Letter on the Third — April 2019
Dear Datamax Family,
With the Master’s Golf Tournament quickly approaching, I’m reminded of my first opportunity to play the course at Augusta National Golf Club. I’ll never forget driving down Magnolia Lane and approaching the clubhouse. The luscious greens. The surrounding scenery. Everything is immaculate. The setting there is any golfer’s dream come true.
The Master’s is committed to being the very best of its kind. There is an aura of tradition, an impeccable reputation sustained, and a standard of excellence that simply cannot be replicated. I feel these same characteristics apply to our own organization.
I play golf nearly every Saturday and Sunday. Beyond being a lot of fun, I’m constantly learning and evolving as a golfer. I’ve met many wonderful friends and customers on the golf course – suffice it to say the two worlds of business and golf have intersected often in my life, and the parallels between the two are easy to comprehend.
What can our organization take away from this heralded tournament, and the wonderful game of golf? What does it take to be a Master of Technology?
Golf is a game of preparation. Bobby Jones said that “Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course – the distance between your ears.” The players that are invited to play at the Masters have prepared their entire careers just for the opportunity to step on that first tee. The mental focus necessary to succeed is insurmountable. The preparation involved with getting the course ready is also uncanny: At Augusta, there is an area dedicated strictly for teaching grounds crew members how to mow the greens. They must practice extensively before they’re even allowed to work on the actual course.
If you hit the ball in the water, how do you come out of that? If you throw your club, you’re probably over. You’re going to miss a sale. But you must be prepared, and make sure you’ve got more potential sales waiting for you. You can’t just go through the motions in golf, or any area of our business. You can’t be afraid – if you are, you’ll never grow as an individual or as an organization.
Golf is a game of integrity. I’ve often said that you really learn a lot about people when you play golf with them. Golf is unique from other sports that players regularly call penalties on themselves and report their own score Just like in business, it might seem easy to do things that are not right or honest. Our culture here is about having integrity in everything that we do. To do it the right way, the first time.
A fine example of integrity is our own Janet Hunter, whom we’ve had the fortune working with for the last 15 years. As she retires, I want to wish her and husband Coy the very best in retirement.
In closing, I ask you to think about your preparation and your integrity every day you come to the office. We look at our business as a marathon, not a sprint. But we have to look at everything we do on a day to day basis. We need to keep sight of the ultimate goal. Navigate that five-inch course, and continue to work smart every day. The Best Is Yet to Be.
Your Raving Fan,
