Why should I bother?

Authored by:

Irene Sasso

Director of Member Services

The Association for Quality in Audio Visual

"Failure is success in progress" - Albert Einstein

A question we get asked on repeat is, “What if no one else in the company is doing it, and we don’t have a quality management plan? Why should I bother?

It can be frustrating to see and know that you are running on empty, with no relief in sight.  As the spouse of someone who worked in AV since he was 18, I can relate, as I know the struggle.

My husband worked with Mario Maltese for years.  Loved the job, loved the travel, he even loved the complexity and the ever-changing technology.  The one thing he didn’t love was how everything fell into his lap because AV is the last one on the jobsite.

Mario started AV9000 years before it was actually AQAV.  He saw how much AV was getting beaten up.  Lack of retention was rampant because everyone who works with AV loves it, but they are always hoping that if they go somewhere else, maybe, just maybe, it would be easier to have a life after the work week.

Mario was always years ahead of everything.  He could see patterns emerging and knew that changes would be needed because the technology was constantly evolving into what we see today.  So how could we continue to keep up with the industry? He looked back on his days in the military and decided that we create processes.  So, he created them.  He spoke with the individuals doing the job and worked to identify how to streamline each department, how the departments interacted, and how they relied on one another.

Too many years later, and the industry is basically still working the same way, at least from what I can glean from conversations with people.  You know the deal; I don’t need to “say the quiet part out loud”.

Getting back to the original question, why should I bother?  Because you see that it could be better.  You hope that there is a better way to do the everyday.  Well, there is. 

AV9000 grew because of the need to do AV better and make money doing it.  It does not depend on everyone doing it at the same time.  One individual can follow the QT043 and make a difference in “their” day. 

We all know that there are a million, if not two (2) million things to look at, think about, and hope work.  The QT043 helps you keep organized.  Removes the “Did I do that?” “Who ran the calculations?” The finger-pointing and “my kids’ softball game is in an hour, can I leave? “

When followed by even one person, you are accountable for the work you accomplished.  You know exactly what is left to do, because you are following a blueprint.  You can leave to go, because you know you have a handle on the job.  You know that in the morning, you can get to work and know exactly what needs to be done and what has been done.

Regardless of the work you do for AV, there is a milestone that reflects that work, put together by people who have come before you and those who will come after you.  The AV9000 Standard has been built and continues to be built on the shoulders of people just like you, doing just what you do, and you have the benefit of their knowledge, skill, and even their failures.

As I have heard Mario say a million times, or at least what I hear when he says, “If you’re not trying and pushing the envelope, you're failing, you’re not learning, and if you’re not learning, you are NOT growing”. 

You could never just go to him with a problem without a solution, even a half-baked one.  He would give you the freedom to learn and grow.  He would help polish the edges and share his knowledge and skills to make it work or improve it, but he would never just do it for you.

The QT043 is the blood, sweat, and tears of an entire industry that loves what they do, and they do it with heart, compassion, and a spirit of excitement for what tomorrow will bring, because no two (2) days are the same.

My husband, now retired, still tells stories about the work and, most importantly, the people he met along the way.  He would be the first to tell you that following the AV9000 standard allowed him to leave the jobsite knowing everything would be okay and that he could enjoy family time.

So, even if you are the only one, you still reap the benefits, and before long, your jobs will be coming in under budget and under hours.  Next thing you know, someone is going to ask you, what are you doing differently?  That’s when the magic happens.

So, do you have a story to tell?  Let us know in the comments.  You never know, your story could be the next building block added to the QT043, and we would love to hear it!