Make no mistake, Andrew Watson has an ax to grind.

Not in the sense you might think based on the common cliché. There’s no selfish aim or motive per se; rather, he’s simply dead set on sharpening his tool, his skillset at all times.

You’ve heard the lumberjack story, right? There’s little use in suffering with a dull ax. Sometimes Green and Growing means clearing your landscape to allow for new growth. At Datamax, how do we embrace self-actualization, and improve our skill set? Do we stop from time to time to sharpen our ax?

Andrew certainly does. His professional life started in the kitchen (Andrew was a chef and a caterer), before trading his chef’s jacket for a suit jacket in sales and eventually the Datamax Little Rock office. Whether wielding a knife or strategizing a business technology proposal, in one way or another Andrew is sharpening his Ax.

We are and will continue to be a results-oriented business. But for Andrew, the important moments often come in the space between execution, action, or direct conversation; in these quiet minutes or hours, he’s quietly, yet succinctly, thinking, maneuvering, and preparing for what comes next.

“I very much consider myself a student of life. I can’t fathom ever thinking I know it all,” says the three-year Datamax rep. “From honing in on my Excel skills, to gleaning insights from other reps and their behavior with customers, there’s always more to learn.”

Serious ax sharpening there. Anyone who knows Andrew can identify his deeply calculated approach, his intense attention to words, and his dedication to learning the technical aspects of the product he sells. Out in the field, Andrew is constantly clearing his landscape to allow for new growth.

Here’s 4 ways Andrew stops to sharpen his ax.

1. He Prioritizes Preparation.

Nowhere was this more apparent than at this year’s River Cities Dragon Boat Festival, held in June. When Andrew learned he would be leading the coordination efforts, he wasted little time gathering key players for a February meeting.

“When I was told I would need to put together a team, my response was ‘I’ve got it. Say no more,’” Andrew recalls. “It came down to making sure people like Kristen (Finkbeiner), Tamara (Hargrove), Ken (Allison) and others who help plan this every year, that we were all on the same page. We talked about some of the things we’d wanted to do in previous years but didn’t. Once we decided it was possible, it was about delegation. All in all, I think it went off pretty smoothly.”

2. He Knows the Weight of Words.

Andrew spends a lot of off-time contemplating phrases or verbal techniques. When dealing with prospects, he likens it to leading them to water without them knowing it. Wording sentences in a manner to make your idea be their idea. There’s an art to prospecting, and he’s constantly studying it.

“It’s sort of reminding them in subtle ways that I want to be in their subconscious that we provide these great services, I want them to attach that great service to Datamax and only Datamax,” Andrew said. “Also, on another level, I want to acknowledge that prospect and understand the industry they work in. The idea is, ‘I’m here to learn from you as much as you are here to learn from me… People usually see the authentic nature of that.”

3. He Clears Clutter.

Previous to Datamax, Andrew was a career chef. When preparing food, he was always cleaning, straightening, and re-filling. A cluttered space, he reasons, is a cluttered mind.

“I learned that in the kitchen, when you’re 50 tickets deep you can’t have clutter. In that same spirit, my desk is always clean. I like to knock anything out that I can RIGHT NOW, get it off my plate, rather than having 50 things in the fire at one time. If I can do something, I’m going to go ahead and get it done,” Andrew says.

4. He Leans on His Peers.

Rather in the kitchen or today out in the field, Andrew credits every boss and colleague along the way as helping him become the professional he is today. He’s not afraid to lean on fellow reps for advice – after all, each has a unique skill set that he can draw from. Just two examples? Tommy Goucher and Dave Duke.

“Tommy can turn on the charm in a heartbeat,” Andrew says. “He’s worked very hard to develop those relationships in North Little Rock. He’s funny, he’s personable and I can learn a lot from that,” Andrew says.

Dave Duke is a chiseled veteran who knows big accounts, Andrew says.

“If I’ve got a dicey situation, or trying to step lightly with an account, I’ll go holler at Dave. He’s worked with the biggest, oldest accounts and he knows how to handle them. I’ll simply ask ‘how would you go about this situation,’ and he’ll lay it out for me,” Andrew said.

As her one-year Datamax anniversary approaches this month, one might call East Texas supplies coordinator Jordan Conley a natural talent, a quick learner, which wouldn't be wrong. But that’s not the entire story.

She’s picked up what is a very complicated role (complicated even more so with supply chain toner issues) in a short amount of time. But don’t think it didn’t end up that way without effort – there’s some serious ax-grinding going on here.

“When I interviewed for this job, I was told what I would be doing. But there was a lot more to it than I would have imagined,” Jordan said. “Justin Harper jokes that I have the hardest job in the office.”

She didn’t shudder under the challenge. She stopped to sharpen her ax.

1. She keeps her math skills sharp.

One thing you may not know about handling supplies at Datamax – there’s A LOT of math.

“Toner yields, what a customer’s average monthly volume is, but also how much page coverage there is in their printing – I never thought I’d be calculating percentages like these. You have to do your research before you just place an order,” Jordan says. “Definitely a lot of math and a lot of homework.”

2. She Problem Seek/Problem Solves.

In monitoring toner levels, a lot of the Canon toner shipped during supply chain shortages weren’t chipped. Heck, just getting supplies period has been an issue. The potential issue here? Customers are down and we won’t know it.

“When that started happening, we moved to the compatible supplies brand Katun, which was still being shipped and chipped. We used that until it too was on back order,” Jordan said.

For Canon toner not chipped, Jordan collaborated with Service Manager Justin Harper to switch the customer over ImageWare Remote, so that toner levels can still be monitored, and customers won't go without the needed supplies.

3. She Failed Forward.

Jordan came into this industry at anything but a “normal” time in its history. To boot, she dove head first into her role. There were mistakes early on, sure, but she learned from every one of them. “Make a mistake? I did it once, and I didn’t do it again,” she says.

“In the end, it’s about getting to know the customer, which customers use more (volume), and staying diligent to make sure that our customers aren’t down,” Jordan says. “And yes, certainly learning from mistakes.”

So what about the Lumberjack story? Doesn’t the competitor who consistently sharpens his ax end up victorious?

He does. And so did Andrew Watson. In 2021, he earned President’s Club for the first time in his career. In doing so, he received a bevy of congratulatory emails, comments, and phone calls from his co-workers. Being acknowledged for all his ax sharpening along the way felt as great as the trip itself.

“It was others acknowledging that as hard as I work, it always seems that I was working hard for the right reasons – to better represent Datamax and bolster our reputation, help our customers new and old, make a difference that they’ll remember when they consider their experience working with our company, etc.,” Andrew said. “Which is what I set out to do at any job I’ve ever had, and ever will have for that matter. I was quite proud of last year’s accomplishment. Here’s to many more hopefully!"