The TMG Fireside Chat Podcast

Two fire protection companies can have the same trucks, the same codes, and the same customers — and end up in completely different places. Benchmark data tells the story: contractors with no structured systems are flat to down ~1% over five years; those running on a field service platform grow ~15%; and top performers executing cleanly across people, process, technology, and reporting hit ~33%. Busy doesn’t mean growth — the constraint isn’t the market, it’s internal execution capacity. In Session 6 of the Build to Grow Mindset, John Mackey and Nolan Mackey get practical about closing that gap. They separate working IN the business (firefighting, approvals, escalations) from working ON it (designing workflows, developing people, setting strategy), run the owner-dependency audit that exposes where the owner has become the bottleneck, and lay out the four-part 90-day operating system: quarterly priorities, a protected weekly rhythm, a monthly performance review, and a quarterly strategic checkpoint. They also dig into the numbers that actually move the business — technician utilization (industry average in the high 50s vs. best-in-class 70–75%), the inspection-to-repair multiplier (every $1 of inspection revenue should pull $3–$4 of repair work), and “due vs. done” on compliance inspections. And they close on readiness: in a consolidating market, building structure isn’t about selling — it’s about earning options, whether that’s a real vacation, a family succession, or engaging an acquisition conversation from a position of strength. About John Mackey is the founder of The Mackey Group, a strategic growth advisory serving fire protection and life safety contractors, owners, and the investors who back them. Nolan Mackey facilitates the Build to Grow Mindset — John’s series on building companies that grow with discipline. Follow / subscribe to the Build to Grow Mindset so you don’t miss the next episode.

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 [email protected] 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

John Mackey sits down with Nick Sandberg, Director of IT at Hiller Companies, for a no-filter conversation about technology strategy in fire protection and life safety. No vendor pitches. No silver bullets. Just two operators who've lived inside FLS tech stacks for decades, comparing notes on what actually works — and what's coming next. 🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS • There is no silver-bullet platform — process before technology, every time • Only ~50% of US FLS contractors use technology beyond desktop QuickBooks • AI and agentic tools may disrupt the traditional SaaS moat within 1–2 years • "If your process is bad and you digitize it, you have a bad digital process — add AI and you have a bad AI digital process" • The technician is the brand, the customer is the purpose — technology serves the relationship 📊 FREE RESOURCES → Reply STACK to [email protected] for the FLS Tech Stack Readiness Scorecard + Tech Stack Guide → Read the companion blog: "Inside the FLS Tech Stack — Tools Changing the Game" at mackeygroupllc.com → Take the Build to Grow™ Readiness Survey: mackeygroupllc.com/leadership-scorecard 👤 ABOUT THE GUEST Nick Sandberg — Director of IT, Hiller Companies. Started as a fire extinguisher technician in 1999. Built Hiller's internal inspection platform from scratch. Rare combination of deep field experience and enterprise IT leadership. 👤 ABOUT THE HOST John Mackey — Founder & CEO, The Mackey Group. Strategic growth advisor to fire protection and life safety companies. Works with owners, CEOs, investors, and boards on growth strategy, operational discipline, and M&A readiness. 🤝 CONNECT John Mackey: mackeygroupllc.com | [email protected] | LinkedIn: /in/johnmackey Nick Sandberg: LinkedIn: /in/nicksandberg This episode is part of the Build to Grow™ Mindset series — monthly strategic insight for FLS leaders across People, Process, Technology, and Reporting. #FireProtection #LifeSafety #BuildToGrow #FLSTechStack #AIinFLS #BTGMindsetPodcast #TheMackeyGroup

In this kickoff episode of the Build to Grow™ series, John Mackey introduces a disciplined framework for fire protection owners and senior leaders navigating a rapidly evolving industry. Demand remains strong. But growth feels heavier. Compliance requirements are increasing. Customers expect more. Technicians are harder to find. Consolidation is accelerating. Technology is reshaping workflows. Many contractors are growing faster than their infrastructure can support. Build to Grow exists to address a simple but powerful truth: growth rarely fails because of demand. It fails because the business wasn’t built to absorb it. Why Build to Grow — and Why Now Many contractors began as technicians. They mastered code and compliance but were never trained to build scalable operating systems. Build to Grow focuses on installing discipline across four pillars: People, Process, Technology, and Reporting. When those pillars are aligned, growth becomes controlled instead of chaotic. Optionality Is the Outcome Optionality does not get created at the point of transaction. It gets created years earlier through discipline. Build to Grow is not about selling. It is about options — options to step back from 80-hour weeks, empower internal leaders, prepare for succession, or maximize value when and if a sale becomes appropriate. The Shiny Object Trap Large projects can tempt contractors to grow ahead of their infrastructure. Without guardrails, capital, staffing, and systems can fall behind revenue growth. Build to Grow helps owners define what work to pursue and what work to decline. Technology as a Force Multiplier Field service platforms, digital documentation, and routing optimization improve technician efficiency. Small operational gains compound across teams, helping offset labor shortages and improve compliance visibility. Common Misconceptions Many owners respond defensively: “I’m not selling.” But Build to Grow is relational, not transactional. It is about building a stronger business first — whether a transaction ever occurs. Too many owners only discover what drives valuation when it is too late. Discipline installed early creates freedom later. What to Expect from the Series Build to Grow will include: Monthly blog and newsletter insights Fireside Chat conversations with industry leaders Practical tools and scorecards Planned tools include Growth Readiness assessments, Recruiting & Culture diagnostics, and valuation-focused frameworks. Next Steps Request the Build to Grow Scorecard: Build to Grow Scorecard Schedule a strategy conversation: https://calendly.com/tmg_johnmackey/b... Subscribe to the Build to Grow Series: ??? Website: www.mackeygroupllc.com Email: [email protected]

“Building Value, Preparing for Growth & Transition” With John Mackey & Ken Wiesenfeld Episode Overview: In this episode of The Mackey Group Fireside Chat, John Mackey sits down with Ken Wiesenfeld (Wise Financial Consulting) to discuss how fire & life safety owners can build stronger businesses, prepare for transition, and maximize value. From recurring revenue strategies to tech stack investments, and from growth guardrails to busting the biggest myths in M&A—this conversation is packed with insights you can apply right away. Chapters 21.1 Introduction & Guest Overview 21.2 Consolidation Wave & Why Owners Should Plan Ahead Why business owners should be thinking about future transitions now. 21.3 What Drives Value in Today’s Market Beyond revenue—what buyers are really looking for. 21.4 Recurring Revenue & Guardrails on Installation Balancing installs with service contracts, job costing, and reducing risk. 21.5 Growth & Transition: Why the Time is Now Why waiting can cost you—and how to prepare in advance. 21.6 Myths & Realities: The Truth about Selling Your Business Myth 1: “I don’t need to worry about selling; I’m not going anywhere for 10 years.” Myth 2: “Buyers only care about revenue.” Myth 3: “I’ll fix my systems and processes after I grow.” Myth 4: “Installation drives growth; service is just maintenance.” Myth 5: “I can do this by myself.” 21.7 Working out Your Financial Muscles 21.8 Why Work with Ken & John How complementary strengths create better outcomes for clients. Key Takeaways • Preparedness = leverage: Owners who prepare early get better outcomes. • Recurring revenue and customer contracts drive valuation. • Systems and tech stack investments matter more than you think. • Growth strategies should also identify transition “off-ramps.” • The biggest myths about selling can cost owners millions if left unchecked. Call to Action Thinking about the future of your fire & life safety business? Whether you’re planning for growth, preparing for a sale, or simply want to protect the value you’ve built—now is the time to start the conversation. Contact John Mackey • LinkedIn: / mackeyjohn • Website: mackeygroupllc.com • Email: [email protected] Contact Ken Wiesenfeld • LinkedIn: / ken-wiesenfeld-57363225 • Website: wisefincon.com • Email: [email protected]