Empathy at Neighborly Scale with Mike Davis
In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, Mike Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Neighborly, explains how empathy in franchise leadership scales trust across 5,500 franchise locations through shared values, accountability, and what he calls "shared insomnia" for franchise owners' success.
Empathy in franchise leadership is not a soft add-on at Neighborly, it is written into the franchise agreement itself. In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we welcome Mike Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Neighborly, the world’s largest home services company, with more than 30 brands and 5,500 franchises serving more than 14 million customers.
In this episode we explore:
• Why empathy is essential to modern leadership
• How empathy supports trust in home services
• Why franchise owners need both systems and human support
• How leaders balance performance, accountability, and care
• Why service businesses grow stronger through community connection
• How empathy becomes a competitive advantage at scale
Kindness Pours Gas on Execution
Mike doesn’t separate kindness from performance. “I think many times, kindness just pours gas on execution,” he says, describing how leaders who walk the walk build the trust that drives real accountability, not softness in place of it.
A Code of Values Written Into the Franchise Agreement
Neighborly’s 4,000-plus owners operate under 15 code of values that Mike keeps alive through repetition: read before training meetings, posted around offices, repeated on quarterly owner calls. Franchise agreements even require a minimum Net Promoter Score, because as Mike puts it, disappointing a customer “generally ties back to some sort of empathy moment.”
Every Home Is a Sacred Place
“These are sacred places for us,” Mike says of the homes Neighborly’s technicians enter. Corporate systems get the technician to the door, what happens next, the “magic” that turns a transaction into a fan, is local and human. That same instinct to turn a transaction into a relationship, the kind of clear, human brand storytelling Zero Company helps companies build, is what separates a service call from a trusted brand.
Shared Insomnia and Emotionally Rehiring People
Mike describes his leadership team’s constant focus on franchise owners as “shared insomnia,” not anxiety, but a joyful drive to do more for the people who depend on the system. He pairs it with what he calls “emotionally rehiring” people: small, often free gestures, a handwritten thank-you, an early Friday, that remind teams they are valued.
Mike’s practical habit for listeners: “listen with intent, everybody’s right from their own perspective,” paired with a daily practice of sending one message of gratitude a day.
Key Takeaways
• (2:54-3:35) Why empathy matters at scale: “true growth engines are built by a team of believers,” and you build believers with empathy and authenticity, which create the trust that drives execution
• (6:05-8:10) NPS scores are written into the franchise agreement itself; the code of values is read before training meetings and posted in offices, because frequency is what codifies culture across 5,500 locations
• (9:55-11:20) “I think many times, kindness just pours gas on execution.”
• (18:40-20:21) Home visits are “sacred places,” and the franchisor’s job is to get technicians to the door while franchisees “add their own little nuance to make that magic.”
• (33:07-35:54) “Shared insomnia” and “emotionally rehiring” people: love in leadership shows up as small, often costless acts, a thank-you, an early Friday
• (39:48-42:03) The practical habit: “listen with intent, everybody’s right from their own perspective,” plus a daily gratitude practice (an alarm set to send one thank-you message a day)
FAQ
Why does Mike Davis say empathy matters for franchise leaders at scale?
Because growth engines are built by “a team of believers,” and Davis says leaders build believers through empathy and authenticity, which create the trust that drives execution: “kindness just pours gas on execution.”
How does Neighborly build empathy into its systems across 5,500 locations?
Partly through structure, franchise agreements require owners to maintain a minimum Net Promoter Score, and partly through repetition: the company’s code of values is read before training meetings, posted in offices, and repeated on quarterly owner calls, because as Davis puts it, frequency “is what it takes to codify something.”
What does Mike Davis mean by “shared insomnia” and “emotionally rehiring” people?
Shared insomnia is how he describes the leadership team’s constant, energized focus on franchise owners’ success, “not a negative,” but a joyful drive to do more. Emotionally rehiring means showing appreciation through small, often free gestures, a thank-you note, an early Friday, that remind people they’re valued.
🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa
🎧 Produced by Martha Huerta
Learn more about Mike Davis and Neighborly at neighborly.com. Explore more conversations in our Featured Guest Series.
CEO of Neighborly
Mike Davis joined Neighborly as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in July 2024. He is based in the company’s Irving, Texas office. Neighborly is the world's largest home services company with more than 30 brands and 5,500 franchises collectively serving 14 million+ customers by repairing, maintaining, and enhancing their homes and businesses.
Mike is a highly successful CEO with deep experience in franchising. He served as the CEO of Mathnasium Learning Centers, the leading math-only supplemental education franchise with 1,200 centers across 10 countries. There, he led key initiatives that resulted in double-digit systemwide sales and double-digit same-store sales growth. 
Prior to that, as CEO of Valpak, a franchised network and leader in direct mail and digital marketing, Mike helped transform them from a best-in-class printer to a best-in-class sales and marketing organization. He institutionalized their franchise base, launched new products and services, and executed mergers and acquisitions that all drove significant growth.
Mike has more than two decades of leadership experience, including 13 years with Universal Music Group (UMG), where he became Executive Vice President and General Manager and was responsible for driving strategic and tactical operations for a division that outperformed seven of eight divisions within UMG by 70% for four consecutive years.
His leadership has spanned companies across diverse fields, including multi-unit franchising, B2B, B2C, eCommerce, direct-to-consumer, third-party logistics, digital …
