Born in Pocahontas, Arkansas in 1898 (p. 3), Marion Wade's mother left his father and took Wade to Oak Park, Illinois to live with her parents. He graduated from high school in 1912 and in 1918 began working for a minor league baseball team. Wade then married and began looking for a new career.

Wade first sold insurance, but disliked the unethical practices of the business. Next Wade sold aluminum pots and pans door to door. In 1926 his sales decreased and "At one point he was broke and living in a substandard apartment" (p. 4-5) where his three-year-old daughter "became ill and died" (p. 5). Wade blamed her death on "his inability to provide for the family" (p. 5), so he "increased his selling effort and his earnings improved" (p. 5).

Wade's sales were so good that he was promoted first to assistant manager in St. Louis and then manager of sales in Cleveland. Wade quit two years later when "the company had introduced an inferior product line for sale by retail stores. Wade thought it unethical to lower the quality and to sell in direct competition with the company's direct sales force" (p. 5).

Next Wade sold "home mothproofing services on a commission basis" (p. 5). The company went bankrupt in 1930 and he decided to continue the business on his own. Wade "became a Christian" (p. 6) in 1930 after hearing a sermon that "dealt with the Bible as a source of inspiration and a source of rules for good living" (p. 6). Wade "made a commitment to Christian living" (p. 6).

Wade did not incorporate his religious beliefs into his business until an accident in 1944 left him temporarily blinded. He spent several months recovering in a hospital, and came to the conclusion that, "I was trying to personally honor God, but I had never tried this with my company because I had been trained in the school of competition which attests that religion and business don't mix" (p. 7). Wade decided that in his company "Every employee, from top to bottom, do his job for the glory of God" (p. 7). His employees found that they were able to resolve disagreements better and generally had better attitudes about their job and each other.

Wade then made several policy changes, including "a decision to discourage competition among employees" (p. 9). He stated that "An employee is hired at a specific salary to do a specific job, and as the company prospers, so does he, but if he is willing to work a little harder only when he is baited by bonuses he really isn't doing his job in the first place" (p. 9).

Wade also carefully selected his employees. He said, "I now consider it my prerogative and my duty to learn as much as I can about a man before sending him out to represent a company that is dedicated to the Lord" (p. 9).

"A third policy was the delegation of responsibility and the freedom needed to exercise it" (p.10). Wade said, "We make our plans and set the policy at staff conferences, then each man goes back to his office to do his job, using his own brains and his own skills to make decisions" (p. 10).

After World War II, "Wade moved the business office to a store near Belmont Avenue in Chicago" (p. 11). He also hired Ken Hansen "as a salesman-financial manager" (p. 11). Hansen preached at a local church and "Wade was convinced that Hansen possessed the sales and management skills as well as the service attitude, which Wade's growing company would need" (p. 11).

"It was during this period that Wade decided to add a rug cleaning service to his business" (p. 11). While expanding this business, Wade met Bob Wenger. In 1947 Wade, Wenger and Hansen started a new company "offering mothproofing and rug cleaning services" (p. 12). Every employee was offered stock in the company "to make them feel that, 'they had a piece of the action'" (p. 13).

Next company-owned branches were opened and franchises were established. The company was renamed ServiceMaster because, as Wade explained, "As individuals and as a company we were working for the Lord-we were servants of the Master" (p. 15).

"In 1956 Marion Wade experienced a heart murmur that put him face-to-face with the prospect of death" (p. 16). He moved Ken Hansen "to the position of president and chief executive officer" (p. 16). Wade served as chairman of the board, "and he continued to do many of the things he had been doing when he was CEO" (p. 16).

Wade also "became deeply interested in developing a succession policy" (p. 23). Wade read about one company’s succession policy and decided to implement it. The company "had a policy of identifying successor chief executives and putting them at the head of the firm long before the incumbent was mentally or physically ready to retire" (p. 23). The policy was implemented and executives at ServiceMaster were "responsible for finding and training their successors" (p. 24). Marion Wade died in 1973.



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