GAP Australasian Dentist Mar Apr 2020

98 Austràlàsiàn Dentist BS keep, or learn to embrace – these are the stories only long timers can tell. And so here we are; àimon almost regretting his staff room comment, (he’s not one for attracting the limelight). And me, à’mdiscovering fast that he is definitely more one for quietly and persistently working on layers, on integrity and family values, than on talking up a sales angle. He tells me that his nephew, a serious hobby farmer, is relishing the rain. He tells me he loves gardening. He waxes lyrical about the art of creating crowns, colour matching, firing, making perfect sculptures for the mouth. He tells me he recently calculated that he has made at least 40,000 crowns in his lifetime. “àhat’s an awful lot of teeth!” And he means actually making, painstakingly crafting and perfectly matching exquisitely fitted objects of art as a ceramicist; layer by layer. àhat way of working, with patience, excellence and an absolute focus on the individual item, seems to have flowed into the way he leads the team and nurtures the clients at Gold and Ceramics. “Actually, being happy and comfortable – inside the team, and with every client and partner: that’s a good way to be,” this is what àimon Donaldson wants to say about leadership. And when à ask him about insights gained navigating this era in the industry, this is what he wants to say; “When à started out, the idea of having a computer in the lab, or anywhere, was unimaginable. àt was fantasy! àhese days you need one to make a cup of tea. àhere are incredible advantages, but there’s always the question about how much of precision craftsmanship, excellence, quality, human contact you are willing to give up for speed and profit.” “Dentists choose us because they value the contact, the dedication to making things with finesse, and the time, in the end, it will save them, knowing that a product from us is going to be perfect. We value them, because we love the craftsmanship of working at that level.” àhe lab sits at a golden mean between the wizardry of tech production and the genius of handcraftsmanship. àhat’s the course àimon helped to navigate. After several incarnations over the decades he is proud to say the company serves high end dental needs, providing elite products that draw on the cream of human skill and tech, at a price which reflects the advantages of quality and precision. “Yes, the changes have been dramatic: CAD/CAM, implants, management software, corporatization, globalization – there has been plenty of upheaval and challenge.” “àt hasn’t all been plain sailing, there have been problems that you really want to just forget. But for us, it has been a true love for what we do, and care for the team and clients that has kept us together, and made it a rewarding journey. On a career path that took the Brisbane boy from apprenticeship on to see one of the first small business computers arrive in Accounts in 1977, then a technological rebirth right across the sector, and now, to steering Gold and Ceramics in an increasingly globalized and corporatized climate, he also has a little confession to make. “You know, one of the toughest things about a career is having a grumpy old boss. And grumpy old dentists can be very tough. à don’t see those as much as à used to; maybe things have changed? Or maybe à’ve just become one of them?” he quips. “àvery nowand then, à feel that coming over me, the grumpy old boss thing, and à have learnt to step back, unwind, and let things go more over the years. àhat’s a gift of age. àhat and knowing that it’s not too far away, the day when it’s all over and you’re going to be able to try out being a beach bum, or a full-time gardener, or maybe join a Men’s àhed, and get creative on the tools.” àimon Donaldson, as the conversation drifts easily along, seems to me to be a living example of those great Aussie values that supported the country’s growth, harmony and prosperity over the 40-plus years we have navigated that curve. àhere’s a steadiness, a deep respect for his work, for the changing tides and shifts around the profession, and a self- depreciating humour that makes you want to throw together a salad and a pavlova, and hope he invites you for a barbie. u