Message from CEO Clark Whitworth
Being the Best
L
ooking back at 2016, I am energized by the
many accomplishments of the LHM Group
and am proud to be a part of such a strong
and vibrant organization. The company now
employs over 11,000 people and has annual
revenues of more than $5 billion. Thank you for
making last year a success.
Larry Miller believed in “being the best,” so
it is fitting that the vision of our company is to
be the best place in town to work and the best
place in town to do business. We chose to focus
on being the best at our most recent Leadership
Conference and our group-wide Who We Are
event, helping us set the tone for the coming
year.
I believe we are the best place in town
to work and the best place in town to do
business, but we need to keep that momentum
going. There isn’t just one thing that makes us
successful. It’s the little things that happen every
day that build up over time to make us the best.
Consider the story, “The Impossible Job,”
that was shared during the recent Who We Are
presentation. This story has taught me many
lessons over my 29 years with the LHM Group.
Larry loved this story; I could see him being
both the boy and the Countess. Both roles
require hard work, patience, and diligence
to maintain the momentum and drive to be
the best.
Larry was one of my mentors, much like
the Countess became a mentor to the boy in
the story. Larry knew that growth continues
when leaders encourage, teach and provide
examples. He knew it was necessary for me to
solve problems on my own, and when I failed,
he gave me feedback and encouraged me to
try again. When Larry passed away, I thought
a lot about this story. I realized there are many
ISIO
OUR V
principles in “The Impossible Job” about great
leadership, how to be your best, and how to
teach that path to others. It is our roadmap to
keep the momentum of being the best place in
town to work and the best place in town to do
business.
When we recruit, do we look for the 50¢-ers,
or do we search for talent and choose to mentor
them? Are we ok to risk failing so that we can
learn from our failures? Do we take breaks and
come back re-energized? Do we take the extra
time and effort to make sure it is right, rather
than just complete? Are we patient and allow
time for others to learn? Do we remember to
be students, ourselves? I encourage you to read
“The Impossible Job” and reflect on the lessons
within the story. Identify your role in the story
and challenge yourself to improve. You will find
that after you spur yourself on, you will feel the
exhilaration of success.
We are committed to being the best place
in town to work and the best place in town to
do business. We are dedicated to enriching lives.
Our customers’ experience determines if they
will return and if they will share their positive
experience with others. Every LHM employee
has the opportunity to foster that positive
experience. In addition, we create experiences
for each other through opportunities, successes,
and failures. Celebrate them all. Each
experience offers us an opportunity to teach, to
learn, and to grow.
This year, I look forward to hearing stories
of how we have enriched lives, how we kept
raising the bar on being the best, and how we
challenged ourselves along the way. Make an
effort to learn and mentor this year. Working
together is how we make this company great. ◆
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Clark Whitworth, CEO of LHM Group of Companies
“I believe we are the
best place in town to
work and the best place
in town to do business,
but we need to keep that
momentum going.”
Clark Whitworth
COMMITMENT CARD. During the most recent Who We Are event, Clark challenged
each of us to be the best in 2017. As part of that challenge, we received a card to
complete and keep it where it could remind us of our commitment to be the best. The
two statements on the card represent the two aspects of our vision – internal and
external – one about where we work and the other about our customers.
During his remarks, Clark said, “Your commitment can be a great asset to you. It can
charge you up to do something in your life that will make a difference and help you
keep focused. It does not have to be something big. It could be simple, but I challenge
each of you to do it.”
________
________________
Please keep this
card where it will
remind you of your
We invite you to
commitment to
share a photo of
be the best.
your completed
card by sending
it to photos@lh
m.com.
Download a PDF version of the commitment card at www.lhmwsm.com
Send your completed card to [email protected]
LHMWSM.com
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