All Together...
It certainly represents unity. But it's also a call for going "Gung-Ho" into 2019.
Gung-Ho, after all, not only serves as the final Datamax Principle in the Little Blue Book. It literally translates to "Work Together."
The Datamax theme for 2019, “All Together” means that each individual job is critical to our collective success. There’s not one position within the dark-blue adorned walls of every Datamax office that trumps another in relative importance. Creating Raving Fans® is a collective mission that each of us must take on ourselves if it is to be achieved.
“Every job is undoubtedly important,” Datamax Inc. President Barry Simon said. “Being all together means it takes ALL of us to make Raving Fans.”
Perhaps no recent professional team exemplified the “All Together” mentality better than the NBA’s 2011 Dallas Mavericks. As readers know by now, the Rave Review Team’s well of sports analogies never runs dry! Even with the absence of a true superstar (Dirk was a former MVP, but also the consummate teammate), the Mavericks eliminated the star-studded sultans of South Beach, the Miami Heat, in six games by utilizing clearly defined roles for every Maverick on the court.
There was the aging veteran Jason Kidd orchestrating the back court. Tyson Chandler maintained order defensively in the paint. Dirk was the unequivocal headliner, but there were many others. From former league castoff Deshawn Stevenson’s quashing defensive efforts, to backup JJ Barea darting across and through the lane like a ping pong ball, confusing the Miami defense again and again: player names obscure to a national audience became household ones within the six-game series.
Not because of individually touted abilities. But because they knew their role. They embraced it. And they hoisted the trophy at year’s end because of it.
At Datamax, each employee has an integral and equally unique role. Whether it’s dispatch or delivery, accounts payable or account representative, technology specialist or copier technician, what we do with our workday – and for the people we serve – impacts whether or not our Results, and our Fans, are Raving by days end.
“The ‘All Together’ concept is no different than offense or defense on a football team,” Datamax Texas President David Rhodes said. “The two are not separate – they are a team. When they win, they win. When they lose, they lose. Here at Datamax, whether you’re a delivery driver or VP of Service or Sales, we’re all part of this team together.”
The Gung-Ho Game Plan
If the mission is Creating Raving Fans, what is the game plan? When in doubt, we like to resort to the Little Blue Book for direction. The phrase gung-ho represents the last and perhaps the most important Operating Principle in The Datamax Little Blue Book.
“We believe being highly zealous and enthusiastic about our efforts and our offerings is contagious, and an essential element to how we want to roll at Datamax,” Datamax Vice President of Marketing Robert Caldwell said.
But there is more to the phrase.
Caldwell explains that historians’ strongest theory regarding the origins of gung-ho (gōng hé) comes from Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, a United States Marine observer in China studying the Chinese army in 1937.
“Carlson was so impressed by how the Chinese troops worked together using a system of cooperation they called gung-ho, which means 'work together,'” Caldwell said. “Needless to say, working All Together in a highly enthusiastic manner is the espirit de corps we desire for Datamax in 2019.”
The final Datamax Principle in the Little Blue Book goes on to list three very distinct modus operandi, symbolized by the specific behavior of three distinct animals.
1. Worthwhile Work (Spirit of the Squirrel)
Worthwhile work means doing something that is personally enriching and ultimately effective to corporate objectives. Every task performed, whether it is a preventative maintenance call or submitting sales paperwork promptly and accurately, directly influences the final results and the client experience.
2. In Control of Achieving the Goal (Way of the Beaver)
The beaver represents autonomy.
Simon preaches to putting the right person with the right job with the right relationship, and in doing so, employees have the control over their job functions while working towards the greater goal. Through continued training individually and the pursuit of perfecting one’s company-specific strengths, we are collectively in control of everything we've set out to do.
3. Cheering Each Other On (The Gift of the Goose)
Just as geese always seem to be verbally “cheering each other on” as they fly in formation, we must celebrate our individual successes and continually encourage everyone around us.
Going Gung-Ho into 2019: It’s about expertise, execution and a whole lot of enthusiasm in everything we do. And it begins with each one of us.
“When we’re All Together, everybody understands our operating principles, and most importantly, they know where they fit into these philosophies,” Simon said.