As someone who values business decisions based on hard data, I have long mined my backlog data to determine how I can use it to predict profit in a period. In a project-driven integration business, if you can accurately forecast revenue, you can also accurately predict that period’s net
Working with several companies in last few months, and in many conversations with all levels of the organization, I’ve reminded myself that I’m saying things my Dad used to say – which is fine – I like and respect my Dad. One of those was “praise in public, correct in
While there are many Key Performance Indicators that are useful in managing your systems integration business, Navigate finds three that are critical and not valued highly enough. These three critical Key Performance Indicators help us predict future results: Monthly P&L, specifically recognized revenue for the period Monthly new orders
As we enter the six month of “lock-down” within this pandemic, I’d like to share one of the themes I heard over and over from my virtual clients – independent of the role (Executives to Managers to Technicians). Many organizations are struggling to measure the performance of their people
Welcome back to the final installment in our blog series from Joel Harris, Understanding Variable Costs is Wildly Important for Your Integration Business. How do you handle routine seasonal variability, peak demand, and one-time opportunities in your integration business? Most integration businesses I work with have a hired permanent
What is the best way for integrators to address seasonality? This is Part 3 of our blog series from Joel Harris, Understanding Variable Costs is Wildly Important for Your Integration Business. In the first two installments, Harris shared his experience of using a variable cost structure to transform an
Welcome to the second installment in Navigate’s guest blog series from Joel Harris, Understanding Variable Costs is Wildly Important for Your Integration Business. In Part 1, Joel shared his experience of using a variable cost structure to transform an acquisition from losses into profit. Since then, he has applied
Are there profits hiding in plain sight in your integration business? Remeber, every dollar saved goes directly to profits. Welcome to Part 1 of our new blog series from Joel Harris, Understanding Variable Costs is Wildly Important for Your Integration Business. More than 20 years ago, I discovered
Navigate has worked with hundreds of AV and Systems Integration companies, and one thing that continues to amaze us is the difference in process maturity between companies – and the results. There are several areas where you can distinguish mature and immature companies – especially in their approach to
As I work with multiple companies and facilitate numerous courses, I’m often struck by the apparent lack of joy and fulfillment I see in and feel from executives, managers, and employees. Have you also seen and felt this trend in your workplace? What happened to the adage “Choose
