Tag: Environmental scan

Five Skills That Are Key In Any Economy

From Rental & Staging Systems December 2009

When Rental & Staging Systems Editor David Keene asked to write a column on the business lessons of 2009, I had no trouble citing factors that seem to have the biggest impact on success in a changing economy. The following five skills are not just theory. I have seen them all in practice (though rarely all in one place) and measured their effect on my customers. And I discussed these concepts with many of you at the Rental & Staging Roadshows held across North America this year. Let me emphasize that these skills are important at any stage of a company’s life cycle, but are even more critical in a down economy when survival is on the line. › Continue reading…

Once upon a time, AV integrators made good money from equipment and labor with a healthy premium for engineering expertise. Today, equipment and labor have become commodities and engineering is the value-added service we don’t get to charge for anymore. The burden of profit is now placed upon project management and operations, which is still pretty much based on the 1990′s model. There have been vast improvements in making project management more professional and educating installers. These changes alone are not enough. We need to discover the service, product, or convenience that we can charge for today, above the commoditized time and materials we are so familiar with. › Continue reading…

OK, We’re still here. Now what?

From Rental & staging Systems July 2009

By Tom Stimson CTS

It’s been a tough year for a lot of folks in our industry. The great shakeout is still ongoing, but we are getting a short breather. Three months of relative stability in the stock market has reduced the panic and knee-jerk reactions of our big business customers, but unemployment is at a 26 year high. Business travel and meeting excesses are not currently big news topics, but there I still no sign of the return of the big show. So you may ask, when will everything be back to normal? Never. Sorry. The recovery and whatever it will bring has been tentatively scheduled for next year. In the meantime, the changes are afoot in how customers will expect us to do business – if we can prove that our product is not a commodity. › Continue reading…

Imagine 100 AV Industry geeks talking about the future of technology without mentioning a single product. It was tough, but somehow we managed to stay on task. The InfoComm 100 was an think-tank of AV and related professionals from around the world that examined the 3-5 year future of the AV Industry. Let’s examine the list of primary assumptions about the 3-5 year future of technology influences on our industry and ponder their implications: › Continue reading…

The Visionaries of the InfoComm 100 think tank have presented us with some interesting and sometimes conflicting assumptions about how the AV Industry will compete in the next 3 to 5 years. Let’s examine the list of primary assumptions and ponder their implications: › Continue reading…

In April, 2009 I was fortunate to participate in a landmark event for the AV Industry, the InfoComm 100. InfoComm International brought together one hundred industry leaders and key volunteers from around the world for a two-day think tank. The “100″ as we came to be known, brainstormed about future trends that will affect the AV Industry over the next five years. › Continue reading…

I am not an expert on Web 2.0, social networking, blogging or any of the other time-sucking web-based tools on my computer desktop. I am however becoming an avid user. I am not a fan of the time-sucking part, so I have devoted some (Time) energy into learning how to use these tools so they do NOT take so much effort. The key is to not hunt for things to read, but wait for them to come to you. Or search for specific topics when you need them. › Continue reading…

Many small businesses suffer from analysis paralysis – the practice of waiting for the data to definitively reveal the correct path. We review and research, and at each juncture one more piece of information comes forth that causes us to postpone the final choice a little longer. › Continue reading…

It’s OK that you don’t like meetings. Not many of us do. However, if the meeting gives you something you need, then – provided the time investment was reasonable for the gain – you might leave glad that you attended. This is more easily accomplished in tactical or project meetings. You talk about progress, assign new tasks, and schedule the next meeting. What about the strategy meeting? › Continue reading…

If you don’t work the numbers, someone else will

Published in Rental & Staging Systems January 2009

2009 may not seem like the year for big, high profile corporate events, but meetings do have to go on. › Continue reading…