Steven J. Sumner
COO - Saint Louis
Through our planning process, I am hopeful that we all direct our focus towards what “really matters” when it comes to delivering exceptional employee and customer experiences.
Additionally, I would like to emphasize the importance of communication. It is very critical that we, as Managers and Executives, take initiative to ensure that we have clear communication transpiring inter-departmentally and throughout Datamax.
Lastly, “the Next Wave 2026” represents new opportunities for the growth of Datamax Inc. and ActaMSP, many of which involve positive change within the organization. We must embrace these changes when presented with them, while remembering that many decisions will take us out of our comfort zone.
We look forward to the prosperous years that lie ahead for our industry.
David Rhodes
President, Datamax Texas
The whole process that we go through every year is intended to get as many people involved to collect their feedback on either themselves, the department they're in, or the company in general. Ultimately, the question is, what can we do that we're not doing now to help improve the company, whether that’s related to our customers, sales revenue, or profitability.
I hope that each manager is putting a plan together and has gotten feedback from their employees who report to them, and they've come up with some ideas to improve our processes and how we deliver products and services to the customer.
I've done these for years now, and the best plans are the ones you get people to buy into; ones that they (employees) feel like they have involvement with.
David Holzhauer
President, Datamax Arkansas
Plan your work /work your plan. Walk the talk. Do what you said you’d do. Say what you’ll do, do what you say. All the old Clichés.
Everyone says let's get back to the basics. That's what we ought to do every year. We get into so many aspects of what we can do in this industry, and sometimes in doing so, we get further away from the basics. I plan to make sure when we write down what we're going to do, that we follow through with that. Everyone should hold themselves accountable.
Clay Mills
VP of Sales - Dallas/Fort Worth
My goal is that the Texas Sales Management Team develops a plan that will deliver growth in sales and development of our sales teams for the upcoming year.
Justin Huffaker
VP of Strategic Technology - Dallas/Fort Worth
The business plan is an opportunity to get people involved in the success of the team. Ultimately, senior leadership must provide the foundational element of making decisions and leading the team. However, getting others involved provides access to fresh ideas and allows team members who want professional advancement to grow – putting together a business plan is not easy.
When the business plans are shared with other departments, that sharing is the fulfillment of the Little Blue Book principle #8 “keep everyone informed.” It is helpful to see how others are tackling challenging business problems with the intent to move the company forward.
Cody Simon
VP of Sales - Little Rock
I always enjoy the business plan meetings. It is a great time to reflect on the previous year regarding things that you did well and things that can be improved upon.
The planning meetings force you to write down your goals/objectives and the road map on how you are going to achieve them. It gives you and others around you the ability to help hold you accountable throughout the upcoming year. The business plans aren’t just for a meeting that happens once a year.
They are your road map that you need to keep with you and adjust if you run into a roadblock.
