The Salt Lake Chamber Recognizes Governor Herbert: The Salt Lake Chamber announces its 41st annual 'Giant in our City.'.

• Author: Miller, Derek

For more than two decades. Governor Herbert has pursued a goal with singular focus--to make Utah the top state in the nation to live and work. For much of this time, I have known him as a boss, mentor, and friend. I learned invaluable lessons by observing his conviction and ingenuity, as well as the care and concern he has for those he serves.

For Gov. Herbert, the state of Utah is more than a place where he resides and the people are more than just its citizens. Utah is his home in every sense of the word, and in his mind Utahns are family. He cares at a personal level and feels deeply about those he serves as governor, he takes the approach that many of us take within our families, operating from a position of understanding and respect. Toward achieving this dream, there are a few characteristics that define him.

Put people first

Too often, we lose our focus when looking only at the big picture-impersonal data and what things will look like in a month, a year, or even a decade. What makes Gov. Herbert different is that even in a crisis, when most would expect his attention to be consumed by a long-term plan, he does not lose sight of the individual.

He begins with people--families and the community--and then moves into the data, programs, and processes. Take Utah's past floods and wildfires, it was amazing how he would know who was affected and talk about them by name. His immediate priority was to ensure that they were okay, their families were safe, and then he would discuss policy. For the Governor, people always come first.

Listen to all sides

Gov. Herbert also taught me the importance of examining all sides of a situation and engaging in what I call, "deep listening." In fact, never have I worked with someone who so well exercised Stephen Covey's fifth habit: seek first to understand, then to be understood. I came to appreciate the important difference between listening to what someone has to say and really hearing their concerns, not only from an emotional...