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A Strong Culture is Something You Create Every Day
In previous blog posts, we have talked discussed the direct linkage between the level of quality delivered within an AV systems integration project and the level of pride in that accomplishment. Pride is a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people; or a feeling
Have the Courage to Lead
Trust, Professionalism, Respect There is a difference between knowing the right thing to do and actually acting upon it. On this episode of the AV Profession, Navigate’s Brad Malone explains the benefits of establishing solid business standards, finding the courage to lead and how to start the conversation. Listen for
What I Learned from Bill Sharer
By Joel Rollins@joelrollinsav For some time now, I have meant to do an article about sales and marketing for rental and staging, how they are different from the rest of our industry, how they are the same and how they are changing. I was not sure when I would
Bill Sharer, AV industry veteran, passes away at age 74
Bill Sharer, AV industry consultant and co-founder of Navigate Management Consulting, died on August 19, 2019 after a battle with cancer. The AV industry lost one of its veterans, when Bill Sharer, partner and co-founder of Navigate Management Consulting, died on August 19, 2019, after a 2-year fight with cancer.
Resource Management Helps Manage Growth at the McKeon Group
Last week Brad Malone covered some best practices for resource management in our organizations, including: alignment and continuous process improvement. Today, we further explore this theme, with a focus on how to best manage resources while also managing growth. One of the questions Navigate commonly hears from integrators is
Resource Management: Getting What You Need from Workers
Here’s a question all AV companies need to ask: How do we handle resource management inside our organizations? Resource management is such an important issue, it invariably leads to other questions: How do we manage the utilization of our resources effectively? How do we set objectives that our people
Learning that Delegate is not a Bad Word
How do you delegate responsibility in your integration business? Delegation is a word that can strike fear into even the most savvy of entrepreneurs. However, the issues that come with delegation might stem from the matter of not learning how to delegate responsibility properly. Most people can see advantages
Navigate at InfoComm 2019
It was another great year for Navigate at InfoComm 2019! Before the show opened, we had four action-packed days of Project Management training at InfoComm University, and that was just the warm-up! Then we hit the floor where we interviewed several of our Partners, who shared their perspectives on the
What’s the Difference Between a Quote and a Proposal?
Do your quotes and proposals help you differentiate your offer and get the desired results? Consider these thoughts: Quotes and proposals are very different! Yes, quotes and proposals are very different, yet we see the terms (and documents) used interchangeably. As a company matures out of the equipment business, through
Will Your Integration Business Survive Corporate Adolescence?
Without even defining corporate adolescence, you can figure out what it means. Corporate adolescence is a term I like to use to describe that awkward stage in a company’s life when they are no longer small—but not yet large. You have some of the characteristics of each but are not
Cascading Metrics Drive Performance
It’s no secret that at Navigate, we love metrics! Performance metrics are critical for the success of your integration business. Without the ability to measure performance, management cannot be effective. And you can’t determine what constitutes a good performance without having good metrics. One of the buzzwords we are hearing
The Value of Job Descriptions
Good job descriptions are the Swiss Army Knife of the human resources business Job descriptions should be right at your fingertips whenever you have an HR matter to address. A principle of organization holds that organization should be based upon the work to be performed, not on the people available to
Road Map for Human Resources
One of the biggest issues technology integrators face today is hiring and retaining the right people. In the beginning, when you first started your integration business, HR’s main job was finding the right talent and putting them in the right seat. Typically, the hiring, firing and retaining of employees start
When is the Project Done vs. Done-Done
What’s interesting, humorous or even sad, is an integrator’s ability to say when a project is done and when it is done-done. The project closure process can happen many ways. Some project closures are positive, but many are negative. Last week, we discussed the processes integrators can put in place
Project Closure: When is Done Really Done?
The project closure process, which as project managers know, simply means closing out a project at its conclusion, can happen many ways. Some project closures are positive; many are negative. In my experience working with multiple AV integration companies, I’ve seen all types of scenarios play out. And I’m sad
Measuring for Measuring’s Sake
How do you keep score in your integration business, and who is responsible for it? A lot of organizations have goals, but they’re soft like, “We’re going to increase sales.” That’s good, but based on what? Is it based on revenue? Profit? Market share? And how do you measure your progress?
Next-Generation Leadership Training
Is Your Next-Generation of Leadership Ready to Lead? Finding and retaining talent is a hot topic with systems integrators in 2019. NSCA and Navigate commonly hear how many integrators are struggling with developing new leaders to better understand the business, enlarge their contribution, and add more value. Navigate has listened to
Quality Equals Pride
Is there a direct linkage between the level of quality delivered within an AV systems integration project, and the level of personal and organizational pride in that accomplishment? And if so – which comes first? Is there a causal relationship? Before we start – we need to
Turning Your Ship Around
Leadership should mean giving control rather than taking control and creating leaders rather than forging followers. Many books have been written on the topic of leadership, and Navigate has shared many of them in the past. One of Brad Malone’s favorites is Turn the Ship Around! by David Marquet, a
Revenue vs. Growth
We’re growing, but what does that really mean? We have heard so much over the past five or 10 years about the concept of growth. Everybody talks about it, but does anybody really knows what it means? What does growth mean to you? That is the topic of this week’s
Keys to Successful Project Management
Last week we learned about How to Create Project Managers the Right Way. But successful projects require much more than just good project managers. In fact, you could argue that the success (or failure) of a project is determined before the project manager ever gets involved. That is the topic
Creating Project Managers the Right Way
Many organizations that are beginning to mature their business management practices go through a process of determining who to select as their project managers and how to nurture their competence and capabilities. As a certified Project Management Professional and practicing project manager for 25 years, and as someone who’s taught
Use Data to Circumvent Risks
Do you lack the information you need to properly run your integration business? Most integrators unfortunately answer ‘yes’ to this question. Without the right data, you take the risk of running into trouble within your company.
On this episode of The AV Profession, David McNutt and Tim Albright continue the conversation of risk management. How should you use metrics and information to make the right decisions? What information systems are critical to running a successful integration business? How can you use data to circumvent risks?
Listen to find out!
Getting Ready for Support
Companies in AV can earn a sizable monthly revenue by adding a service model to their lineup. But it takes deliberate planning to develop streams of monthly recurring revenue. In this episode, Steve Riley and Tim Albright talk to us about looking at where to focus when getting a support model started and how to get all the teams in your company ready.
Navigate Academy
Online training for systems integrators and their technology partners.