The Big Idea with Ron Davis
June, 2010
On Being a Pro — 24/7
Back when I was involved in launching the alarm industry’s first educational program, we provided positive reinforcement to seminar attendees by developing a management syllabus with various forms. It included more than 100 tips and other suggestions that could be copied and used by any alarm company.
This reminiscence came to mind as I was starting to interview this month’s “Big Idea” guest Ken Kirschenbaum, who is an SSI Hall of Fame inductee. We both started in the industry the same way; I was selling a management system for $25, while he was selling contracts. Today, Kirschenbaum is considered one of the true industry pioneers in establishing customer contract standards for alarm dealers.
Kirschenbaum’s great idea is not unique or novel, but rather timely in that our industry is changing and it’s good to be reminded of some of the basics that successful people employ in achieving their success. And he should know something about alarm dealers; he corresponds with thousands of them every day via a unique newsletter.
I’ve always wondered how a successful business person could have a meaningful discussion about the future of their business without a firm understanding of the present economics of their company, community, industry and the society in which they live. To do so necessitates having a basic understanding of accounting.
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.