There are cycles in life, just as there are in nature. Just like how winter turns to spring, people grow, change and sometimes move on. We take comfort in the reliability of cycles; we can count on them because we know what to expect. You can see that in the way we talk to each […]

I’ve worked at lots of companies where I was considered a leader even though I was not technically a manager.  Leadership is definitely a skill and role that transcends titles, age groups, gender identities and cultural backgrounds. Something strange, though, happens when you are elevated into the management hierarchy, and people may follow you because […]

Whether working with, consulting for, or even just talking to managers and principals of small AV companies — while they can have unique features about them — broadly speaking they’re more similar than they are different. One of the most common similarities is that the principal or general manager of an AV company needs to […]

During rehearsals before Sunday services, the monitor mix (A2) guy walks onto the stage and approaches each of the vocalists one at a time and has a brief conversation while looking between the singer and the iPad tablet in the A2’s hand. During these brief 15 to 30 second chats, the vocalist removes one of […]

One of my favorite aphorisms (and I have plenty) is that you have to make the most of what you’ve got. Because, and while I know that it’s a tautology, all you have is all you’ve got. That’s the essence of what it means to have best practices in your business. Best practices are just […]

It’s been my repeated observation over the years from getting to know AV pros all over Canada and the United States that AV pros, regardless of where they’re located, have more in common with each other than they have differences. That applies to both the people who make a career out of the AV business, […]

By Ira Weinstein Sr. Analyst, Consultant and Partner, Wainhouse Research Monitoring / Management / Control Systems As usual, AV control systems were all the rage at InfoComm. This year, we saw control system offerings from a large number of companies including anchor players AMX and Crestron, less known players like Arrive Systems, and control system […]

By Marty Schaffel AVI-SPL Over the years, many an employee would walk into my office declaring he has a problem that needs immediate attention. It may have been work related, industry related or personal in nature. In every case, the person would ask me to provide a prompt solution so he could get back to […]

Before I begin the message of this blog, I will make a brief announcement: It is with both great excitement and tempered sadness that I announce my upcoming departure from Kramer Electronics (on November 15). I have accepted a position as General Manager at Atlanta Soundworks (an integration firm here in Atlanta). With Dave Bright’s […]

In my most recent blog, I discussed how the lack of empowerment can cripple a sales team and how the root cause could be higher up in the chain of command than you may actually think. I also mentioned how the fix to this type of problem and many other organizational issues can be found […]

POWER – It can be given without loss. It has been said that there is power in choice. I believe this holds true whether you are giving choices or exercising them. The result will always be some form of shared and transferred power. One example of such power transferred through choice is when you need […]