What would a former President of the United States have to say to the cleaning and janitorial industry? That’s what we wondered when we found out that President George W. Bush was going to be at ISSA Show North America 2018.

  ISSA Director John Barrett and President George W. Bush met for a “Fireside Chat” about leadership, personal growth, and more. We had pretty great seats!

ISSA Director John Barrett and President George W. Bush met for a “Fireside Chat” about leadership, personal growth, and more. We had pretty great seats!

He and ISSA Director John Barrett hosted an informal “fireside chat” that covered a wide range of issues. It was fascinating to hear from these two on how leaders can improve.

President Bush’s main message? Don’t stop learning.

He spoke about the need to constantly keep learning, growing, and self-reinventing. He gave the example of his own reinvention after his presidency, when he began painting as an amateur artist. His Portraits of Courage exhibit features oil paintings of veterans who served after 9/11 and raises funds for veterans’ causes. It’s been curated into an art book and praised for its unflinching look into the eyes of those who have served.

So how does this connect with cleaning?

President Bush spoke to the fact that business owners and team leaders need to continually push themselves and their teams. It’s crucial to constantly invest in learning.

This is a message that any team can take to heart. No matter how far you’ve come, there’s always room to keep growing.

Practically speaking, this might look like investing in training and education, both for leaders and staff. Maybe it means sitting down to hear from cleaners on the ground to hear their own feedback and ideas. Maybe it means committing to master new business skills and best practices.

But as we head into December, a time of reflecting on the year that’s almost behind us, we think it’s worth looking forward to ask: How can we challenge ourselves to learn and grow?

If you were at ISSA, we’d love to hear what you took away from this meeting of janitorial minds! We had a great time hearing from key figures in the industry and meeting so many people with a passion for pushing their own businesses to the next level.


OrangeQC is refreshingly simple janitorial software that empowers your team to own quality control. We’d love to connect and give you a free one-on-one demo of our inspection app and website; click here or email info@orangeqc.com.

Categories: ISSA