By Al Erisman
Bill Pollard’s leadership at ServiceMaster was legendary, and his writing, particularly in The Soul of the Firm was among the best I had encountered on faith at work.
In 2006 I interviewed him for Ethix magazine, where we were exploring ethical leadership in business. That interview is here: https://ethix.org/2006/10/01/684. I was completely taken by the depth of his insight, the fundamental importance of servant leadership, and his goals of connecting the work of employees to purpose and meaning. I was impressed by his willingness to discuss his mistakes. And yes, his strong commitment to follow through on what he believed. After that interview, Bill told me about some of his friends I should interview: Steve Reinemund (Pepsi Chairman), Don Soderquist (COO of Walmart) and Lord Bryan Griffiths (British Lord and vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International). When I said I would need access to these people, he gladly opened the doors with an introduction and made the way for some great interviews.
He subsequently agreed to come to Seattle Pacific University (SPU) where he led a day of common learning for the School of Business and Economics, and I was able to interview him again for our film library. In conjunction with this visit, we hosted Bill and Judy in our home for an evening with the Pollards. Thirty people crowded into our living room where I had the privilege of interviewing him as he shared insights on the connection between our work and our faith.
At Seattle Pacific University we have a very large library collection of books on faith and work. It started with a donation from Pete Hammond when he retired from InterVarsity, was supplemented by some very old books from Randy Kilgore and others, and then we received a grant to keep the collection up to date. We began to look for what else we could do with the collection, and decided to see if we could gather some papers from scholars and practitioners. I called Bill to see if he would be willing to donate his speeches from over the years at ServiceMaster and beyond. He was reluctant at first, but not for the reason I had thought. Other universities asked him for these, but he wondered about the value of creating vaults of information that are never used. What could we do with them? So, SPU gave him a proposal to create a Pollard Scholars program. We would bring in five scholars per year for a week in the summer to read the papers, to formulate research questions, to discuss together, and then to write a research paper, book, workshop or other projects drawing on the sources and keeping the ideas alive. The program is now in its 8th year, and has led to multiple books and papers by scholars from England, China, Australia, Nigeria, Brazil, Romania, and all over the US and Canada. We just concluded the 2025 Pollard Scholars visit this month.
In 2017, Bill said he had another matter to discuss with me. He said, “There needs to be a book on the history of the ServiceMaster Company, and you need to write it.” Just like that, out of the blue. I think I said, “I agree there needs to be a book on the history of the ServiceMaster Company. But I don’t think I should write it. I have other projects I need to do, and besides, I am not a historian. Perhaps I could help you find someone to do this.” Ever focused, Bill said “I will send you some material and let’s talk again in two weeks.” When we reconnected, I said, “OK Bill, you have stolen real estate in my brain. I am very intrigued. If you still want me to do it, I would like to offer you three conditions. First, you can’t pay me, because I would want to make this as unbiased as I can. Second, you would need to open your network to me so I could talk with lots of key people. Third, I need to get final say on what the book says.” I added the third one because he had said he didn’t want to book to say anything about what happened after 2001. As I explored the concept of what I was getting into, everyone asked the question, “What has happened with the company lately?”
Bill kept to his word. He opened his network allowing me to talk with leaders in Saudi Arabia, England, and China as well as all over the country, and gathered groups in Memphis and Chicago. I read all the annual reports, many books, and hundreds of newspaper articles. I also talked with several historians to try to figure out how to tell the story as objectively as possible and take myself out of the story. I read his memoir, The Tides of Life, and I loved it. I felt like it was a long conversation with a friend, and I didn’t want it to end. I met with Bill on multiple occasions, including time at his home at Lake Geneva WI, where he took me out around the lake in his vintage boat.
My wife Nancy joined me for several dinners with Bill and Judy during the project. He provided helpful comments along the way, but stuck to his agreement.
The ServiceMaster Story: Navigating Tension between People and Profit was a joy to write. I learned how Bill fit into a much bigger ServiceMaster story, how he learned and grew, and how leaders could collaborate rather than compete. I learned why they called him both the Professor and the Pastor at ServiceMaster. I learned how he could show respect and still make hard decisions. But I also learned about Bill the man. I saw him kind and thoughtful. I saw him angry, not perfect. I saw him saddened by events. I saw him impatient and frustrated. The more deeply I saw him, the more I saw new insight, new imperfections, and new compassion growing in him, the more I admired him. I was deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with him on this project over three years.
In the midst of all of this, we had the opportunity to honor Bill at SPU. In 2019, he was awarded the Frank Haas Integrity in Business Award.
When the book was completed, we met for a book roll out event at Wheaton, and on the phone. The book came out just as COVID hit, so connecting virtually was all that was possible.
Then in 2024 my wife, Nancy, died rather suddenly, and I got a kind and encouraging note from Bill and Judy. But he was beginning to struggle with his memory. This year, because of a variety of circumstances, I passed through the Chicago area on four different occasions. Each time I tried to see Bill one more time, and each time it just didn’t work for Bill. Then on the Monday after Easter, Judy and I went together to see Bill. He remembered me, but didn’t say very much. But I got to tell him how deeply he had affected me, and that I loved and admired him.
Thank you, Bill, for a life well lived and for inviting me into a corner of it.
