Bren Walker
20 posts
Bren Walker
@BrenWalkerAV
Founder, ISD @ Kirkegaard Left Twitter many years ago. Came back for AVintheAM https://t.co/0Xo3dr05Nv…
เข้าร่วม Şubat 2022
3 กำลังติดตาม32 ผู้ติดตาม
3/ Architects vs. AV, sales vs engineering, or as I believe @chris_neto stated at the recent @HETMA conference, "Consultants vs everyone else," which I freely admit is part of the reason why I came here today. I earnestly mean to change this POV. #Avintheam
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5/ It's with leadership because the model and/or the sales incentives are not aligned with project delivery. A certain amount of tension is good, but if rigidity or fundamentalism has fomented on either side, then there's a bigger problem.
See y'all next Sunday. #Avintheam
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4/ Now, sales vs engineering... if a strict sales process is needed because of sales making commitments that gives engineering heartburn, then the issue is not with sales or engineering. #Avintheam
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2/ Before entering AV, I spend a decade each in music and in tech. I produced some very popular apps. I know what we did to get people to come and to stay.
conceptually.org/concepts/6-pri… #Avintheam
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1/ Today was my first #Avintheam and a thing that stands out to me is this concept of "x" vs "y." The antagonism of one group versus another is an underlying hum to social media, and it's there by design.
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@DHODonnell @ped1971 @BobRomano19 @chris_neto I say "No" far more than I say "Yes" both to projects and project opportunities.
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@ped1971 @BobRomano19 @chris_neto Mike No one said you’re cheating the system. When you ask for “high level sketches and layouts” for the dealers it costs money. In my 20yrs I have seen way to many firms go out of business because they are afraid of change and saying no to deals that are bad deals. #AVinTheAM
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Q1 - At what point in the Sales process should engineers be introduced to the client? Could or should a basic system design be developed prior to the introduction? Is there a threshold that if surpassed could become a detrimental? What is the ideal solution? #AVintheAm
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@ZachGamezAV @ped1971 Spot on & todays catch phrase… “it depends” on the sales person, right?
Personally, I’d favour recruiting ones who do push back a little…
#AVintheAM
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Seriously Mike, if your AV is everyone’s AV. I’m out!!! #AVintheAM
GIF
Mike Pedersen@ped1971
@JPWard LOL, there are a LOT of things wrong with #ProAV, but this is not the main one. Detailed design, any documentation that is suitable for use in construction, should of course be billed. Any high-level design to get to an estimate should not. It is cost of doing busnss. #AVinTheAM
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@DHODonnell @ped1971 @BobRomano19 @chris_neto Giving the class for free and only charging for the test is the MOOC model. It works if you can scale.
There are any number of possibilities for how to play the game. #AvinTheAM.
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@ped1971 @BobRomano19 @chris_neto Mike I’m sorry but there’s truly no free lunch. I have to agree with the dealers in the thread. Billable hours / engineering hours are a real expense and free hours can bankrupt a company. #AVinTheAM Imagine professors giving the class for free and only charging for the test.
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@ped1971 @MariaTeresaLlo3 @chris_neto 2/ Things have changed. Our value is in the design thinking and in showing how to use technology to change their spaces in plan and cost before the architect produces anything.
It's way more fun. I highly recommend it.
#AVinTheAM
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@MariaTeresaLlo3 @BrenWalkerAV @chris_neto The bane of room design for #ProAV is the "architect's vision" which typically translates into spaces that are physics-challenged for acoustics and contrast ratio. #AVinTheAM
GIF
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Q5 Over the past 2 years UC has taken the install spotlight in AV. What do you foresee being the big tech requests as we return? Take into consideration various verticals like retail, arenas, hospitality, events, access control, theaters, etc. Play "The Futurist" role. #AVintheAm
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@ped1971 @MariaTeresaLlo3 @chris_neto 1/ Two years ago, most of our projects started at design development, which is the detailing of the design. Now, most start at pre-design and certainly no later than schematic design. Today, I'm working on a study where the architect is getting room criteria from me. #AVinTheAM
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@ped1971 @JPWard Not for nothing, we're North America. and we don't give away design either. To each their own in how you play the game. #AVinTheAM
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@ped1971 @chris_neto All trades are time-compressed because someone with the client has the job of pointing out how much they lose every day the space is not operating, which is likely based on someone else's planning from months or even years before AV even went out to bid. #AVinTheAM
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@chris_neto 2/ It doesn't seem to matter how early you say this, how early the installer is engaged, how clearly the contract is written, the AV team is ALWAYS time-compressed. You may have a contractual ability to delay the schedule, but the client will always be mad. No win. #AVinTheAM
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Q4 Many jobs require that Jobsites be Clean & Dust free before Electronics enter the space. How often is that observed? Even under the current situation has that changed? Is AV still treated as an "11th Hour" install by other trades (that includes IT leadership)? #AVintheAm
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@MariaTeresaLlo3 @chris_neto And hopefully that emphasis on acoustics will come early enough in the project to actually make a difference. Structural and MEP impact acoustics, yet acoustical challenges are often expected to be solved with only changes to room finishes. #AVintheAM
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@chris_neto Hopefully there'll be more of an emphasis on acoustics moving forwards. With more hybrid set-ups and open-plan spaces sound is becoming increasingly important. (at least people are starting to appreciate its importance!😉) #AVintheAM
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@cwebtech9000 @chris_neto AV has to be more explicit in demonstrating its value, recognizing that we are often communicating with people who think they "know AV" because they set up their own home theater. #AVinTheAM
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@chris_neto Higher-up IT leadership continues to neglect AV. Perhaps they don't deal with it enough or aren't familiar with how intertwined it is with IT. If you have a good AV team, they may be neglected simply because they don't cause problems. The "good kid" gets left alone. #AVInTheAM
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@victoria0429 Design is like playing jazz too. So is installation. I've certainly seen some interesting improvisations out in the field. There can be some level of art and science in any role. How much depends on the attitudes of the people and the nature of their organization. #AVinTheAM
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Having a stringent written sales process which lays out "permissions" makes robots that hate their job. I worked at a place like that for a couple years. I hated it and it WAY less productive and profitable. Sales is an art. Sales is like playing jazz. #avintheam
Bob Romano@BobRomano19
@SharathSAbraham @chris_neto @DHODonnell As am I Sharath... The problem is it appears that there remain some integrators w/o a written sales process which lays out when they have permission to reach out to the SE team. They set no rules on this. #AVintheAM
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@chris_neto Getting a clean job site depends on how good you are at enforcing it. If the leadership is conflict averse, good luck. #AVintheAM
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@gregoryraphael @BobRomano19 @SharathSAbraham @chris_neto @DHODonnell AV thinking its different and rogue is like the other fields that are held back by insularity and tribalism. #AVinTheAM
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@BobRomano19 @SharathSAbraham @chris_neto @DHODonnell AV orgs seem to be run by mgmt that’s never worked outside of AV. They don’t know, learn, or implement standard business processes. AV thinks they are different, rogue, in ways. VC is trying to change the big boys, many local offices are still in the Wild West #AVinTheAM
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Like @NJDavidD, I speak with people all of the time who have been oversold solutions. This isn't just an AV problem. It's a tech problem. There's a lot of bafflin' 'em with bullshit that has gone on. #Avintheam
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@chris_neto It depends on how you run your business. Not everyone limits initial client contact to sales, nor are all businesses operating with that kind of compartmentalization of people.
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Q2 In an ideal world which team member should be the 1st to meet the stakeholder/client after the sales: PM, Engineer, Lead Tech or other? Is there an advantage to each? Is their an advantage to keeping a proj. team in place throughout? When do you intro Service team? #AVintheAm
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