The founder of Caljet of America embraces Boy Scouting’s key principles in everything he does.

To Dave Alexander, founder of Caljet of America, the highest value someone can live in business is to give those around them “peace of mind.”

For his three direct reports, he says, their mission statement is “I give Dave peace of mind.”

He, in turn, strives to give his employees peace of mind, too.

“I don’t give every one of them, of course, the financial statements, but I demonstrate to them that we’re a strong company and they’re going to be taken care of,” he says. “My employees get a Cadillac health insurance policy for $1 a paycheck.”

Dave Alexander founded Caljet of America in 1982, using a credit-card loan to fund the company. At the time, there was a monopoly on fuel storage in the Arizona area, and Dave was, essentially, the new guy on the block. Over the next 30 years, he built it into the largest fuel-storage company of its kind in the state. Today, it handles, trades and sells more than $8 billion a year in products.

He’s done that while taking care of people better than his competitors in measurable ways, such as giving them a premium healthcare policy for $1 per paycheck — earning him a spot in our Top 100 Social Capital companies last year. “I had found out, at an early age, when you give back, you keep people’s loyalty and dedication,” says Dave, who was named one of the most caring people in America by the Caring Institute in Washington, D.C., five years ago.

He expects his team to embrace the spirit of giving back, as embodied by the Boy Scouts, an organization for which he is on the executive board after participating in scouting as a boy.

“Our mission statement, basically, is customer convenience and value-added service,” explains Dave. “And we demonstrate that to all the people around us. And I’ve surrounded myself with loyal, passionate people, and I’ve been training them in the Boy Scout oath, law and motto. And that’s such an important thing for me in my life, but also to show them — you have a new employee, you bring them in and shut the door and say, ‘You need to be trustworthy,’ because it’s trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave and reverent.’ If you’re not loyal to yourself, your family, your co-workers, the customers in this company, I’m going to send you down the road.”

An avid amateur athlete who participates in races such as The Escape from Alcatraz, Dave has been a big supporter of triathlons. His support of amateur athletes through sponsorships of sporting events has given him a hand in assembling “millions of overweight and aged people as a reminder that the muscle that’s most important in the body is the brain.” He is also the main sponsor for Arizona State University women’s triathletes.

Dave recently shared his groundbreaking business philosophy with Chris Benguhe, founder, president and publisher at the Dave Alexander Center for Social Capital. Click on the link below to join their conversation.

(And for a little more background, you might enjoy reading “Who is Dave of ‘Dave Alexander Center for Social Capital’? And why is his name on our Center?”)