Holt began as a family business over a century ago. Benjamin Holt built a horse-drawn “Link Belt Combined Harvester” in the mid 1880’s in California. He produced some of the earliest steam traction engines and invented the first successful track-type tractor, the “Caterpillar.” Holt eventually moved the tractor manufacturing facility to a more central location in Illinois, where Caterpillar Inc. remains today.

Peter Holt, Benjamin Holt’s great grandson, joined the company in 1983. He observed poor communication between employees and management, and witnessed its impact on productivity. Holt had a vision of something different. He wanted to reinvigorate the family tradition of providing quality products and service to customers. He saw the value in moving beyond a “how much” and “how many” management style. He envisioned an organization with employees who would truly believe in what they - and the company - were doing.

Holt enlisted the help of consultants. In 1988, the company had created a process it now proudly calls “Holt Values Based Leadership (VBL)©”—“ a synthesized, pervasive, and unwavering commitment to the continuous application of the core values of the organization, by all members of the organization.”

HOLT CAT’s growth and success since 1988 has been phenomenal. The employee base has grown, turnover has declined and customer satisfaction has increased. Sales and profits have increased substantially. Today, HOLT CAT is the largest Caterpillar dealer in North America. A spirit of shared responsibility and collaboration has accompanied these very tangible results. Peter Holt attributes these successes to the VBL process.

Interestingly, Peter Holt has integrated the VBL process to other organizations in which he has a financial interest. Mr. Holt is the principal owner, chairman, and acting CEO of the San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team. VBL was introduced to the organization in 1997. Professional sports franchises are not always receptive to a values based approach, where the primary method of keeping score is winning. The Spurs track record speaks for itself. Regarded as a world-class professional sports franchise, The Spurs have won the NBA Championship four times since Peter Holt acquired a majority interest in the franchise.

In four consecutive seasons, ESPN Ultimate Standings ranked Spurs Sports and Entertainment as one of the top three franchises from the four major sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA) and the #1 team twice.

In 1994, Holt Development Services, Inc. (HDSI) was formed to share Holt’s model – and success - with other organizations. We offer organizational and leadership development facilitation and products to organizations throughout North America.

The HDSI staff meets and interviews each client’s key personnel to assess the organization’s readiness to integrate VBL in a manner tailored to the specific client. The key to successful values based leadership is commitment and follow through over time.

HDSI has helped many organizations in a variety of industries implement their own values based leadership process with great success.

If you’re seeking a way to differentiate your business from a leadership perspective, call us today!