Episode 25 — Jim McHale, CEO of JP McHale Pest Management, Steps into the Boardroom. Is the Buzz finally ready?

Jim McHale's dad knew his way around the bars. He cleaned beer taps when he wasn't logging hours at New York's Sing Sing maximum security prison. The prison guard network jumpstarted the family into finishing at #32 on the PCT 100 before selling to Anticimex in 2019. 

In this episode, Cornell grads, Jim and Paul, continue their banter from their 10+ year relationship. 

Conducting skip meetings and measuring Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) are two ways that Jim engages his front-line employees. You will hear him preach the importance of relationships in a pest control business while unifying a diverse JP McHale culture. 

Imagine the countless questions over the years : 

'Jim / Jimmy / Mr. Jim / Mr. Jimmy / Mr. McHale, this happened : ____________. What should we do?' No matter how you refer to Jim, his response will not delineate [shouldn’t this be deviate rather than delineate?] from 'What's best for the client?'. The Buzz suspects this is JP McHale's Golden Rule.

Unique capabilities include JP McHale Pest Management's 'Inner Circle' concierge service. Why wouldn't you when you have customers paying upwards of $27,000 per year - yes, a residential client. What are Jim's thoughts about pre-billing customers for the year? 

Jim gets real about his family's multi-generational business. Without pause, Jim recites Martin Luther King, Jr. as a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes realities. 

Jim stresses the need to differentiate in a commoditized business. He continues to chase marketing, branding, innovation, and technology now as an Anticimex platform. 

When I think about Jim McHale, I think about “innovation around the edges,” says Paul, “the guy has really mastered making the ordinary, well, extraordinary.”

Jim’s humility plays out as the episode unfolds. He gives credit where credit is due. This list may not be exhaustive either: 

Patrick McCauley

Bernie Herman

Bill Thompson

Gil Bloom

Dr. Austin Frishman

Doug McHale

Rich McHale

Dr. Jeff Scott

Dr. Ed Raffensperger

Shaun Coen

Frank Trediti

Mike Palmietto

Lenny Gray

McKay Bodily

Jarl Dahlfors

Wallenberg family

Tony Ramirez

Tony Fortunato

Tom Pederson

Bob Sameth

Norm Cooper

Bob Suriano

David Billingsly

Tony Yochum

David Locke

Brian Alexson

Albert Cantu

Norm Goldenberg

Matt Nixon

Irwin Noval

Robert Seeger

Mohit Kansal

Paul Bergmann

Mikael Vinje

Steve Good

Finally, Paul references Ethan Vickery and Ronen Amichai at VM Products and PESTOPTIX.