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Sept, 2010 - Vol 5, Issue 8
In This Issue
R&S Roadshow
Notes from the Road
Best Practices Series
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Howdy,
Sorry I missed you last month. One of my business goals this summer was to simplify my marketing plan, but I didn't mean for it to just die. The good news is that business seems to be picking up for my clients and therefore for me. Even so, I promise to keep the pipeline of advice and observations more steady in the coming months.

In this issue of AV Matters, surveys are back. This month I want to know about the impact of social media on your business and professional lives. Every month I get questions from owners and managers about how far to let this phenomenon penetrate their business. Let's hear from peers about what this all means.

Last month, I was fortunate to be hired for a project in Brazil. There I made new friends and rediscovered that when it comes to AV folks, we all have a lot in common. Let me introduce you to a company from this expanding economy.

This issue's Best Practices column reminds us that even a boss needs a job description. I make the case for making free time part of your leadership profile.

Happy Reading,

Tom Stimson
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Rental & Staging Roadshow
Roadshow Logo 2010September 29, 2010 | Pasadena, CA | Co-located with Digital Video Expo

If you haven't attended a Roadshow - you don't know what you've been missing.

"Tom, I wanted to thank you for your discussions and participation in the Rental & Staging Roadshow. I really think it's a great event, and the timing of the year is perfect. I enjoyed your discussion on how to not commoditize yourself and matching the sales process to the prospect. I also think it was helpful for my team to hear how important the processes are in our operations." - Joe Guilderson, Corporate Audio Visual Services

Our day starts at 10:00 am with a full agenda and includes two presentations from me:

Keynote Presentation: Rental is a Commodity and What You Can Do About It | Tom Stimson
The problem of shrinking margins is pandemic and everyone has their own idea of whom to blame, but as an industry we have done this to ourselves. Learn how 30 years of tradition is the real culprit and what you can do to liberate your company from this cycle.

Business Seminar: The ROI of Everything - How To Make Better Decisions | Tom Stimson
We often know that updating processes is the right thing to do but then fail to execute because it would seem to cost too much. Companies need better tools for calculating the return on these costs over time, but struggle with quantifying that value. Tom will demonstrate a simple system for calculating the ROI of change using a real world example.

Pasadena registration is open. Register now!
  Notes From the Road - AV Staging in Brazil

Doing Business in Brazil
Introducing MAXI


I made my first visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil last month and was treated to extraordinary hospitality and some impressive AV chops. While no one would confuse Brazil with third world countries (it's the eighth largest and one of the fastest growing economies in the world), most North Americans get a little nervous when they have to hire AV in other countries. For me, the trip was all about another new client and engaging in a familiar process, but I can also put your fears about doing business in Brazil at rest. 

MAXI logoMy client, MAXI is a full service corporate event staging company with audio, lighting, and video on par with mid-sized stagers across the US and Canada. They have about forty full-time employees and the familiar complement of freelance technicians. If the labels weren't in Portuguese you wouldn't know that the equipment wasn't in a ballroom in Chicago. The electronics are all the major label, high-end products that you would expect to find in the seventh largest city in the world (home to 11 million people). Surprise number one: there were no surprises here.

It helps that MAXI's owner is a longtime InfoComm and LDI attendee. Jos� Augusto Martins has attended many of my seminars and is as big of a techno-nerd as any owner in this industry. We had no trouble understanding each other especially when it came to talking about shows and the business of AV. MAXI's offices are beautiful, but because real estate is so precious in S.P. they are spread over three buildings. They make maximum use of the space and I was happy to see how well laid-out the offices were. Most North Americans would balk at working side by side this way, but the chemistry among MAXI's employees was very good. And yes, they are as friendly as they appear.

Jos�  graciously explained the differences to doing events in Brazil. Item number 1 - the traffic. Manhattan at rush hour has nothing on Sao Paulo. Companies like MAXI have to take extreme measures to get to job sites on time including moving trucks around in the middle of the night. Sao Paulo doesn't allow large trucks in the central business district during the day. Planning ahead is key. Difference number two is power. Brazil is a mix of 110 volt and 220 volt, single, dual and three phase. (I lost count of how many possible connectors there are). MAXI's custom power distribution systems are setup to switch between all variations. Generators arepower rack commonly used as many older buildings are not equipped with heavy power. Speaking of old buildings, item #3: be prepared for street level load-ins and lots of man-handling of equipment up stairs. Sao Paulo is hilly, its buildings are rarely purpose-built, and meeting planners like eclectic venues. There are however, many, many convention and expo facilities all over S.P. and given the nice weather, outdoor venues are common.

MAXI had several events going on while I was there. To the left is a broadcast industry mixer with seven curved screens using 15K DLP projectors. On the right is a load-in for a sales meeting of the largest bank in Brazil. Three screens, lots of truss, and a one day load-in. There aren't a lot of differences in overall approach, and only subtle variations in the details of putting in an event. I especially like some of MAXI's proprietary solutions for cable management. They have created cove base covers that hide cable along walls. Ingenious, and darn hard to copy. For Brazil's fashion-conscious designers, the finish is everything.

Over the next several years Brazil will be host to both the World Cup and the Olympics. The US State Department and Brazil have agreed to allow visa that last ten years. And the Brazilian economy has been one of the least affected by the global recession. This all points to one inevitable fact: doing shows in Brazil is very likely part of your future and you can expect to see more and more Brazilian companies doing business in North America. 
Best Practices Series
Management Job Descriptions
Making Time for What You Are Good At, and Bad At

I sometimes ask my clients to send me job descriptions for their employees to help me become oriented to their company. About half of the firms have them (which half are you, btw?). Most are somewhat unrealistic about how many things any one person can be responsible for, but then most employees will tell me they do all those things - so I guess it's alright. Maybe management and worker are playing a game to see who can promise the most, I don't know. What I do know is that I have never received a job description for the owner or General Manager, and the top person in the company is the one I will most likely have to coach about what is appropriate for them to do and what they should delegate. Here is a summary of the things I most often teach about senior management job descriptions:

Free Time
The most important role for any leader is to be available to his or her direct reports. Many leaders tout an open door policy, but truth be told most of the time people do not like to be interrupted and therefore won't interrupt you. The trick is to have time available where it is easy for you to stop what you are doing without looking flustered.

My rule of thumb is that 50% of your time should be unstructured (as in unscheduled), and you should spend that time being very interruptable. Use this time to do these three things in any quantity.

1. Get out of your office and go where the action is. Business guru Tom Peters called it 'management by walking around'. This is your opportunity to stumble upon people doing things correctly, have informal conversations about whatever employees want to talk about, and to LISTEN.
2. Work at something you like and are good at. (Things that you are bad at go in structured time). If you like talking to clients, then make those calls when the mood strikes. If you enjoy spreadsheets, spend some quality time with ones and zeroes.
3. Think. Yes, I said think. Someone needs to be doing the thinking and everyone else assumes it's you. If you have trouble getting started, do what I do - read an article (or scan 20 of them). Sooner or later you will hit on an idea that speaks to you and the thinking will take care of itself. If you are not good at thinking, then move this task to structured time.

Structured Time
The other half of your time is devoted to the projects and meetings that need your full attention. Understand that you can't have free time if you let yourself be in meetings all day. Leaders that have more than 30 employees probably only need to attend two or three recurring meetings a week and most they could skip at least part of. In fact, if you do not need to be there for the entire meeting, then consider not going at all. Let the meeting's owner download the minutes when it's over (if you even need to know what happened).

Projects on the other hand, deserve your focus. Don't over-commit to research, reports, or proposals that could be done by your direct reports. Do take on mission-critical tasks and set aside closed door time to work on them. What counts as a viable project will vary from company to company and leader to leader. When in doubt, ask your direct reports what you should be working on - they know.

Don't be afraid to delegate more. It is true that your managers are probably over-worked, but that is only because they don't delegate enough either. Assign important projects to your top folks and encourage them to assign their pet projects to their direct reports. Eventually the system will get backed up, but then you can have a useful conversation about which projects are truly important and kill the ones that are not.

Job Description
My standard job description for leaders goes like this: 1. Set goals and define expectations, 2. Remove obstacles, 3. Answer questions. Repeat.

Companies whose leaders follow these guidelines have employees that work on relevant projects, know how to retool when circumstances change, and make more money because profit is generally one of the clearer expectations.


Closing Thoughts
My closing thoughts for this issue are in regard the customer-supplier relationship. In a recent blog I talked about partnering with customers and how using this as a selling technique can drive away potential business. I want to add one thought to that: The customer is always right. Repeat. Now, think about the implication - if you disagree with the customer, you are always wrong. The fundamental question of business becomes, "Are you willing to do what it takes to make this customer happy?" If the answer is no, then you need to move on to the next customer or figure out how to change your thinking. Most companies move on (or worse, they keep chasing a customer that has repeatedly said no). Innovative companies rethink their offerings to bypass the customer's perception filter.
 
Sincerely,

Tom
About Thomas R. Stimson, MBA, CTS

Stimson Portrait


Tom Stimson is celebrating over twenty-five years in the information communications technology industry.  As a Consultant, Tom helps companies determine their next goal and then execute the plan that takes them there. For more information visit the website.