[Viewpoint] Leadership: Not for the Faint-Hearted

One of the things I admire most about the pest management industry is its family-oriented nature. Visiting NPMA PestWorld each year often feels like “old home” week, with pest management professionals from around the country greeting one another with the kind of genuine affection typically reserved for family, reveling in one another’s successes and supporting one another when times are tough. While the relationships in so many businesses are based on a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” sensibility, the pest control industry always has chosen a different path, an indication of its “family-centric” nature as reflected in its working-class roots and historically rich, immigrant history.

Yet it would be a mistake to assume the pest management industry is exclusively a “people” business, immune from the pressures associated with any rapidly changing, dynamic marketplace. As every business owner knows, there comes a time in every entrepreneur’s career when one must put aside one’s personal feelings and make a decision that’s best for the business, understanding people may be impacted and relationships may be strained in the process. It’s the price of leadership. It’s what often separates the successful entrepreneur from his or her unsuccessful colleagues.

I was reminded of this fact with the recent announcement by Copesan Services that it was cutting ties with J.C. Ehrlich/Rentokil and Presto-X, two longtime business partners of the organization, an alliance of premier pest management companies throughout North America. (See “Copesan, Ehrlich/Rentokil Part Ways”) “After the purchase of J.C. Ehrlich by Rentokil in 2006, the combined operation of J.C. Ehrlich/Rentokil remained a beneficial fit for both our organizations,” observed Alfie Treleven, president of Sprague Pest Solutions, Tacoma, Wash., and chairman of Copesan’s Board of Directors. “However, with the recent acquisition of Presto-X, their new, combined geographic footprint, along with their stated goal to be a national player in the United States, has put Copesan into a competitive situation that we could no longer continue to overlook.” Given J.C. Ehrlich/Rentokil’s aspirations to be a national player, Copesan’s decision to cut ties couldn’t have come as a surprise to Rentokil Pest Control North America CEO Victor Hammel. After all, Copesan was created in 1958, in part, so regional companies like Western Pest Services, Rose Pest Solutions, and others could compete against national players with strong brands and offices throughout the country (i.e., Orkin, Terminix). But I’m sure that didn’t make the decision by Copesan’s Board of Directors or Treleven’s subsequent conversations with Hammel any easier. After all, Hammel has watched Treleven grow up in the industry, becoming friends and admired colleagues in the process, with both playing key roles in the success of Copesan Services and their individual organizations, as well as the National Pest Management Association.

These are two high-quality individuals leading two high-quality organizations who throughout their distinguished careers have always had the best interests of the industry — as well as their employees and customers — at heart, something that won’t change despite the rapidly changing business landscape that made this most recent announcement so inevitable. And while something undoubtedly will be gained through their independence from one another, something also has been lost. You can’t put a dollar figure on it, but if you’re an entrepreneur who has ever had to make a particularly difficult decision, you know what it is. It’s the knowledge that a treasured business relationship has forever changed, a corner has been turned, and there’s no looking back. It’s the price of leadership.  

The author is publisher of PCT magazine.