There’s this instinct in higher ed AV to wait until everything is perfect before doing anything at all.
The room is outdated. Standards are messy. Monitoring is fragmented. Faculty habits are inconsistent. Budget is limited. So we wait. And we plan. And we whiteboard. And we wait some more.
Meanwhile, nothing actually improves.
A few years ago, during the worst of the supply chain chaos, a shift happened. Instead of refreshing entire rooms, one specific component was replaced across the inventory. Same part. Same standard. Everywhere.
It wasn’t about strategy. It was about availability.
By the time I got here in 2022, that approach was already in motion.
It would have been easy to revert once things stabilized. Go back to full room refreshes. Go back to chasing perfect installs.
We didn’t.
Because it was working.
It did three things.
First, it closed functionality gaps in rooms that had been living in “good enough” territory for years. Spaces that technically worked but were missing key features suddenly felt intentional.
Second, it leveraged buying power. When you stop doing one-offs and start working at scale, vendors respond differently.
Third, it forced real standardization. Not aspirational standards. Not “when budget allows” standards. Real ones.
In higher ed AV, we love big projects. Ribbon-cutting projects. Brand-new building projects. But the real impact often comes from disciplined, boring consistency.
Replace one thing well. Everywhere.
Level up one process. Everywhere.
Document one standard. Everywhere.
Transformation doesn’t always require revolution. Sometimes it requires repetition.
Standardization is uncomfortable. It limits customization. It forces tough conversations with stakeholders who want something different in their one room.
But equity across campus does not come from customization. It comes from consistency.
If you’re waiting for the perfect refresh cycle to fix your ecosystem, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
Pick one problem. Solve it everywhere. Then pick the next one.
That’s how you level up without burning the whole place down.
