When it comes to deepening relationships & widening skill-sets, Michael Hoffman talks a lot about 'Owning it.'

Owning our position. Owning our interactions with people. Owning our skill-set – our knowledge. Going about our workday, using skills and knowledge and intentions with real purpose.

The renowned speaker offered a rousing presentation at Datamax’s Texas’ MAXIMIZE event over the summer. In one particular moment during his speech, under his direction, dozens of complete strangers across the room greeted and hugged one another as if they were literally long lost family members, accompanied with the genuine sounds of thunderous laughter and excitement.

The scene wasn’t just a spectacle — it was a valuable exercise in how we can each own our interaction with people (customers and co-workers), and do so in a friendly, positive and engaging manner.

Own it: 3 takeaways from Michael Hoffman's presentation:

1. Own your position.

If put in a situation you have to make a choice, you had to say to yourself 'am i going to own this or not?" Don't look around and say "are you going to do it? are you?" That's not what a leader is. A person of influence doesn't wait.

2. Own your culture.

If we're not living it, we become victims of our culture. There's a lot of other things - or people - we can blame, rather than becoming masters of of our culture.

3. Own your skill-set.

Have you ever known anyone that is super nice, they have the best personality, but then you add a little tornado (stressful situation, a hard decision, etc.), and they mutate? That's the difference between personality and skill-set. That person with the skill-set, one that practices, learns and masters his knowledge within his or her role, those are the people that reach in when things get hard. That's when you know... you own it.

Own it: 3 resources for sharpening your skills at Datamax:

1. Our website.

As Datamax goes deeper and wider, you should too. Our website is a great resource for learning more about the recently unveiled Unified Communications. You can also learn about our GoVertical® program, catch up with our blog and grab plenty of easily digestible material on our Resource Library.

2. KnowledgeWave.

This series of online training videos, predominately for Microsoft Applications (Word, Excel, etc.) we use literally every day, are available to all employees. Email Justin Huffaker to get set up with your credentials.

3. The Little Blue Book.

From philosophy to positioning to principles, The Datamax Little Blue Book reflects our culture and our commitment to a unified mission—Creating Raving Fans®. It’s our very best thinking in a pretty quick read. But don't let that fool you. There's nothing insignificant or unintentional written in it.

The session was a powerful 45 minutes shared by Datamax employees and our attending customers. Relationships were deepened. And we're continually widening our skill-sets.

Own It!