The TMG Fireside Chat Podcast

Build to Grow™ Pillar #4: Reporting Most fire protection contractors say they have reporting. Far fewer make decisions with it. In this episode, John Mackey sits down with two leaders who run the same business through two different lenses — Pam Gartner, CFO, and Clinton Campbell, Director of Sales — at Approved Fire Protection & Security, a Central New Jersey contractor that's been family-owned for nearly a century and is led today by CEO and owner Diane. It's a rare, candid look at how reporting actually gets built and lived inside a real, well-run FLS business: how it evolved from instinct to system, which KPIs earned their place, what the weekly and quarterly cadence looks like on the ground, and how the financial and operational lenses get integrated into one operating picture. The newsletter gave you the framework. This conversation gives you the reality. In this episode: Why operations drives the financials — not the other way around — and what that means for how you measure The integrated tech stack (ProfitZoom / Valen Software) that lets the books close continuously instead of in a 25-day rear-view scramble The "are you with me?" moment that set the culture — and how radical transparency (a dozen screens of live financials throughout the building) creates company-wide alignment The KPIs that earned their place: new business installed, customer retention, gross margin and job profitability, AR aging, and tech revenue per day Best-in-class benchmarks in practice: invoicing in under a day (industry standard is 5–6) and a DSO around 15 days A quiet competitive advantage — ranking customers by number of solutions to drive stickiness and protect against churn The real operating cadence: daily dashboards, Monday sales huddles, end-of-week service reviews, a management cadence that graduated from weekly to bi-weekly, and quarterly all-hands alignment meetings How a CEO stays informed and leads without sitting in every meeting — and what "working on the business" looks like when you actually build the team and systems to do it Where the two lenses come together: how finance and operations collaborate on a big job — margin, resources, subs, capex, and training — without finance ever playing "the police" Rapid reflections: One KPI you'd never give up — Clinton: New business closed. Pam: Gross margin / profitability by job. One metric that's overrated — Quantity-based sales activity targets (number of meetings per rep), dropped in favor of qualified, quality pipeline. One piece of advice for an owner starting this journey — Get the right people in the right seats, and put a real accountant and a real financial system behind your operation. Without that visibility, you're guessing. ________________________________________ 🎧 The framework behind this conversation: Read the May BTG Mindset newsletter — Reporting That Drives Decisions: The 10 KPIs the Best FLS Contractors Actually Run On - https://mackeygroupllc.com/insights/f... 👉 Get the tool: Reply "DECIDE" to the May BTG Mindset newsletter to receive the Reporting Pillar Readiness Diagnostic — a 10-minute, 20-question assessment across Metric Architecture, Operating Cadence, Data Trust, and the Decision Loop, scored against industry benchmarks with a 90-day focus output. Take it solo or run it as a leadership-team exercise. Three ways to get it: Reply "DECIDE" to the May newsletter and it lands in your inbox Email john@mackeygroupllc.com and we'll send it directly Download it from the BTG Mindset library at mackeygroupllc.com 📅 Next month: We close the four-pillar arc with the Built to Grow Operating System — how People, Process, Technology, and Reporting come together inside a single 90-day rhythm. ________________________________________ Guests: Pam Gartner, CFO, and Clinton Campbell, Director of Sales — Approved Fire Protection & Security (New Jersey). Hosted by John Mackey, founder and managing principal of The Mackey Gr

🔥 TMG Fireside Chat: A 6-Part Deep Dive with John Demeter, President of Wesco HMB! 🔥 Welcome to the TMG Fireside Chat, where we break down the fire protection and life safety industry with the best minds in the business! In this special six-part series, we sit down with John Demeter, President of Wesco HMB, to tackle the biggest shifts in the industry, from regulatory shakeups to private equity’s growing influence and the future of fire protection technology. 🚀 What’s in Store? ✅ Industry Updates & Market Evolution – What's next in 2025? We cover the latest on regulations, mergers, and game-changing trends. ✅ Regulatory Deep Dive – How the AIM Act, EPA regulations, and federal policies are reshaping the industry. ✅ Industry Legacy & Leadership – Honoring pioneers like Ernie Horvath and discussing the evolution of family-owned businesses. ✅ Consolidation & Private Equity – The real impact of roll-ups, tech adoption, and service delivery shifts. ✅ Technology & Sustainability – The battle between water mist vs. inert gas systems, HFC recycling, and PFAS concerns. ✅ Quality Control & Digital Transformation – The future of compliance, testing standards, and digital reporting in fire protection. This insight-packed series isn’t just about news—it’s about the future of fire protection, and how businesses can adapt and thrive. 🎧 Join the Conversation! Make sure to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and FOLLOW the TMG Fireside Chat on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts! Have thoughts on the industry? Drop us a comment and let’s keep the discussion going! 🔥 The fire protection industry is evolving fast—are you ready? 🔥

In our latest TMG Fireside Chat episode, Zach Nelson, Owner of Elk River Marketing, shares expert insights on navigating the intersection of traditional marketing and emerging technologies in the Fire Protection and Life Safety industries. Nelson discusses how AI is transforming marketing operations while emphasizing the fundamental importance of understanding your target audience.

Episode 16.1: John Mackey chats with Dave Brown, President of Nuvo Solutions and a close friend. During this insightful exchange, Dave and John delve into Dave's impactful sales philosophy and his extensive experience in managing and leading sales teams throughout his career. They also explore the influential individuals who have significantly impacted Dave's sales journey and shaped his career. If you wish to get in touch with Dave, he can be reached at dave@nuvosolutions.com or on his mobile at 919.438.8555. For contacting John, he can be reached at john@mackeygroupllc.com or on his mobile at 251.270.8901. Thank you for joining us for this episode of the TMG Fireside Chat. We hope you find it valuable!

Episode 13 – Part 1, John chats with John Demeter, President of Wesco HMB and friend of the Fireside Chat. As we’ve seen in earlier episodes with John and John, they are very passionate about the fire protection industry and can continue their conversation for hours. In this chat, we have broken this most recent conversation into two parts. Part Two will be released the week of February 19th, 2024. During this chat, John and John share their perspectives on 2023, a Year in Review – how the industry is performing, where and how its growing, and continue their discussion on the consolidation activity across the FLS contractor space as well as recent M&A activity in the OEM arena and KKR acquiring Potter Signal. Thank you for joining us on this Episode of the TMG Fireside Chat. We hope you enjoy it… For more information on Wesco HMB, you can find them at ushalonbank.com. To reach John Demeter directly, please email at jdemeter@ushalonbank.com For more information on The Mackey Group, you can find us at mackeygroupllc.com. To contact John Mackey directly, please email at john@mackeygroupllc.com

In our fourth episode of the TMG Fireside Chat, John Mackey sits down with John Demeter, President of Wesco. We talk about recent industry news regarding: • 3M’s exit of the fire protection market, • Carrier’s decision to spin Kidde Fire & Security out of their portfolio, and • how the big, international conglomerates are managing challenges across the industry We also share our thoughts on the industry’s consolidation over the last 35+ years and where things might be headed, while we highlight the resiliency of the fire protection industry and expectations of the private equity, family office investor. Bigger isn’t necessarily better in fire protection.

Episode 12 – John Mackey chats with Lee Kaiser, VP of Engineering & Training at Orr Protection. During this chat, Lee shares his career path into fire protection and working for one of the largest Special Hazards Fire Protection contractors in the US. As we do in all Fireside Chats, we also talk about Lee’s adopted hometown of Lou-ah-ville, bourbon, the food scene, and then we get into his perspective on the fire protection industry.

Episode 10, part 1 – John Mackey sits down with Nolan Mackey, his son and Founder of UpLadder, a platform dedicated to the skilled trades and resources to help them manage their growth, development, and training required in their field. During this chat, Nolan and John have a lot to talk about and ended up being over 60 minutes of content. Most people don’t have the attention span to listen that long, so we broke this chat into two parts. In Part 1, we get into: • Learning more about Nolan • His transition out of college and how he found himself carving a path into the fire protection industry • How he leveraged his experiences as a fire extinguisher technician and his entrepreneurial mindset to create a platform to address industry challenges with labor and skilled technicians • We also get a cameo of my daughter’s dog, Sadie. Thank you for joining us on this Episode of the TMG Fireside Chat. We hope you enjoy it…