Jim Hiller named one of Michigan's Top Executives by Corp! Magazine

Jim Hiller says consensus is not the same as making a decision. “My business philosophy is take your first loss; if you make a mistake, fix it.” Originally a lawyer, Hiller says the transition from the legal profession to a career in business was among his biggest challenges. “The style of action is so different—even though the training was effective.” Once in business, Hiller began to see how much a business was like a life itself. “They begin in a period of infancy then move to childhood, adolescence and adulthood and eventually move on into dotage. The key in a family business is to prolong for as many years as you can that period of adulthood.” One way to ensure that, he says, is the same way humans do. “Try not to fall into the trap of sameness. People who live a long, fruitful, happy life are those people who are willing to embrace change and embrace the difficulties they face. Show me a happy old person and I’ll show you a person who has lived with life’s travails and dealt with changes. It’s the same way with a business. If you insist that a business must fit the same cookie cutter shape eternally, without change or evolution, you are destined to have a short run. The person who runs the company must willingly embrace change, almost seek it.” Today, Hiller says success has meant he can make philanthropy his main goal in life. Still, he cautions himself against getting too smug. One way to do that? “By never congratulating myself on my accomplishments, by always questioning everything that I do in light of all the new things that I’ve learned and all the changes that have taken place around me. The other thing that drives me very hard is the strong sense of responsibility for the people who not only work for me but who take care of me. It’s the people that make me different— if you constantly strive to do the right thing and put yourself essentially at the same level as the people who take care of you and work for you, and you can build a relationship with them that is honest and authentic and one that is driven by a sense of mutual respect, then you stand a chance of continuing and growing as a leader, despite failing faculties with age.”

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