- CARY, NC-December is a busy month for many systems designers and installers, as clients suddenly seek completion of projects before the end of the year, or even increase their orders for technology. Regardless of vertical market, it appears that nationwide, members of the audiovisual industry are bracing themselves for what looks like a busy four weeks ahead.
As it rapidly approaches its 10th year in business, AVCON has come together as a team to manage the substantial growth the company has experienced.
"December is an unbelievably busy time for us," said Frank Yarborough, president of AVCON in Cary, NC. "You get booked up and then you're double booking because everybody wants even more."
Even as the purchase orders are stacking up behind him, Yarborough has his eyes on the future. While many would just "duck and run" through the ordeal ahead, he has managed to step outside his business and take a serious look at how it functions as an organization. AVCON has grown from a one-person operation to a team of 24 in nine and a half years, and now Yarborough is evaluating which tools he and his company will need in order to continue a growth trajectory. He's asking himself some tough questions, even on these days, when his agenda is packed with meetings: "How do we sustain the passion and vision that we have had all along, and add the new energy and the new tools to take it to the next level?"
The ability to conduct such "big picture" thinking in a time of frantic business activity is admirable, and increasingly necessary in an industry where the pace is quickening every day. Hopefully as this year is coming to a close, business owners and leaders are taking a closer look at their operations and setting clear objectives and milestones for the next year.
Yarborough details this process of deliberation as such: "Are you developing your people, and are you developing as the business owner and leader in a manner that allows you to do this successfully and be profitable, all while people enjoy what they're doing within your company? Do they see growth in themselves, success as a team, and do they feel they're accomplishing things that they never thought about accomplishing before?"
The potential for growth in AVCON's two core markets-corporate facilities and houses of worship-is great, and the plan is to maintain focus and cultivate those opportunities. "We've got to launch into 2007 with good vision and passion and energy and excitement about what we're doing," Yarborough said. "We are going to look at what we've learned and what we are going to do differently, and how as the leader I can facilitate that growth and development in a way that people want to be a part of-that gets them excited. That's real for all of us. That's where we are."
