A Culture of Thriving: Jim Phillips, ’65, Learned Many Lessons Being the Son of a College President
Written by Doug Goodnough
Jim Phillips, ’65, learned his first business lesson from his father in the third grade. Selling popcorn to the local fraternities and sororities for 10 cents a bag, he thought he had made quite a profit. When he got home, his father, former Hillsdale College President Dr. J. Donald Phillips, held his hand out.
“I asked him, why is your hand out?” Phillips said. “He said, ‘I want so much for the butter, so much for the string, money for the salt, and money for the box.’ I kept doling that out and I didn’t have a whole lot (of money) left. I learned how business worked.”
The 80-year-old Phillips took those early lessons from his father, as well as his psychology degree from Hillsdale College, and created a successful business consulting group. For more than 45 years, The Phillips Company has helped organizations grow and improve their revenue and efficiency.
After graduating from Hillsdale, Phillips wasn’t sure of his career path, so he taught for a couple of years at a high school in Southfield, Michigan. Realizing he wanted to be involved in the business world, he finished an MBA in marketing and social psychology from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, and worked briefly for an advertising and printing company in the Lansing area.
He eventually decided to start The Phillips Company, and his first consulting job was with McCall Lumber in Hillsdale. After helping that business grow, he moved to Lansing, and soon, business was booming. Phillips said he has worked with more than 450 small to mid-size businesses and organizations to create “a culture of thriving.”
“As time went by, the culture issue became huge,” he said. “People wanted to find more meaning in work. It used to be dad would go to work and get money to buy bread, and that was it. You had a job and it was good. Not anymore. People want satisfaction during the day and some meaning. My philosophy is having the value of respect for each other, and the conservation of resources, of materials, of hours.”
Building a sense of respect and communication within an organization is a key to its success, according to Phillips. For example, one of his clients, the Mt. Pleasant Hospital, was ranked dead last out of 44 state hospitals for quality and customer appreciation and satisfaction. Using his philosophies, the hospital moved up to 18th within a year and eventually was ranked first approximately 18 months later.
“That meant millions of dollars to the bottom line,” Phillips said.
Phillips said he fondly remembers his Hillsdale College experience, even though being the son of the president was a little challenging at times.
“I’m sure I didn’t go to as many Hill parties as there were,” he said. “(My father) knew more about me than I did. I think it bothered a few students, but in general I had some great friends.”
Phillips eventually joined the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, which was then located across the street from the president’s house. He said he and his friends would often “break in” to the president’s house for a late-night snack. But his mother had one rule—don’t eat the food meant for College guests.
He said the Hillsdale campus at times was “tense.” During the 1960s, there were many students who enrolled after serving in the Korean War, which changed the campus culture.
“They worked hard, and they played equally hard,” he said of veteran students.
During his sophomore year on campus, there was an incident involving the Students for a Democratic Society. These Socialist-leaning anti-war protesters infiltrated campus and were involved in some vandalism and even posed a threat of violence. Phillips said his father quickly responded to the threat, bringing in the FBI and the State Police. He rounded up the students and some of the professors involved and marched them down to Stock’s Fieldhouse.
“My dad walked up to the podium and said, ‘This will now stop.’” Phillips said.
And it did.
However, there were very good times. Phillips said he fondly remembers many faculty and staff, especially football coach Frank “Muddy” Waters, who used to take a group of students kayaking down the Manistee River.
“Muddy snored so bad he had to put his tent really far from anybody else,” Phillips remembers.
Phillips said his father’s toughest battle as president may have been keeping Hillsdale College independent from federal aid. Although the Board of Trustees knew that refusing to accept federal aid could jeopardize the survival of the College, Phillips remembers the prudent leadership of the Board and its willingness to engage in ventures with business, such as opening the Dow Center, that allowed the College to thrive.
Phillips calls his father “the best teacher I have ever known.” And he said his mother, an accomplished pianist, “did a beautiful job” hosting all the presidential events on campus.
His siblings—brothers Scott and Mack and sisters Julie and Sally—all attended Hillsdale College. And they still keep in touch. He also has two grown children: son Jadon and daughter Eryn.
Phillips credits a regimen of yoga, sit-ups, push-ups, and weightlifting for remaining active.
However, he is not only active, but thriving. Scheduled to be married on March 26, he is also releasing a new book titled Waypoints that outlines some his business philosophies. It will be available on Amazon soon.
He said he has no intention of retiring from The Phillips Company any time soon.
“I’m not doing five or six (businesses) at a time anymore,” said the octogenarian. “But now I take on a couple of them that I really want to help.
“I get such a thrill when I see (a business) evolving inside of an organization,” Phillips said. “When they start taking responsibility for it to be a much better organization, it starts to move. And the people change. They have a better life. They go home better. All of that is very rewarding.”
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in March 2023