At no time was a win more well-orchestrated than the 1978 Orange Bowl.
On that night in Miami, against highly-favored Oklahoma, Lou Holtz and his Arkansas Razorbacks exhibited their expertise at planning for and executing a big-time program win. Even missing three offensive starters, Arkansas upset the top-ranked Sooners 31-6.
Arkansas quarterback Ron Calcagni reflects on the game.
“When we kicked off and they fumbled, we had a great plan that Holtz orchestrated,” Calcagni said. “We knew then we had an opportunity to do what coach Holtz thought we could do.”
Holtz, as he had a knack for doing, had figured something out after looking at the Sooners’ vaunted defense. (Classic pre-sale preparation!)
“A little wrinkle in blocking scheme that messed with OU’s block scheme,” Calcagni said. “We had a whale of a coaching staff and a great plan. We orchestrated the plan. OU fell apart and the momentum carried us through.”
In Arkansas at least, Holtz is best known for his success with the Razorbacks, where he started in 1977. In his seven years there, the Razorbacks compiled a 60–21–2 record and reached six bowl games. Datamax Inc. President Barry Simon has followed Lou’s career for years, but as the legendary coach is discussed, a quote from another fabled coach, John Wooden, comes to mind.
“I always liked Wooden's quote, ‘It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit,” Simon says.
That’s where culture comes in. But we’ll circle back to culture shortly.
Lou’s Holt's Four Stages of Program Building: Developing a Winning Culture
After an early-season loss at a then down-and-out Bowling Green program in 2001, a young coach (Urban Meyer) called his former mentor and head coach at Notre Dame, Lou Holtz, for some advice. To help Urban, Holtz introduced the young coach to his four stages to building a championship program. Here they are:
1. Learning how to compete.
This means intentional or purposeful in approach. In other words, what are you playing for?
What are your current sales goals, FTA revenue attainment targets, billing accuracy percentages, or service points metrics? Where will you end up at the completion of this month or at the end of 2021, and how do these scores match up to your pre-season predictions? Write it down.
Purposeful approaches often start with the coach.
“I think setting a good example to follow is a great start to motivating my team,” Little Rock Sales Manager Ken Allison said. “I want my team to take pride in what they do, and take pride in their accomplishments. Everybody’s level of motivation is different. Often, that’s uncovered during the IA process. But it’s our job to find what that motivation is.”
Once he knows their motivation, Ken wants to push his team to be continuously better than just “mediocre.”
“Let’s set a standard that is high, so we can genuinely take pride in what we accomplish.”
2. Learning how to win.
Consider this Lou Holtz quote: "You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be."
Learning how to win means understanding that success is at the intersection of preparedness and opportunity. First, winning means developing the habits of preparing to win. For athletes, this begins with getting themselves ready in the offseason.
For Datamax employees, this means expanding your playbook. This might be familiarizing yourself with Advanced Solutions that can be an important differentiator. Rusty on Excel? Consider KnowledgeWave.
For technicians hoping to expand their playbook, DFW Service Manager Shawn Hay recommends riding along with other technicians.
“Everybody thinks about things differently. By getting out one-on-one with other technicians, you can learn different approaches faster,” Shawn said. “I can show you how to rebuild a fuser, someone else can show you another way, and you can come up with what works best for you.”
Always work on getting better. You are what you make yourself to be.
3. Learning how to handle winning – setting your ego aside for the greater good.
This brings us back to the John Wooden quote: “It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”
When we talk about a team that plays for one another, consider The Gift of the Goose.” A culture that often references the “Gift of the Goose:” (a commitment to congratulating superior work, just as geese always seem to be verbally “cheering each other on” as they fly in formation).
“It really pays when we cheer people on,” Simon said. “If you had a great month selling, or collections team did an outstanding job, we need to be praising that publicly. That makes that person feel important.”
Consider also Datamax Principle #6: “Make decisions based on the good of the entire organization.” When applied correctly, it will help put the ego on the backburner.
4. Learning how to become a championship-level program – a culture of winning.
Culture trumps everything. And in orchestrating a winning program, culture is everything.
The culture of a winning football program – or organization — is borne out of hard work and sacrifice from others who have gone before them. No one succeeds alone. We all drink from wells that we didn’t dig.
Outsiders have seen and drawn insight from Datamax's winning culture. Simon was recently featured in Rock City Digital’s “Best of the Best” initiative, an online series that spotlights influential business leaders in the Arkansas marketplace, and shares some of the “secrets” behind their success.
Simon and Datamax were featured in an online video published by Rock City Digital. Additionally, last month, Simon took questions from Rock City Digital Owner Kait Hill and the online audience during an hour-long Facebook Live session. During the discussion, Simon relayed core company Philosophies and Principles, how to foster a culture of open communication and shared values, and reflected on his own experiences as Datamax Inc. President since 1985. He was even asked by one audience member where one could purchase The Little Blue Book!
“When we talk about Lou Holt’s 4 Stages, it’s the same. We have to have a purpose and that becomes a plan, and that becomes our approach. Too many times people just go out and play,” Simon said. “And people want to look at an organization with culture. That starts with the right person, right job, right relationship. We don’t want to just go out and play. We want to be the best.”
A Well-Orchestrated, Winning Culture: Watch the Video!
Best of the Best Insights Series - Featuring Barry Simon from Datamax Inc. on Vimeo.
