Letter on the Third — November 2019
Dear Datamax Family,
In the book “Gung Ho,” narrator Peggy Sinclair sits patiently in a canoe deep into a marsh, waiting for the geese to arrive. As they eventually fly overhead she notes the loud, ceaseless honking from the entire V-shaped formation above. “A rock concert couldn’t have been louder.”
The honking was so frequent, they couldn’t be sending warnings (as beavers did), she figured. They honked when they lifted off, and also as they landed. There seemed no connection to the honking, and any sort of message to one another.
“They’re cheering each other on. Just listen to them,” her teacher, Andy Longclaw tells her.
The Gift of the Goose. Cheering each other on. So obvious. So powerful. And so important here at Datamax.
The first time I read “Gung Ho” years ago, it made a heck of a lot of sense to me. As we developed our cultural identity and began creating things like “The Little Blue Book,” “Gung Ho” really hit home. Being a Gung Ho organization means being enthusiastic about worthwhile work (Spirit of the Squirrel), in control of achieving the goal (The Way of the Beaver) and, of course, Cheering each other on (The Gift of the Goose).
In a Gung Ho organization, values are the real boss. Goals get people going. Values sustain the effort. To me, it all starts with everyone knowing what their roles are – establishing a clear process for each of us to deliver to customers the relevant services and solutions they need; and also having the tools and motivation to achieve our individual goals. And as employees go above and beyond, Creating those Raving Fans, it’s about celebrating those accomplishments together. It’s about congratulating someone on a valuable contribution to our shared mission. An important note on offering congratulations: Active or passive, it must be TRUE in nature (Timely, Responsive, Unconditional, and Enthusiastic).
I see evidence of the “Gift of the Goose” often at Datamax. Just recently, a group of specialists here in Little Rock traveled to Texarkana for a Sales Summit. The enthusiasm afterwards was unreal. I saw it 1999 when employees Carol George, Virginia McClellan, Russ Hill and Roger Mills broke out in an original song to kick off our annual meeting, making the event a celebratory affair. It can be a congratulatory LinkedIn Post, lifting someone up when they’re down, or just simply telling your co-worker “great job.”
As it’s mentioned in the book, Gung Ho people set out to accomplishing something they believe worthwhile (the right work), and make a contribution to the way that work is done (the right way), to create a mission. But the driving force behind this shared mission is a reason for doing the work – a need to be fulfilled, an opportunity to be rewarded. It’s how you make a mission come alive.
The Gift of the Goose – it’s a gift I urge you to give regularly at Datamax. The Best is Yet to Be.
Your Raving Fan,
