LDS leader was a natural at business

Rodney H. Brady recalls the late President Gordon B. Hinckley not only as a keen-minded communicator and caring person, but also as a great business executive.

The leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who died Sunday at age 97, was "without doubt, the finest business executive that I have met anywhere," said Brady.

As he is president and CEO of Deseret Management Corp., the for-profit holding company affiliated with the church, Brady had close associations with President Hinckley, who was chairman of the board of DMC.

During a telephone interview Monday, Brady recalled his close association with President Hinckley. He estimated that during the past 22 yeas, he met privately or in small groups with President Hinckley about 1,000 times.

Based on such extensive personal exposure to him, Brady said, he is certain of these facets of "this extraordinary man." He cited President Hinckley's:

• Interest in and loyalty to Salt Lake City, Utah, America and the world, which he said was unmatched.

• Especially keen mind, which was capable of comprehending complex issues quickly and reducing them to their basics, so he could make timely and wise decisions.

• Superb skill as a communicator. He was a person who listened intently, organized his thoughts skillfully and wrote and spoke with clarity.

• Commitment to loving and honoring his parents, his wife, his ancestors and posterity.

• Wonderful sense of humor. He could laugh as expressively as any man Brady has known — "with the possible exception of my father" — and yet could shed a tear at moments of sadness and tragedy.

"During my many hours I've spent with President Hinckley in his office, I've made it a point to look around. ... One thing I'll always see in a prominent place on his desk, on a credenza, is a framed display of a widow's mite," a small donation given by someone who could least afford it, such as a widow.

"And I've seen him point to it as he emphasized the care we should take in administrating even the smallest amount of sacred funds."

When facing a particularly important decision, President Hinckley often would ask those meeting with him to join in a "sacred and powerful prayer to seek the assistance and will of a higher power," Brady remembered.