“Years ago we used to say [to clients], ‘You need this display because it has all these great features.’ Now we’re saying these great features will result in this type of performance,” Labuskes said.
“What you need to be saying now is, ‘This performance will impact the quality of your meetings, and the quality of your meetings will result in better decisions, which will make you a more competitive organization, or will help you heal people better, or will help you educate people better.’ Regardless of the mission, you have to apply what you’re providing to a client to how they’re achieving their mission.”
For integration firms, meanwhile, their mission in 2014 is to evaluate and act upon the areas in which they need to evolve. For the glass-is-half-full crew, this is a great opportunity. Even though there are critical areas in which the integration industry obviously needs to progress, let’s not discount that only 12.5 percent of surveyed firms experienced revenue decline in 2013.
Most companies can afford a calculated approach to evolving in 2014. In other words, don’t bite off too much all at once, advises Wilson.
“When I get in my visionary mode, I always like to surround myself with people who tether me back to good business practices and reliable systems. Don’t give up on what’s working to chase something you don’t know will be reliable yet. Figure out if it’s doable now, or are you behind already? That’s the challenge.”
Want to learn more? Join CI and NSCA for the 4th Annual Integration Business Outlook webinar on Jan. 30, 2014 at 2:00p.m. This year, NSCA’s Chuck Wilson and CI editor Tom LeBlanc are joined by CI’s2013 Integrator of the Year, David Riberi from CCS Presentation Systems.
NSCA and CI will present a joint “state of the industry” research project that not only captures the performance of the commercial integration industry and its vertical markets, but analyzes the real-world challenges and opportunities integrators face in 2014. Riberi, the integrator on the panel, will keep Wilson and LeBlanc in line as they discuss how firms ought to alter their approaches entering a critical year.
Click here to sign up for this free webinar.
