Letter on the Third — July 2023

Dear Datamax Family,

Let me be the first to say it: “It’s OK to Agree to Disagree.” But that’s just the starting point.

As I do with all new employees, when I go through the pages of the Datamax Little Blue Book, oftentimes #6 comes first: “Make decisions based on the good of the entire organization.” Of course that makes sense to people. However, as we progress through the book, I point out another big one, #15: “We have the right to disagree.”  As long as, of course, and I flip back to #6: we make the decision based on the good of the entire organization. Their eyes light up. They begin to see how the Philosophies and Principles work together to thread our culture together.

When a group of us met offsite to begin constructing the tenets of the book starting in 1995, this was to be much more than just a mission statement printed out in the office collecting dust. We were after specific ideals that we could actually live out and ones that would stand up against the test of time. It’s amazing to me how the Philosophies and Principles aren’t isolated statements, but how they interconnect with one another to guide our best move forward. #6 and #15 are great examples of this.

“We have the right to disagree.”

The only way our company grows is if sometimes, we disagree on the path forward. If our employees only followed our managers, or myself, they’d be considered robots. It goes without saying, but we want to hear from all of our people, those of you who are out in the field and experiencing things firsthand, on what you’re seeing and how things might be done better. When we disagree on something, it makes us stop to think about it.

“Make decisions based on the good of the entire organization.”

Let’s say a sales rep comes in and there’s a question on how we should bill it, one that is outside of our normal scope. We don’t just make the decision to make that change. The question now becomes: Is this a good move for our organization, based on how it might affect a department like admin? Under this Principle, it shouldn’t be a matter of winning or losing a certain decision. We have to sit down together and understand where one employee or one department is coming from. It’s an open discussion, but one that leads to what’s best for the organization as a whole.

“Problem seek, problem solve.”

I’m throwing Principle #10 in just to reiterate how these principles work in tandem.  I’ll often say to people, consider a water leak out of the ground. That particular point is not where the break occurs. It just happens to be the weakest point where the water is surfacing. When we DO disagree, it’s not about just looking at the surface level. It’s about embracing a deep dive into the problem and seeking the best outcome.  We have to have outcomes, timeframes, and options for resolution, and we have to resolve an issue in a manner that suits Datamax at large.  Not just a quick, short-term fix.

If you haven’t recently, I invite you to revisit the Little Blue Book. Trust that these 6 Philosophies and 16 Principles were not adopted without great consideration. They were implemented purely to serve the best interest of the entire organization – then, now, and years into the future. 

The Best is Yet to Be.