MESSAGE FROM MAO PRESIDENT DEAN FITZPATRICK
UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITIES
This is a special time for the Larry H. Miller
Group of Companies and, in particular,
for Miller Automotive Operations. We
are experiencing unprecedented levels of
business never before seen in the 36-year
history of the Group. We are trending
up significantly in both volume and
profitability so far in 2015, and for the first
time ever we:
- Exceeded 100,000 units in yearly retail
sales in 2014 (102,711)
- Exceeded 10,000 units in monthly retail
sales in May (10,258)
Those numbers would have been hard to imagine when our first
dealership opened in 1979. In true Larry fashion, we continue to set
our sights ever higher.
New dealership facilities are being constructed or significantly
enhanced at record pace. Gail Miller has continued to support
investment in facilities which match our vision of being the best
place in town to work and the best place in
town to do business. The money, time and
effort spent improving our dealerships is
an investment in our employees, customers
and in our future growth.
We’ve also come off a string of successful
offsite sales events, not only in the Utah
market, but also in Arizona, Washington,
New Mexico, Idaho and Colorado. We
recognize and appreciate the tremendous
amount of effort expended to make these
events so successful.
do not handle it properly. It’s extremely important that we
do not let our “foot off the gas” so to speak and become
complacent during this strong business climate that we
are currently experiencing.
This is the time, as we collectively work together, we can
accomplish some really great things and create more even
more opportunities within the organization. As we grow,
we are able to enrich more lives – not only through the
additional resources that are generated as a byproduct
of doing things the right way, but also through personal
growth for our employees who desire and deserve it.
It takes a conscientious decision to not be complacent
when things are going so well. On an individual level, we
have to fight not to get so comfortable with our newfound
success that we cease to strive for even loftier goals and
higher levels of customer service. I think this is one of the
things Larry meant when he said, “I don’t mind getting big,
I just don’t want to act big.” Big companies can lose that
drive to be better. They can get comfortable with being
big. They can have a tendency of sitting back and relaxing
in their economic air-conditioned
success. We are not that company.
BIG COMPANIES
CAN LOSE THAT DRIVE
TO BE BETTER. WE ARE
NOT THAT COMPANY.
We’ve raised significant resources to further enhance the
organization’s charitable efforts through the annual Larry H. Miller
Dealerships Golf Classic event. Our vendor partners supported the
effort at unprecedented levels.
All of this, and many other success stories, is the result of a
strong market, strengthening economy and, most importantly,
our dedicated and skilled team members who come to work and
accomplish amazing things every day.
The success we are experiencing as an organization is a wonderful
thing but can also be very dangerous to our long term success if we
LHM Group’s Vision: To be the best place in town to
work and the best place in town to do business. Larry
established this from the beginning when he said, “I don’t
mind getting big, but I never want to act big.” When
formalizing the Group’s Vision, the words “in town” were
left in as part of the Vision statement. Even though Larry’s philosophy
is one that represents the Group as a whole, each company, team
and division’s approach to being the best can be unique.
I would challenge us as an organization
to keep our focus on progress – to not
get too comfortable. Success is a great
problem to have, but success can also
be the biggest threat to our future
success. Business can come too easy.
We start taking our customers for
granted. We get lazy in our business
practices. Prosperity can cause us to
lose sight of why we are in business
in the first place, especially when we begin to take sole
credit for our success.
While it is important for us all to take a moment to
celebrate our victories, acknowledge a job well done by
a team member or operation, and to celebrate certain
milestones that are achieved along the way, we have
the responsibility to adjust the dial to take advantage of
the fertile ground under our feet and do more. We can
do more. We can create more opportunities for growth,
and, in so doing, we can give back even more to the
communities where we do business. WS
Discussion ideas for managers, leaders and teams:
1. What makes your department/team different?
2. How do these differences play a role in the Group’s Vision to
be the best place in town to work/do business?
3. How can you work together with other departments/teams
to achieve the Group’s Vision as a whole?
4. What can you do individually to help your business entity
become the best place in town to work/do business?