Big Boy Pants | Business of AV
There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and AVIXA bashing. The first is inescapable; I hear the statistics on death are 100%. The second? You can try avoiding taxes, but the IRS will eventually catch up to you. However, AVIXA bashing is completely meaningless, serves no purpose, and comes across as childish and unprofessional. Yet, it runs rampant across the socials and behind the scenes. It is time for the AV-industry to put on our big boy pants and realize that we when we attack our own official trade organization, the only people we hurt are ourselves. More than that, when we attack AVIXA, we are not attacking some faceless organization, we are attacking real people, with real lives, and real feelings, who are just trying to do right by their jobs and the people they are charged with representing: you.
Sadly, if the AV industry is good at anything, it is knowing how to be left behind every time the world changes because we are too busy kicking and screaming, attempting to avoid the change. For some reason, we seem to enjoy viewing the industry through some false sense of nostalgia. But, the world has changed. The pandemic forced a fundamental shift in global operations, work-life priorities, technology adoption, and communications. Business models have likewise changed.
Throughout it all, who has planned for the shift? AVIXA has. Who is best positioned to see trends coming, before they impact the industry? AVIXA is. The value of market intelligence research should not be understated. Ever since its founding in 1939, AVIXA formed strategic alliances with influential AV bodies, organized global trade shows, collected industry market data, and has existed under five different trade names, with the most recent move being a rebranding from InfoComm to the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association in 2017. Like it or not, AVIXA is the sole body synonymous with commercial AV integration.
It’s times like now when we need to come together as an industry. The only people who truly understand your struggles are others who are also going through the same challenges. This is exactly why any trade organization exists. Whether you are an integrator trying to understand the supply chain issues, an in-house team needing to know how to support a technology, or a manufacturer trying to understand the future technology trends in a specific vertical, we all need strong relationships in order to be successful. When outsiders see us bickering among one another and taking stabs at our own trade organization, we unwittingly drive others away. In a time where UC and IT are central to the new post-pandemic norm, with IT departments happily willing to do our jobs for us, we must be extra diligent. The advent of all-in-one hardware and cloud SaaS products, means the AV industry must focus on experiential delivery [psst., note AVIXA’s recent name change], rather than relying on product and installation revenue, because we truly do live in a near plug-and-play world. AVIXA is the prime body able to advocate for us.
With advocacy comes accountability. Standards, best practices, and certification are all essential in ensuring longterm viability. In an Amazon-infused, instant gratification world, we need to demonstrate value. People will pay for quality and professionalism; that is true for every industry, not just AV. When we diminish our own value by downplaying the effectiveness of install standards and best practices in working with customers, the Amazon “buy it now” impulse will win out. It has been said that the average person does not know what a “CTS” is, nor know to even ask for one. While that may be true in general, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t continue to push the importance. I don’t know the importance of any of the acronyms that many different trades use, but when they proudly advertise their certifications, we naturally assume relevance and professionalism. Thus, without a trade organization to support standards and best practices, there is no guarantee on quality. Quality translates to value-add.
Does this mean AVIXA can do no wrong and have all the say in anything and everything? No, of course not. But remember, AVIXA is a member supported organization. While we as AV professionals are their customers, they are also ours. They are stronger when we are united; we collectively are stronger as an industry when AVIXA has the ability to be effective.
Disagree with an initiative or have an idea how InfoComm could be improved? Think there is more that AVIXA can do better? Then get involved, volunteer your time and talents to have your voice heard. Fill out the emailed surveys, contribute to the market intelligence reports, and join a council. Spark a conversation on the AVIXA Xchange. There is a difference between constructive criticism and flat-out AVIXA bashing; one helps the organization be more effective while the other is immature, demonstrates weakness, and is often borderline bullying [psst., remember AVIXA is made up of real humans just trying to do a job].
Drive change with AVIXA as your partner, not as an adversary. When I co-founded HETMA and was called out on our lack of diversity in the leadership ranks, I reached out AVIXA, looking for guidance, and wanting to create real change. I wanted to change the circumstance, but not as a token gesture, but to impact others in a positive way. AVIXA stepped up and helped drive our Prism Scholarship program in support of our mutual diversity goals. We would not have been able to award ten scholarships to underrepresented professionals if it were not for AVIXA’s desire to support the people of our industry first-and-foremost. Members leveraging the power of a large organization and AVIXA leveraging the initiatives of its members is a win-win.
The HETMA Prism Scholarship is just one example. AVIXA’s partnering with Higher Ed AV is another way they develop our community. By providing articles and resources for Higher Ed AV to publish to it’s readers and listeners and offering press access at the various trade shows allows the higher ed vertical to gain access to important information so our institutions can best serve our students and faculty. Both AVIXA and I have been attacked for me receiving a press pass, because I am not a traditional journalist. And boy am I thankful for that. Traditional journalism is dead. Once again, the world has changed. Specific verticals require direct access to information and support pertinent to their success. Non-traditional mediums like social media influencers, backend CRMs (like HETMA’s community board), Slack channels (like James King’s HigherEd_AVIT Slack group), and online media outlets like Higher Ed AV’s SME-written articles and various podcasts, are how our people connect and learn in today’s world. And who has the best opportunity to provide the resources, training, and trade shows to help vertical-specific non-traditional media? AVIXA does.
And in closing, yes, I am aware of the handful of people who will be fake offended by this article. And to that, I say, turn off your Twitter, put on your big boy pants, and do something productive for AVIXA, rather than attack them.
