Brittany P. Thornton
Dr. Aneil Mishra
MGMT 4343
02 February 2016
Dane Miller- The Maverick CEO
Great leaders are all defined by different attributes, successes, and contributions made to their professions, communities, and stakeholders. The term “Leader” is subjective and varies greatly in the opinions among various individuals. In this paper, Dr. Dane Miller, my selected CEO, will undergo a leadership assessment based on the ROCC of Trust and various other qualities. Biomet Inc. is a medical device manufacturer specializing in reconstructive products for orthopedic surgery and O.R. supplies (Biomet). Dr. Dane A. Miller or “Mr. Biomet”, was the co-founder of the orthopedic company Biomet, Inc. and served as its president and chief executive officer from 1978 to 2006 (Jordan). In the United States, the medical device market remains the largest one in the world with a market size of about $110 billion (Select USA).
The ROCC of trust explores the elements that restore, enhance, and build trust amongst individuals. Being a great leader involves fostering strong and enduring relationships so learning to utilize and assess the ROCC of Trust is a useful analytical tool. Using the ROCC of Trust entails being reliable, open, competent, and compassionate. Dane Miller exhibited reliability both for his products and his commitment to the company. In 2006, he was coerced by the company’s board of directors to retire after 28 years of service. Miller said he contemplated riding off into the sunset with his wife but instead he made a comeback and worked to acquire the capital to take the company private. Miller validates my claim when he said during an interview; “…we started thinking about people. Biomet wasn’t just a company. It was a collection of very talented, very motivated, very dedicated people. And I wasn’t comfortable with simply turning my back and riding off into the sunset” (Kelley). Miller valued the company and the people that added value to the Biomet experience and culture. Great leaders recognize value in employees and know that they are important assets to the company. Along with Miller’s exceptional academic record, he was also extremely competent. Dr. Dane Miller and Biomet, Inc. were the first to pioneer utilizing titanium in total joint replacement. He was confident that this was a breakthrough product in the market and he went to great lengths to show the world. “At the time, people thought the only material you could use in the human body was stainless steel. He wanted to prove to the world that titanium was really a better product,” says Jordan from “How They Did It”. He used himself as a human guinea pig and had a piece of titanium placed in his own arm that remained there for 9 years. Miller not only used himself to test titanium but his own grandmother was the first Biomet joint recipient when she underwent a total hip replacement (Kelley). This could have been a total failure but he took the chance and exposed a family member as well as himself. He wanted the world to know that he was transparent and willing to go to great lengths to test his product. Both of these events are testaments to his character, integrity, and compassion for Biomet. In the book The Maverick CEO; Dane Miller and the Story of Biomet he always refers to his employees as “team members” and always says that people that weren’t making mistakes were playing it too safe and not doing their job. Miller’s strategy on teamwork, communicating effectively, and collaboration led to compassionate team members and team spirit. The three pillars of leadership that foster trust building are courage, authenticity, and humility. Dane Miller always instilled in his team members to validate and authenticate the relationships that they had with the surgeons. In his hopes to do this, Miller advocated a different kind of “laser surgery”. During the complicated procedures of switching real hips and knees with the titanium replacements many physicians would get confused. So in order to reduce the confusion during surgery, a Biomet representative guides the surgeon with the red dot of a laser pointer (Shontell). This seems extremely simple but the fact that a CEO like Miller was concerned with this degree of detail and the fluidity of the procedures reflects how dedicated and authentic he was as a leader. Humility is a personal favorite trait that I seek in others and that I see in Miller. During his early career he took a job at Arby’s for one reason; their policy gave each employee two sandwiches a day. He would eat one and take one home to his wife. Dane Miller has followed up this statement by saying "Behind every successful man is a great woman-and a surprised mother-in-law!" (Adams). Although he was extremely successful, he continuously gives credit to other people for his achievements. He applauds his wife for her encouragement but also gives credit to community. It takes a courageous leader to recognize his or her blessings and multiply those back to others. He has given over 30 million dollars of his own money to the restoration of his community through various nonprofits, community organizations, churches, and educational scholarships. In The Maverick CEO; Dane Miller and the Story of Biomet, he quotes William James, “The best use of life is to invest in something which will outlast your life” (Adams).

The success of Biomet as an organization can be traced to Dane Miller and his contributions through his leadership. Miller enhanced Biomet socially, demographically, and financially. Miller positioned Biomet to maintain a competitive advantage throughout the years and created a globally recognizable brand. From starting the business in 1978, Biomet, Inc. has become a flagship for all medical device companies. Without the leadership style of CEO Dr. Dane Miller, Biomet Inc. would not have experienced and sustained such success. The largest milestone in Biomet history occurred in 2014 when Zimmer paid $13.4 billion to acquire Biomet Inc. The company formerly known as Biomet, Inc. is currently “Zimmer-Biomet”.

Works cited Adams, Charlie. "Stoke The Fire Within Article: The Maverick CEO." Stoke The Fire Within Article: The Maverick CEO. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. "Corporate Headquarters Warsaw, Indiana." Biomet : Corporate Headquarters. Biomet, Inc., 2016. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://www.biomet.com/corporate/>. "Entrepreneur Resources: The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Kelley School of Business: Indiana University." Entrepreneur Resources: The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Kelley School of Business: Indiana University. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. Kavanaugh, Patrick. The Maverick CEO: Dane Miller and the Story of Biomet. United States: Publisher Not Identified, 2008. Print. Robert Jordan, How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America (Redflash, 2010) Shontell, Alyson. "10 Differences Between Self-Made Billionaires And You." Business Insider Australia. 07 Jan. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. "The Medical Device Industry in the United States." The Medical Device Industry in the United States. Select USA. Web. 01 Feb. 2016.