Mothers' influence felt in decision of LDS executives

Published: Sunday, Dec. 31, 2006 12:11 a.m. MST
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Editor's note: A chance conversation about his Mormon faith with a friend in the publishing business led to an offer for Jeff Benedict to write about "The Mormon Way of Doing Business." For his book, Benedict interviewed eight prominent CEOs who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Deseret Morning News will share six short excerpts from the book on Sundays, concluding today. For more information about the book, go online to www.jeffbenedict.com.

(Former Harvard Business School Dean Kim) Clark's mother had three sayings she used to repeat to him every day as a child:

1. "Be a leader."

2. "If it's not worth doing well, it's not worth doing."

3. "Remember who you are."

On most school days, Mrs. Clark would grab Kim by the lapels of his coat before he left the house and say: "Don't you let those other kids pull you around by the nose. You be a leader. You stick to your guns. You do the right thing."

As the leader of the top business school in America, Clark embodied these simple but powerful principles taught to him by his mother beginning at age 5.

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Evidence of the influence these CEOs' mothers had on them and the way they conduct themselves as businessmen is easy to see. Dave Checketts' mother took the Checketts children to church every Sunday. She didn't have a driver's license. So she and the children walked, even in the winter. "Missing church was not an option," said Dave Checketts. This helps explain why Checketts developed such a rigid approach to attending church and avoiding work on Sundays.

Checketts' mother also encouraged him to seek leadership positions in school. When he ran for class president, his mother wrote his campaign speeches, calling on words from Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. One of the speeches she wrote for her son began: "Ask not what your school can do for you, but what you can do for your school."

"In the life of a young man, a mother has a big-time influence," said Dave Checketts. "My mother was absolutely committed to honesty, hard work, and making sure that I conducted myself in a way that made her and everyone else proud. Leadership was a big deal to her. And to be a leader you must be honest, be in the right place, and be aware of how you treat others." ...

The biggest influence the Mormon religion has on (the CEOs' wives) choices may be the emphasis the church's teachings place on making decisions based on a long-term perspective. All of these Mormon women who are married to the CEOs in this book view their decision to be at home as a seasonal one.

"There are seasons in life," said Sue Clark. "Once childbearing years are over there are many years to pursue education and other things. But there are seasons, and it's essential to protect and guard these childbearing years because they are shorter than life expectancy. There is a narrow window for childbearing and child rearing."

From the book "THE MORMON WAY OF DOING BUSINESS: Leadership and Success Through Faith and Family" by Jeff Benedict. Copyright 2007 by Jeff Benedict. Reprinted by permission of Warner Business Books Inc., New York. All rights reserved. Cover price: $25.99.

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