BARRINGTON, IL, February 22, 2019: Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA), the industry’s leading international trade consortium of hybrid retail and custom integration members, announced the results of its review of 2018 accomplishments as part of its preparation for the launch of a new 2019 agenda. For HTSA members, 2018 was another record year with members reporting strong overall business growth both in terms of the number of projects initiated, and in terms of the increase in value of each of those projects.
HTSA members particularly noticed a dramatically growing contribution from new categories such as lighting fixtures, design, and services which collectively is adding millions of dollars in new revenues for the organization. In addition to this, members are seeing greater gains in organizational efficiencies thanks to several consortium-led business education initiatives and strategies.
It is all part of the organization’s goal – developed by Executive Director Jon Robbins and HTSA’s Board of Directors – to aggressively pursue greater organizational growth and effectiveness through superior education, training, and innovative new business initiatives. This is not thinking “outside the box,” rather management is throwing out the box and rethinking the fundamental role of the organization in powering greater member success.
The consortium has chosen to invest heavily in building a best-in-class management team, with the addition of industry experts in full-time roles. These new team members aid in creating more powerful business strategies, support members on a daily basis in the execution of these plans, and build custom educational curriculums that serve to elevate HTSA above other comparable industry organizations.
“Success in this business is not a given and I’m confident that we’ve built a world class management team to take on whatever challenges we face,” said HTSA Executive Director Jon Robbins. “But success is a team effort, and the progress we make as an organization is truly due to the extraordinary efforts of HTSA members to proactively sign up for the Masterclass education, to understand and implement what they’ve learned there within their organizations, and to effectively execute our plans to the best of their ability. I give our extraordinary group of member organizations all the credit.”
2018 Accomplishments: Lighting Design, Specification-Grade Fixtures, and Services
HTSA was the first custom integration-centric buying organization to target a dramatic expansion into the lighting segment, announced in a formal press presentation at its 2017 Fall Conference in Chicago. At that time, HTSA alone made a bold and public commitment to the category. Management laid out their business plan and revealed several specific tactics, including the addition of a category expert and the launch of multiple new relationships with critical lighting vendors and the development of a customized training program for HTSA members.
HTSA started by hiring one of the industry’s foremost experts on lighting for custom integrators, Tom Doherty. Doherty became a full-time HTSA employee, hired as its Director of New Technology Initiatives. One of the founders of CEDIA, Doherty has more than a decade of experience in high-performance lighting. He also provided information on working with designers and/or offering in-house lighting system design, selecting and delivering specification-grade lighting fixtures, and informing members on how to offer other related services,
Doherty has the knowledge, expertise, and lighting industry relationships that gave HTSA members a real head start in building their lighting business. As part of this initiative, Doherty worked with management and key outside expert sources, such as the American Lighting Association, to create a powerful customized education program that took advantage of HTSA integrators’ knowledge of lighting control, but added a detailed curriculum on those elements of the lighting business that, in the past, had been beyond the scope of an integrator’s business.
During 2018, HTSA management began executing the delivery of this resulting educational program, called the HTSA Lighting Masterclass Level 1. Members enthusiastically embraced the lighting initiative and signed up in droves, causing the first two rounds of classes to be immediately over-booked.
By the end of 2018, fully 55 HTSA members have achieved certification – with testing conducted independently by the ALA – as Certified Lighting Specialists, setting them head-and-shoulders above most other integrators in their markets. No other organization is taking such a progressive approach to driving members’ success in this important new category.
2018 Accomplishments: Entrepreneurial Operating System Business Process Education
More than two years ago, HTSA was the first major industry organization to embrace the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), an expert business process program that helps entrepreneurs like HTSA member company founders gain greater control over their business processes. Based on research from Gino Wickman who went on to develop EOS, HTSA has embraced the program for its members, creating a customized business process Masterclass educational program and coordinating closely with the international EOS organization.
HTSA has held multiple EOS Masterclass sessions, featuring several of the EOS organization’s top certified “implementers.” Members have reported that the EOS system has revolutionized their operations, with most members bringing multiple company managers to the EOS Masterclass sessions.
As of now, there are dozens of HTSA members holding EOS “Level 10” meetings weekly. A concept unique to EOS, holding highly effective and regularly scheduled Level 10 management meetings is an example of these organizations making a strong commitment to build the strength and efficiency of their management teams.
2018 Accomplishments: Generational Research and Education
Another HTSA first was the recognition of the challenges members faced in working with clients and employees who represented a multiple generations. These different generations all embraced unique outlooks and views that made it challenging to work with and manage them as employees, as well as to sell and market to them as customers.
HTSA management sought out leading experts on generational research which led them to begin working with the Center for Generational Kinetics out of Austin, TX more than two years ago. Top researchers and speakers from the organization have made multiple presentations to HTSA members since that time.
Presenters from the Center who have offered keynote presentations at HTSA events include Alicia Rainwater, a Certified Generational Speaker, and Jason Dorsey, President of the Center. Members gleaned valuable information from these presentations that helped them adjust their efforts to maximize their relationships, no matter the generations involved.
HTSA remains committed to offer “best in class” educational initiatives, setting standards for the entire industry.
To learn more about HTSA and its many membership benefits, see: www.HTSA.com.