Dear Toby, It's hard to believe that it has been several months since we had the cocktail party for your people to celebrate the completion of our "renovation" project. I still remember being impressed by the fact that almost everyone who worked on the project - from the folks who tore the house apart to the ones who finished it - attended the party to show people what they had helped to create. It was clear that they take pride in what they do. As well they should! A company's success is critically dependent upon the quality of its people, including both their skills and their attitudes. Success also depends upon deploying this quality with teamwork and effectiveness. This requires leadership and a clearly understood culture of excellence. You should take pride in the fact that The Hill Group is rich in these qualities. They were very important to Susan and me. Undertaking a total "redo" of our new home with some heavy-duty structural modifications, while living 1,200 miles away, was a daunting challenge. With only four opportunities to visit the project during almost nine months of work, it was essential for us to be able to have total trust and confidence in our builder. In this and every other dimension, your team really delivered. They successfully integrated almost 40 change orders, and completed the project on time and better than budget! Over the past several months since the completion, we've also had a chance to experience The Hill Group's follow through. In spite of your people having moved on to other full-time, major projects, they have been extremely responsive to any follow-up item, question, or request. They continue to demonstrate their pride and commitment to the end result, with no dangling details left unfinished. You were a pleasure to do business with. It's nice to be able to work on a "handshake basis" and to know you can have a discussion, agree to a decision, and it will be done. It goes back to that trust and confidence I mentioned earlier. Toby, Susan and I are thrilled with our "new" home. You and your entire team should take pride in an outstanding job. You provide great quality and value, and we would be happy to recommend you highly to anyone. Thank you so very much! Warmest regards, Bill (Written during Mr. Friesell's tenure as CEO of Diners Club International. Reprinted here, and edited for brevity, with his kind permission.)