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SALT LAKE CITY — When Greg Miller assumed the mantle as chief executive officer in 2008 of the business empire his father spent decades building, he knew he was filling some very big shoes. But he also knew he was ready to take on the challenge and lead the family business toward a prosperous future.
Miller was the keynote speaker Thursday at the Zions Premier Wealth Management Center Speaker Series in downtown Salt Lake City. He described the long apprenticeship he served under his legendary father, Larry H. Miller, who started with a single automobile dealership in 1979.
The Larry H. Miller Group of Companies now boasts more than 80 businesses and properties throughout the western U.S., including 30 car dealerships, two professional sports teams, EnergySolutions Arena, Miller Motorsports Park, movie theaters and retail stores.
He knew that I would run the business differently than he did, and at the end he was OK with that.
–Greg Miller
Miller told the invitation-only audience of about 200 people in the Founders Room of the Zions Bank building that his father was a very driven man who worked 80-hour weeks for 16 years to build his business. And while the younger Miller greatly respected the commitment his father had, he said there is more than one way to run a business. Greg Miller's approach is to work hard but leave time for his family, something his father wasn't always able to do.
"He knew that I would run the business differently than he did, and — at the end — he was OK with that," Miller said. "I have the opportunity to have a nice life, have a good job and the opportunity to be with my kids and my family in very large part because of the sacrifices he made when I was growing up."
He said that his father and mother, Gail, are considered the 1.0 version of the Miller family, with himself and his four siblings as 2.0, and the latest generation of Millers considered 3.0. While the 2.0 Millers are heavily involved in running and growing the various entities of the LHM Group, many in the 3.0 generation are beginning their journey into the business world with lower level positions that will teach them the principles of hard work and what it takes to become successful.
Greg Miller said nothing was handed to him and his siblings — a good lesson that would serve any other family-run business well, too.
My dad never gave us anything other than opportunity. He made us work for what we had.
–Greg Miller
"My dad never gave us anything other than opportunity," he explained. "He made us work for what we had."
He said Larry Miller made them understand that there would be "no sense of entitlement."
"That was very important, and I'm very thankful for that," he said.
He said teaching succeeding generations that they need to add to the value of the business "in order to be worthy of the blessings that come to them" is critical to the long-term viability of the entity.
He also mentioned that laying out a defined plan of succession would help alleviate any potential conflicts that could arise if something unexpectedly happened to the leader or patriarch. Planning for possible eventualities could prevent confusion and negative impacts to the business and ensure it progresses in the most desirable manner, he said.
"Relative to succession … define what you can while you can," Miller said. "The more you do now to define those things, the less speculation there is likely to be in your absence, the less bickering there will be among family members, the less imposition of the government's will (on your business) and the more your life's work is going to be protected in the hands of people you choose and love."
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