2008-09 has been a study in business defense. Adjusting staffing levels, hedging operating budgets, and rethinking strategies has consumed most small businesses – and it is getting kinda old. We all seem to be waiting for some sort of sign that will trigger us back into business offense. If defense is characterized by control and saving, then offense has to be the willingness to take some risks and bet that there is more available upside than downside. The past couple of months have proven to a lot of folks that recent upticks of activity have been just bursts and not trends. What will be the your true indicator to switch gears? › Continue reading…
Tag: meetings
Tags: audio video, audio visual, audiovisual, AV, business, economy, Innovation, meetings, personnel, Recession, rental and staging, strategic planning, Tom Stimson, Trends, unemployment
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…
A huge theme of the InfoComm 100 event was the trend towards an IT-centric world. It predicts that more IT departments will take ownership of AV management and delivery, that computers will increasingly replace AV products as the endpoint for communications. “The AV industry will need to fully understand unified communications, networks, and wireless applications.” It will be an open-source world.
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…
If you want great results that meet expectations, then set some boundaries before you begin. This applies to our businesses, any projects we may undertake, and even the family vacation. I want to share another of Seth Godin’s posts. › Continue reading…
Long term projects need meetings to check progress, address issues, and keep stakeholders engaged. Here’s a couple of tips to make sure your regularly scheduled meetings have some teeth:
Provide an agenda: Meetings eat up time and if you know the agenda in advance you will have an idea of how much. › 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…
When the Recovery starts, certain companies will grow faster and these companies will look dramatically different from what we’ve seen the past ten years. I have just returned from a landmark event called The InfoComm 100. This was a three-day networking think tank of leaders and visionaries from all over the AV Industry and around the world. › Continue reading…
