The 18th annual Business & Leadership Conference officially kicks off today! We thought this would be a great time to better explain what NSCA is, what we do, and what our members do. Our board of directors took the time to document the significance of NSCA in the industry and to their own integration firms.
Through a series of blog posts, we’ll reveal what they had to say. These statements were captured during a 2015 strategic planning session as we examined the industry and contemplated NSCA’s role as the voice, business resource, and trusted advisor for the channel and the systems integrator.
First to share his expertise is NSCA Board President Michael Hester, who is also managing partner at Beacon Communications.
In the 1980s, the low-voltage industry was under attack by the electrical contracting industry. With the technological advances being made, our systems were becoming an increased part of the total cost of a building. Electrical contractors felt they could better control what was specified in CSI Section 16 by actually doing the work themselves, believing that the basic, small-shop low-voltage contractors at the time couldn’t compete with them.
A few concerned low-voltage contractors came together to improve the work of their peers, attempting to rewrite the Construction Specifications Institute Sections so we could bid directly to the general contractors. NSCA was formed for the sole purpose of trying to better the companies in our industry to compete and control our own destiny.
Fast forward to today. Our low-voltage industry is again under attack on many fronts. We have to compete with the internet, more government interventions than ever before, manufacturers that sell direct to customers, and IT VAR companies selling directly against us in our space.
We are working diligently to better the integration industry by helping member companies make wiser business decisions, and helping them evolve in order to compete in the ever-changing market. So many times, we do not hear from our members until they are in real trouble. If more companies would use NSCA as the resource it really is, and rely on us to be their trusted advisor, then many of these issues could be prevented.
We are here to help each of our members become more proactive in “how to do business” in today’s business climate. If we continue to rely solely on our ability to react, some of us will not survive. We’ve come full circle: The current NSCA staff, volunteers, and board members are working toward the exact same goal as our founding members did. -Michael Hester, NSCA Board President 2014-2016