• Just as Truly was to embark on a partnership to open a pest control business in Bogota, Colombia, he was stricken with polio. As part of his treatment Truly was placed in an iron lung and he described this horrifying experience: “When you are placed in an iron lung it feels like being placed in a pressurized tube. The iron lung pushes air in your diaphragm, which pushes air out and releases it, and then air is sucked in. You are in the iron lung 24 hours a day. This goes on continuously.”
“Truly Original” also is filled with applicable business tips for PCOs of any size and scope. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to Hurricane Relief, a subject on the mind of many PCOs in the wake of the record-setting hurricane season of 2005. Truly explains how his company and community have recovered from these devastating acts of nature.
I think you’ll find that “Truly Original” to be filled with fascinating insights into this industry legend and it might even provide you with ideas for charting the future growth of your company.

The author is Internet editor of PCT magazine.