Texas LAND•Spring 2017

“I put my fingers up like antlers and started walking slowly—
starting, stopping, sniffing the air and arching my back,” Holt
said. “I finally made it to the feeder and set it off.”
His ruse worked. Later that afternoon, the duo harvested
a doe.
“My mom said, ‘See, I told you. That doe wouldn’t have come
in if you’d bumbled over there like a boy,’” he said. “In hind
sight, hunting has never been just about the results, it’s always
been about the good times.”
Good times tied to the land are experiences that Holt and his
wife, Lauren Kate, actively seek out for their own daughters,
who are one- and three-years-old.
“They already have their own boots,” Holt said. “One of
the greatest joys of my life is taking them out to our place in
Blanco. They don’t know what a fire truck is, but they can
identify a corn feeder.”
The explorers load up in the ranch truck to search for skunks,
foxes and deer, they are always on the lookout for some water to
splash in or mud to play in. It’s not uncommon to stop and have
a visit with the foreman about the status of the grass.
“When one of the girls says, ‘That’s a Hereford,’ it makes me
smile,’” Holt said. “I try to expose them to ranching and the
outdoors as much as I can, so they’ll love it as much as I do.”
Even this early in their lives, the land is leaving a mark.
“It’s fascinating for me to see the positive correlation between
the time they spend on the land and their behavior,” Holt said.
“When we spend time together outside, they’re happier, they
eat better, they sleep better—and they get up ready to do it
again the next day.”
While the land ownership is definitely pleasurable,
Holt embraces the responsibility that is part and parcel
of the privilege.
❝AS A LAND STEWARD, MY
RESPONSIBILITY IS TO STRIVE FOR
BALANCE IN ALL THINGS❞
— PETER JOHN HOLT
“As a land steward, my responsibility is to strive for balance
in all things,” Holt said. “Balance, whether it’s introducing
livestock or managing wildlife or optimizing the habitat, is
the key to attain the elusive win-win-win-win-win for the
environment, for wildlife, for agriculture, for society and for
the family.”
Being a good steward and working for the greater good
resonates with Holt.
“What’s the point of making money, having a great
family and going on incredible hunts, if you’re not actively
participating in life’s journey and striving to achieve a higher
purpose,” Holt said. “You have to aim for a higher purpose for
life to be truly worthwhile.”
THE VALUE OF VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP
At a time when many American businesses measure
their success on sheer size and short-term financial
gain, Holt Cat chose another route. Under the
leadership of Peter Holt, the company developed an
operating philosophy that measures success against a
series of ethical principles.
“As a privately held company we have the ability
to do things that a publicly held company can’t such
as running our company based on our family’s core
values,” Peter John Holt said. “We don’t have to blow
in the wind because we have a set of values that guide
every decision whether it’s hiring, compensation,
collaboration, expansion or any other issue of day-today
business.”
Values-Based Leadership, the company culture, is
embraced from the top down and the bottom up.
“Values-Based Leadership is how we are expected
to lead and make decisions and it is how we expect
others to lead and make decisions,” Holt said. “Some
people might argue that core values complicate
doing business, but actually they simplify it. There
is a checklist and clear standards to weigh every
decision against.”
Because the operating philosophy is built on ethics,
its influence reaches beyond the company’s walls.
“My first conscience is God, my second conscience
is my family and my third conscience is Values-Based
Leadership and these core values,” Holt said. “If I’m at
home and trying to cheat the lawn man out of $50, how
can I stand in front of our employees and ask them to
embrace our core values? They are something we live
with every day in every aspect of our lives.”
The approach has been so successful at Holt Cat,
the family has now created a consulting firm to share
the operating philosophy with non-profits, schools and
other organizations that could benefit.
“In business—and in life—doing what’s right is never
a bad thing,” Holt said.
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