The Big Idea with Ron Davis
May, 2014

Molding a Super Model for Success

If you had just one really great idea you could share with the alarm industry, what would it be?

This month we feature columnist and SSI Hall of Famer Ron Davis’ own Big Idea:.

DAVIS’ BIG IDEA: 
Seek out the person you admire most in the industry, and ask him or her for their great idea. Write it down. Then do it again next week, and the week after that and so forth, and you will soon compile your own “success” encyclopedia.

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ver the past 30 years or so, I’ve interviewed hundreds of thinkers, movers and shakers in the alarm industry. All with my signature question: If you had just one really greatidea that you could share with the industry, what would it be?

Last month, I once again emceed the SSI Hall of Fame induction ceremony during ISC West 2014. It has been, is now and hopefully will be for many years an honor for me to do so. As I was preparing for the evening, I started thinking about all of the great ideas I have heard from virtually all of the people who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame (because I was in the first group, I have had the wonderful opportunity to be a witness to all of the subsequent groups that became a part of this great tradition). And it was just a short leap to start thinking about what my answer would be if somebody asked me what I would consider to be the best idea. Frankly, I became so excited about what came into my head, I decided to write about it this month.

PICK THE BRAINS OF THOSE YOU ADMIRE

So here’s my big idea: pretend you’re writing a column, seek out the person you admire most in the industry, and ask him or her for their great idea. Write it down. The following week, find another admirable person you know within the industry, and write down that person’s great idea. Now I don’t expect anybody (or at least very many) people to do this consistently, week in and week out, for a year. However, just think about what you would have if you did that: your own virtual encyclopedia of successful ideas from the industry’s most successful people.

When you think about it, basically any book that focuses on the subject of “success” features ideas, articles or clippings from magazines, newspapers and speeches quoting successful people. Wouldn’t it be nice to have your own book of quotes, ideas and thoughts from the industry’s most successful people? And by the way, a good place for you to start is to look at the list (in the March issue of SSI) of all of the people that have been inducted into the industry Hall of Fame. I can’t think of one who would resent or even hesitate to respond to a request for a great idea — whether it’s about sales, management, installation, finance or any of the other disciplines necessary to run a successful alarm business. In fact, I think any Hall of Famer would be flattered to be invited to contribute an idea with the goal being to help others in the same industry that has helped the Hall of Famer.

I must admit this concept isn’t new, although it might be new to you. In fact, W. Clement Stone — the famous author on success, philanthropist, speaker, and at one time considered to be the wealthiest man in America — thought so much of the idea that he made it a part of his company (at the time, Combined Insurance) training programs, and called it his R2A2 formula for success in business. Very simply, the two R’s meant Recognize and Relate and the two A’s stood for Assimilate and Apply (or Action).

HARD PART IS GETTING IN THE HABIT

Stone would ask all employees to spend 15 minutes a day reading a book on any aspect of the concept or subject of success, write down the core thought of that day’s reading, take time to assimilate it, and then act on it. He would ask employees to describe in their notes the results they achieved. It sounds simple, and like most great ideas, it is. The hard part is actually doing it. However, once you get in the routine of asking for people’s great ideas, the process becomes habitual and the responses you receive constitute a unique body of knowledge.

It’s an enticing challenge, isn’t it? I hope so, because that’s the best idea that I have for helping you to be the best you can in the business that you’re in!

Ron Davis is Security Sales & Integration‘s “What’s the Big Idea?” columnist and contributing market analyst. He is president of Davis Group, a full-service consulting firm serving the security industry, which also includes GraybeardsRus. He has 35 years of industry experience, including founding Security Associates International in the 1980s.