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Making His Own Name
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Making The Best Of Business Succession Planning
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The fourth part of this four-part article looks at what made Janitronics' leadership transition successful.SysteamClean represents the capstone of Jim Sr.鈥檚 career. He talks about it enthusiastically as he calls Merrihew into a conference room to show me an animated slide show narrated by Jim Sr.That excitement over SysteamClean is OK by Jim Jr. By allowing each other to carve out their own space within the company, both men have thrived, making the best of a situation that doesn鈥檛 always end well for family businesses.鈥淗e actually protected me,鈥� says Jim Sr. 鈥淗e was concerned about me, making sure I was involved. He never got arrogant. He would come to me for counsel. There were times he didn鈥檛 want counsel. We鈥檝e had some really rip-rooting disagreements on stuff, but it never lasted more than that one day, never carried forward, never affected our relationship ever. And to this very day, we just don鈥檛 have a single problem.鈥漈o be sure, both men have vastly different leadership styles, which they freely admit. Jim Sr., who didn鈥檛 receive a traditional college education, calls BSCAI his college. He credits most of what he鈥檚 learned to other colleagues in the association, which he says gave him an 鈥渋ncredible shot in the arm.鈥� He is also, as befits a company founder, more of a risk taker, willing to dive into an idea headfirst. Case in point: SysteamClean, into which he says they鈥檝e invested a 鈥渟mall fortune.鈥滼im Jr., on the other hand, groomed at Babson to take over a family business, is more calculated, relying on what鈥檚 concrete to move the company forward. Jim Sr. proudly tells me a story about when his son impressed a customer and landed the account for Janitronics by quickly rewriting spreadsheets and presenting the hard data on a portable Macintosh computer purchased that day.Jim Jr. is also a man of fewer words. His assessment of why the transition has worked: 鈥淲e鈥檙e a good team.鈥滻ndeed, despite their differences, the two Harris men share a similar demeanor that has allowed for a relatively seamless transition from the view of other employees at the company, says Pat Fragomeni, a regional manager who has been with Janitronics for 26 years.鈥淭hey鈥檙e very passionate about this organization,鈥� says Fragomeni. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very dedicated. From the years working with Jim Sr., you come by here on any given weekend, his car is always out front.鈥滵espite a heart attack two years ago that understandably slowed him down, Jim Sr. is still heavily involved, coming into the office almost every day.鈥淚 forgot to retire,鈥� says Jim Sr. 鈥淣o one reBut make no mistake, after both men struggled to find their respective roles within the expanse of cleaning related companies and projects that they operate, Janitronics is now Jim Jr.鈥檚 company. Jim Sr. is the first to admit it. The succession was successfully completed.鈥淚t was a unique way to do it, I will say that,鈥� says Jim Sr. 鈥淚f you were to get me in front of a group of people on how to do a succession, I couldn鈥檛 begin to tell you how the hell to do it 鈥� except let the two people work it out amicably. But [Jim Jr.] is firmly entrenched in the No. 1 position. He鈥檚 my CEO as much as he is everyone else鈥檚.鈥�
