Letter on the Third — February 2022

Dear Datamax Family,

“Focus on the Things that are Productive:” that phrase has been an important statement in my career for a long time – well before it was published in the Datamax Little Blue Book.

Focusing on the things that are productive, to me, answers the question as to why we come to work in the first place. Are we passionate about what we do? Do we dwell on the negative or on things that are simply out of our control? On the other hand, do we focus on the positive and make the best of what we have in front of us? That’s what great leaders do. The theme for this month’s Rave Review is Intentionality, and when I reflect on what that word means to me, I point right back to Datamax Principle #11: “Focus on the Things That are Productive.”

When we focus on the things that are productive, we’re intentional about our culture.

A Forbes article on Intentionality in the workplace says, “An intentional culture continuously aligns and regulates an organization’s values, beliefs, and behaviors in support of the business strategy. Organizations that are purposeful about this culture/strategy dynamic routinely outperform their competition that lack focus in this area.” Being intentional means not just talking about culture, but living it every single day.

When we focus on the things that are productive, we’re intentional about our goals.

For senior leadership, that entails keeping everyone accountable to the plan, but also giving them everything they need to be successful. It’s a daily question to ask yourself: “Am I doing the best that I can today to work on my plan?” These plans are a road map to get where we want to go. But being intentional keeps us on course.

When we focus on the things that are productive, we can overcome anything.

If the past year and a half have taught us anything, it’s that being Intentional in our approach is obligatory. Navigating both the pandemic and the lingering supply chain issues we’re faced with right now, putting our employees and our customers first remains very Intentional; I feel passionate about that, and believe that the same Intentionality is required of all employees: How can you mirror that in your efforts for the company and our customers?

When we look around today, both in business and the world at large, too often we see people focusing on the negative, or things that are out of our control. I’d ask that we navigate ahead with Intentionality, that we continue to focus on the things that are productive.

The Best is Yet To Be.