As we celebrate the Fourth of July, Independence Day in America, I like to reflect on our values at ServiceMaster Advanced, and how those values, much like the Declaration of Independence, embody much of what America stands for. The Declaration of Independence was, as the Heritage Foundation has suggested, not an appeal to any Man-made decree, but rather to the rights inherently possessed by all men. 

From The Heritage Foundation: “The Declaration of Independence is the founding document of the American political tradition. It articulates the fundamental ideas that form the American nation: All men are created free and equal and possess the same inherent, natural rights. Legitimate governments must therefore be based on the consent of the governed and must exist “to secure these rights.”

 

As a practical matter, the Declaration of Independence announced to the world the unanimous decision of the thirteen American colonies to separate themselves from Great Britain. But its true revolutionary significance—then as well as now—is the declaration of a new basis of political legitimacy in the sovereignty of the people. The Americans’ final appeal was not to any man-made decree or evolving spirit but to rights inherently possessed by all men. These rights are found in eternal “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” As such, the Declaration’s meaning transcends the particulars of time and circumstances.

 

The circumstances of the Declaration’s writing make us appreciate its exceptionalist claims even more. The war against Britain had been raging for more than two years when the Continental Congress, following a resolution of Richard Henry Lee on June 7, 1776, appointed a committee to explore the independence of the colonies from Great Britain. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston turned to their colleague Thomas Jefferson to draft a formal declaration which they then submitted, with few corrections, to Congress. On July 2 Congress voted for independence and proceeded to debate the wording of the Declaration, which was, with the notable deletion of Jefferson’s vehement condemnation of slavery, unanimously approved on the evening of July 4. Every Fourth of July, America celebrates not the actual act of independence (proclaimed on July 2) but rather the public proclamation of the principles behind the act.”

 

When you walk into the lobby of our (ServiceMaster former) headquarters in Downers Grove, Illinois, you see on your right a curving marble wall that stretches ninety feet and stands eighteen feet tall. Carved prominently in the stone of that wall in letters nearly a foot high are four statements that constitute the objectives of our ServiceMaster:

 

1. To honor God in all we do
2. To help people develop
3. To pursue excellence
4. To grow profitably

 

These are the Objectives that were set forth by the founder of ServiceMaster Marion E. Wade. Not exactly a masterpiece in terms of written prose, or even comparable to the Declaration of Independence, but rather simple objectives that much like that esteemed document, appeal to mankind’s highest calling. WIth God in it’s proper place, and profit in it’s proper rank, the ServiceMaster Corporate Objectives provide a framework from which honest Spiritually-led companies can operate from. Marion Wade wrote many books; many are at the Marion E. Wade Center of Wheaton College, IL,  and he wrote extensively on how a corporate entity could be within God’s Laws and be profitable. To simplify, if the corporate entity had things in their proper order, as with the ServiceMaster Objectives, then he believed that they were in keeping with biblical principles. 

 

At ServiceMaster ADVANCED in Mobile, we try to live up to those objectives. Our people are involved in the Mobile and Baldwin County, AL communities and we care about our employees. We believe in giving back to the communities that have been so good to us, and we try to adhere to the Objectives that Marion Wade outlined so many years ago, and which we believe are more important than ever, today.

 

ServiceMaster ADVANCED (251) 653-9333 / (251) 928-1028