Miller brought the same intensity and work ethic to the business world. He worked all day and most of the night. He could have worked fewer hours, but that wasn't his style: He was obsessive in his hands-on management style, overseeing every detail of the business.

"It was the satisfaction of accomplishments and of doing certain things," he says. "I wasn't afraid to delegate; I took pleasure out of details. Also, I could make sure it gets done right."

The same man who couldn't do homework for school, thrives on doing his homework on the details. He studies every nuance of a project. When the Delta Center was being built, he dived into every aspect of the project. During daily meetings with architects, he requested that certain things be done with the construction of the building, and architects told him they couldn't be done. "Well, if you look at the drawings and reconfigure your plans," Miller would say, "I think you'll see that it can be done." The next day the architects would show up for another meeting and report, "You know what, you're right."

"That happened several times," says David Allred, a Jazz vice president who sat in on the meetings. "He studies things out. He can tell you those kinds of things about anything he's involved with. He becomes an expert."

Amid all the worries about costs and deadlines and building issues during the construction of the Delta Center, he became an expert in, of all things, trees; specifically, the trees that would be planted in front of the building. He talked to horticulturists at universities. He read books. He drove to sites around town to view certain types of trees in person. In the end, he decided on a flowering pear. Why? Because when they're planted a certain distance apart, they grow together and form a canopy about 35 feet above the ground. The canopy will provide shade in the summer and a beautiful treetop view for people looking out of the fifth floor of the Delta Center, not to mention vivid colors in the spring and fall.

This is the quintessential Miller — a man who revels in details and projects. He is running a business empire that employs 5,000 people, yet he can tell you how many Christmas lights those trees require. ("When we first planted them they took only four to six strands per tree; last year they averaged 76. Some have over 100.")

Through the years, Miller tried to hire people to oversee the day-to-day operations and the details, but it didn't work. He couldn't help himself; too often he stepped in to get his hands on some project. More recently he has tried again, but with more latitude for him to get his hands on a project if he wants.

"My father has an insatiable appetite to correct problems and do deals," says Miller's oldest son, Greg.