MESSAGE FROM GAIL MILLER
PARTNERS IN LIFE AND IN BUSINESS
In 1965, Larry and I created our first
partnership. That was the year we
became husband and wife. It was the
most important decision we made
together. We vowed to love, honor
and cherish each other, and we
committed to build our lives together.
We relied on each other; we trusted
and helped each other. And like all
good partnerships, we worked hard,
and we prospered. We learned that
to move forward, we had to bring our
best selves to that effort everyday.
We found that to be successful, we had to pick each other up
from time to time. We learned to communicate clearly; we
learned to trust and to rely on each other, and we learned that
common goals make the work much easier.
In 1970, we took that partnership, along with our growing
family, to Colorado, where we learned even more about what
it meant to be partners. It was a time that allowed us to grow,
deepen our commitment to each other, and try our wings to
see if we really could “fly” together. We did! Our growth was
exponential.
When we moved back to Salt Lake City, eight-and-a-half
years later, we were ready to create another partnership—we
became partners in business with the purchase of the Toyota
dealership in Murray. We took this big step together, not
knowing for sure what the end result would be but we had
complete confidence in our commitment to make it work.
Our partnerships, first in marriage and later in business, came
naturally to us because we were willing to do the hard work.
We were willing to accept our stewardship—to try to make
every area of our lives better. We were committed to serving
each other, our children and those around us. We wanted to
create a way for others to be successful too. We believed that
to be our very best, we had to honor our word, have integrity,
and consistently practice what we preached.
Those four things: Hard Work, Service, Stewardship, and
Integrity, became the hallmarks of our lives and the
LHM Group’s Mission: To Enrich Lives While many in
the business world would measure success by profits,
growth and assets, we believe that we achieve true
success when we positively impact our employees,
customers, vendors and the communities around us. It’s
a notion that Larry and Gail Miller lived by long before they were
“successful.” Enriching lives can be as simple as offering a friendly
smile to customers and coworkers or as involved as our annual Day
of Service. What’s important is that we make enriching lives part of
who we are in our daily lives.
foundation of this company. They are why we are in business
today. They are at the heart of why we do what we do. They
are the ideals that we hope are accepted by everyone who is
part of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies.
During his final days, Larry and I talked a lot about the future.
It was imperative to him that this company continue for many
generations. It was during those last days that he put into
words his desire that we might all “go about doing good until
there’s too much good in the world.” It was his way of saying:
“Don’t ever lose sight of our mission!”
It wasn’t until I started thinking about “just how is this plan
going to play out?” that I realized there was another piece
to the puzzle he hadn’t had time to put in place. I pondered:
“How are we going to get to the future without a bridge from
the past?”
Larry was a person who often wrote down his thoughts,
his plans and his ideas on a yellow legal pad. I was sorting
through his papers one day. He had simply written: “We need
to create a board of directors to have a system of checks and
balances…” While the note wasn’t intended for me at the time
he wrote it down, I knew right then that he was giving me an
instruction that made complete sense—it was the other half
of the plan: Create a board of directors. This was the bridge
that would take us all the way into the future. It would give us
the security to continue to be a vibrant business, prepare our
family for the future and give our employees the opportunity
to excel and perform at levels that would guarantee—as much
as anyone can guarantee—that our hard work of 37 years
would be able to continue for generations to come.
We are all part of a tremendous force for good, and none of
this could have happened and been sustained if Larry and I
hadn’t been guided by those original principles. They may
not have been written in a book when we bought that first
dealership, but they were written in our hearts and were
foundational to who we are and what we believe in. It has
been your hard work and your commitment to our shared
vision that has made this company what it is today and what it
will be tomorrow. Thank you.
Gail Miller
Discussion ideas for managers, leaders and teams:
1. Share the ideas for enriching lives you filled out on
the Commitment Card received at the Who We Are
presentation with your coworkers/department. Are
there any ideas that you can start doing today as a
team or department to enrich lives?
2. Has someone recently enriched your life or done
something to make you feel special/important? How
did it make you feel? Did their action(s) make you
want to do the same for someone else?