Human Circuit https://humancircuit.com Mon, 07 Nov 2022 23:59:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.33 Changing Course Toward Creative Disruption https://humancircuit.com/changing-course-toward-creative-disruption/ https://humancircuit.com/changing-course-toward-creative-disruption/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2019 20:01:26 +0000 https://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1738 By Bruce Kaufmann and Jim Hatcher When Professional Products rebranded in 2011 as Human Circuit, we experienced a mixed reception. Curiosity from clients and skepticism from manufacturers. As we made our departure from a traditional reseller and moved toward an innovative system engineering firm, we created disruption in our market. As Human Circuit, we prefer […]

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By Bruce Kaufmann and Jim Hatcher

When Professional Products rebranded in 2011 as Human Circuit, we experienced a mixed reception. Curiosity from clients and skepticism from manufacturers. As we made our departure from a traditional reseller and moved toward an innovative system engineering firm, we created disruption in our market. As Human Circuit, we prefer the application of simplified systems based on extensible and opensource technology.  Our approach is disruptive because it challenges the traditional purpose-built monolithic hardware that continues to dominate our industry. Shortly after our rebranding, the skeptical reception we received from manufacturers was followed by a wave of resentment.

We understand. It is the same reaction that meets every disruptor in every industry. The interesting part to us is that while there are intentional moves to be a disruptor by some, our move was to position our company for success in a saturated and commoditized market. The way we saw it, we didn’t have a choice.  And, it worked despite the fallout.

Human Circuit now thrives on the compliment of being a disruptor and will continue to do so. As technology and the markets that we serve evolve, we are and will be proactive to anticipate what must be done to provide clients with answers to difficult problems.  It is our anticipation of changing conditions that provide us with the foresight to be an unrelenting advocate for our client. We are the front-end and the protector our clients require from the confusion of technological change.

We continue to wear the badge of disruptor proudly.

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Client Advocacy as an Evolving Practice https://humancircuit.com/client-advocacy-as-an-evolving-practice/ https://humancircuit.com/client-advocacy-as-an-evolving-practice/#comments Thu, 24 Jan 2019 23:50:49 +0000 https://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1716 Client advocacy is a well-known term in the healthcare and legal arenas. It is not a term or a practice that is wide-spread in technology and engineering circles. It happens to be a philosophy and practice that Human Circuit considers a key offering to our clients. We, and our clients, are falling victims to products […]

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Client advocacy is a well-known term in the healthcare and legal arenas. It is not a term or a practice that is wide-spread in technology and engineering circles. It happens to be a philosophy and practice that Human Circuit considers a key offering to our clients. We, and our clients, are falling victims to products rushed to market because of competitive pressures to be first. The first two stages of the product lifecycle have, in most cases, become one…there’s no time for introduction and then growth…a lack of separation of those phases creating one, perhaps introgrowth? Ingrowth? Or hmmmm ingrown!? Now that is a problem. The end-user client needs help; an advocate; a protector.

A high-performing business is always an advocate for their client. However, in the present, we believe it must be a conscious core competency for companies that rely on others for manufacturing. Human Circuit is an engineering company, we are not a manufacturer. We must rely on a very broad base of manufacturers in order to help our clients meet their goals for technology use. This reliance comes at a premium.

With the pressures of time and evolution in the technology industry product arrives without maturity. And much like the human race…one immature person is innocuous…a room full of immature people could be trouble. We find ourselves in trouble.

Human Circuit has quickly moved client advocacy to our primary focus. Someone must take responsibility for the costs associated with manufacturer intervention and troubleshooting. Too many firms quickly wave in the problem manufacturer to deal directly with the end-user. A recipe for disaster and a bad strategy for maintaining a client. The client chose us, we chose the manufacturer, it’s our success or failure. We are the guardians for our client.

Even more unfortunately, is the cost associated with being the beta test and R&D arm of a manufacturer. We have seen an elevation of our being used for these purposes over the last couple of years; without prior consent. As some clients have experienced this themselves, it provides those who make client advocacy a true service, a real value-add.

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The Name of the Game https://humancircuit.com/the-name-of-the-game/ https://humancircuit.com/the-name-of-the-game/#comments Wed, 04 Oct 2017 13:41:08 +0000 http://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1581 I’ve watched with great interest the industry conversations related to the rebranding of InfoComm to AVIXA. I put aside the light banter of what the name sounds like or what it reminds people of…I tired to focus on the substantive nature of what the rebranding meant to the organization and its constituents. I believe I […]

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I’ve watched with great interest the industry conversations related to the rebranding of InfoComm to AVIXA. I put aside the light banter of what the name sounds like or what it reminds people of…I tired to focus on the substantive nature of what the rebranding meant to the organization and its constituents. I believe I am qualified as knowledgeable about rebranding. I experienced it…I lived through it…I produced it; taking Professional Products Inc. (a 40-year-old company at the time) to Human Circuit. I am a huge fan of rebranding under the right circumstances and for the right reasons.

I would agree completely that InfoComm needed a rebranding, just as the industry needs to think and act differently. While the most visible component of a rebranding is the name; what really matters is the substantive change in direction, focus and commitment.

The organization stated in their initial press release the following: “AVIXA members create integrated AV experiences that deliver outcomes for end users.” This is an important focus. “Experience” or “Experiences” seem to be the key word everyone is paying attention to. At all the industry events I have attended in recent years, and in all of my meetings with manufacturers, a key part of the discussion has focused on the end-user experience. This conversation has focused on the improvement of that experience. This has implications that the experience is not always positive. And as the saying goes originally from John Lydgate and then made popular by Abraham Lincoln; “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” But I got the impression more often than not, that the satisfaction of end-users across the board with AV was more like we’re pleasing some of the people some of the time domain.

Why am I writing this? I was sparked to write this morning by a posting by Leonard Suskin’s blog “The Power of Names.” https://www-ravepubs-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/www.ravepubs.com/the-power-of-names/amp/.  In his blog Mr. Suskin maintains “It is in the creation of experiences that we are different than IT professionals; an IT designer creates an infrastructure which modern spaces need to function. We use that infrastructure to create experiences. An immersive videoconference is an experience. A corporate meeting room with a seamless presentation interface is an experience for both presenter and audience. A clearly intelligible announcement in an airport is an experience. A home-theater is an experience.”

I don’t want to read too much into the above statement, but I do read this…the industry is still maintaining the split between IT disciplines and purpose and AV disciplines and purpose. The split no longer exists…our industry simply denies that it should be a part of IT. After all IT is Information Technology. What does AV do? It delivers audible and visual information. AV is now a subset of IT. IT has won the battle of infrastructure. If that is not the case…why did 30+ AV manufacturers make such a big deal at the last InfoComm show about new offerings of AV over IP?

I would also caution the industry on how we use the word “experience.” In the blog, the word “experience” is emphasized as something extraordinary. Not as something required and necessary to be efficient, productive, and solve business/life communication problems (we’ll leave home theater out of this). Except for very creative implementations of AV for things like experience centers (hence the name) or splashy retail or building lobby displays; most AV is not an “experience.” Not in the way the word is used in the blog; and it should not be. Meeting the Queen of England is an experience. Attending a premiere sporting event is an experience. Using a well-built conference or huddle room is not an experience.

I bring these two points up for a call to action for the AV industry; 1) accept and embrace the fact that we are a subset of Information Technology and IT infrastructure serves a single purpose; 2) AV systems (with some exceptions) should not be an “experience,” they should be encountered and lived through (true definition of experience).

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Why Aren’t they Watching – Corporate and Enterprise Television https://humancircuit.com/why-arent-they-watching-corporate-and-enterprise-television/ https://humancircuit.com/why-arent-they-watching-corporate-and-enterprise-television/#comments Fri, 21 Jul 2017 15:56:17 +0000 http://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1575 Someone asked me why none of the broadcast products or tools we have been exploring are pointed at the corporate and enterprise marketplace. Interesting question with an easy answer. It’s because businesses do not completely understand they will be most successful by conforming to the way their employees consume their video content. There is a […]

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Someone asked me why none of the broadcast products or tools we have been exploring are pointed at the corporate and enterprise marketplace. Interesting question with an easy answer. It’s because businesses do not completely understand they will be most successful by conforming to the way their employees consume their video content. There is a conflict in what is familiar to consumers (the employee) and the way a large part of the corporate world chooses to push out video content. There are only so many hours in the day, and the massive amount of video content is enormous. Despite their obvious charm, CEO’s, marcom, training managers, and HR professionals are already in a different kind of competition related to production values (a topic for another blog) with Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and YouTube. They cannot afford to fall outside the expected norms of video content delivery, and if the creators don’t realize it, why should broadcast OTT manufacturers realize it?

The challenge for the corporate and enterprise marketplace is not just about making their video content compelling, but how do they distribute it effectively? How do they create a high-quality user experience like they get for most of their entertainment content? And even more importantly, how do they measure or analyze the effectiveness of their content?

In the world of big data and analytics it is now possible to gain insight on the effectiveness of corporate media delivery. Analytics tools provide both data on metrics of viewership as well as the quality of delivery. These analytics justify the time and expense to produce corporate and enterprise content.

We have delivered and are currently working with companies to make their forays into enterprise video production and streaming delivery successful. The manufacturers don’t need to see the market if we do. We discuss and present how the corporate/enterprise space can get the attention of their employees by conforming with a similar user experience. Creating that user experience is every bit or perhaps even more important than the content itself. You must navigate to the content to view it. And navigation needs to easy and in the manner to which a user likes to experience video. Usually personal devices.

Obviously, we are not talking about producing the equivalent entertainment value of Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad. But corporate and enterprise content can be delivered the  same similar and familiar manner that is already comfortable and effective for their audience.

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Future Proof…Impossible Solution https://humancircuit.com/future-proof_impossible-solution/ https://humancircuit.com/future-proof_impossible-solution/#comments Tue, 21 Mar 2017 17:37:58 +0000 http://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1538 I can’t take it any longer…I saw another industry advertisement that offered advice on “future proofing” of a specific technology. The inherent nature of the word “future,” does not allow the “proofing” of anything…it’s not here yet. Most people laugh at the nature of fortune tellers, yet we have vendors, consultants, bloggers, and resellers who […]

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I can’t take it any longer…I saw another industry advertisement that offered advice on “future proofing” of a specific technology. The inherent nature of the word “future,” does not allow the “proofing” of anything…it’s not here yet. Most people laugh at the nature of fortune tellers, yet we have vendors, consultants, bloggers, and resellers who can apparently see into the future offering “future proof” products, technology, and services. We listen with rapt attention yet we make fun of the notions of urban planning, military intelligence, negative growth and the working vacation.

Advice, anyone utilizing the words “future proof,” or any form of that statement should not have a place in your tree of trust. Sound advice is simply an answer to what problem are we trying to solve today and whether it is worth the associated investment.  If it involves technology, then that investment needs to see a positive return or result in 18-36 months.

Only a wise fool would have faith that theoretical experience would produce an unbiased opinion and a deceptively honest exact estimate on the delivery of future proof technology. Did you catch all the oxymorons in that last sentence?

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My Organization Wants to Ted Talk https://humancircuit.com/my-organization-wants-to-ted-talk/ https://humancircuit.com/my-organization-wants-to-ted-talk/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2017 20:32:37 +0000 http://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1528 With the proliferation of social media and technology it has been difficult at best, to get someone’s attention and more importantly; get your message understood. We are seeing a trend and genuine interest in the business community at improving internal as well as external communication. Quality has become king again. Just throwing a video on […]

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With the proliferation of social media and technology it has been difficult at best, to get someone’s attention and more importantly; get your message understood. We are seeing a trend and genuine interest in the business community at improving internal as well as external communication. Quality has become king again. Just throwing a video on any of the public channels of an executive sitting at their desk talking has become lost in the glut. Ted Talks have set the bar! Enterprise video in your organization is more important than ever…and we’re not talking teleconferencing!

The requests from our client’s marketing and communications departments to create their own version of Ted Talks is really interesting. Their ideas to take their messaging to the next level is seen as a critical step in improving employee retention and training, internal and external messaging, human resources information, education, and of course marketing and sales.

The change in style from the old use of corporate/business video to borrowing from the concept of a Ted Talk is clearly to borrow a style that has become comfortable and interesting to the masses. But implementing a similar program of Ted Talks is not a slam dunk. A backdrop…a graphic…the style…that’s the easy part. How do I deliver my video message to my employees? How do I deliver my video message to my clients? And actually, the question should use the word “successfully.”

In addition to good clean production values, there is a technical design and implementation strategy that is ultimately the key to success. Considerations include both a live streaming capability as well video on demand (VOD) since not every viewer is available all the time. What does my live and VOD portal look like? How does my video portal function? How is my video managed and cataloged? How is my content secured? Who has access to my video? How is access to my video granted? And most importantly…how do I play by the best practices of my IT department?

One of the big breakthroughs for us as a company has been the discovery of the real impact of selecting for our client the proper deployment strategy of hosting their video channels on premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid configuration. Cloud is not always the answer.

There are so many other considerations when launching an enterprise video channel, but that’s a conversation for another time.

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50 Years – A Tale of Survival and Entrepreneurship https://humancircuit.com/50-years-a-tale-of-survival-and-entrepreneurship/ https://humancircuit.com/50-years-a-tale-of-survival-and-entrepreneurship/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2016 21:15:14 +0000 http://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1457 Human Circuit celebrates its Quinquagenary on November 5th 2016. That’s 50 years as a sustained and successful business.  Not many can celebrate that achievement.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics about 50% of all new businesses will fail within the first five years, and only a third will make it 10 years or […]

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Human Circuit celebrates its Quinquagenary on November 5th 2016. That’s 50 years as a sustained and successful business.  Not many can celebrate that achievement.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics about 50% of all new businesses will fail within the first five years, and only a third will make it 10 years or more. The Small Business Administration will also tell you that 50% of small businesses will fail in the first year, so we should absolutely revel in our long-term success.

The metamorphosis from what was Professional Products and to what is now Human Circuit (rebranded in 2011) is a compelling tale. At one point in time the company was staffed at three times its current size and four times its current revenues. While on the surface that may sound negative for our current condition, I can tell you it is not. We lost our flexibility and agility. We weren’t paying attention. It was our almost too late attention to the details that almost caused us to be on the losing end of the statistics. In late 2008 and all of 2009, we could have easily been another bad statistic of the recession. We picked up on these difficulties a number of years before the horrible period of economic disaster and we preemptively downsized. And while we still had to make additional adjustments and downsize even further when we felt the full force of the recession, we knew these changes were necessary but were still painful to make.

The founders, Carter Kaufmann, Fred Burke, and Charlie Faulkner had an early vision of the needs in the business marketplace; audio and video technology. It was with that foresight that they formed Professional Products Inc. Coming out of the consumer hi-fi industry into a brand new professional marketplace was truly visionary.  Carter’s stewardship of a company starting in equipment sales, then adding engineering and support services was all about brilliant ideas and timing. Even though it was after Carter’s death that the company rebranded to Human Circuit, he was invested and smart enough to know the rebranding of the company was necessary and allowed the idea to take root.

It’s Carter’s entrepreneurial spirit that continues to lives in Human Circuit. While the company is under different stewardship now, it thrives because of his vision, his ideas and his dedication to a market he saw when nobody else did.

Happy Quinquagenary Poppy (Dad)!

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50 Years of Lessons Learned https://humancircuit.com/50-years-of-lessons-learned/ https://humancircuit.com/50-years-of-lessons-learned/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2016 17:55:20 +0000 http://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1451 As Human Circuit (formerly known as Professional Products) readies to celebrate our 50th Anniversary, affectionately labeled as our “Quinquagenary,” there are lessons learned that are worth sharing. And because I am a foodie I’m going to have fun relating them to something everyone can understand: Buffets – Just because there is a buffet with so […]

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As Human Circuit (formerly known as Professional Products) readies to celebrate our 50th Anniversary, affectionately labeled as our “Quinquagenary,” there are lessons learned that are worth sharing. And because I am a foodie I’m going to have fun relating them to something everyone can understand:

  1. Buffets – Just because there is a buffet with so many offerings, and it seems like it’s a good offer…don’t do it! You will definitely overeat and pay the price. While the quick stomachache may pass, the long term damage is done. Not every opportunity is a good opportunity and taking them all can do damage to the business.
  2. Looks can be Deceiving – A restaurant can be well designed and beautiful. It doesn’t mean the food is any good and the value may not be there. Sometimes the small and quaint “hole-in-the-wall” proves far better value and is a lot more satisfying. Sometimes the bigger and by appearance better client…isn’t better. They can prove more daunting to satisfy and at thinner margins with more overhead. Sometimes the less glamorous client is more appreciative, more cooperative and more profitable to mutual benefit.
  3. Eating to Survive Versus Eating to Thrive – Grabbing junk food or mediocre food because you have to eat may be quicker and satisfy the current need, but it probably isn’t good for you and ultimately really doesn’t make you happy in the long term. This is the difference to paying too much attention to the top-line revenue and not the bottom-line revenue. It also can prove a detriment to the ultimate job satisfaction of the whole organization.
  4. Yelp, Michelin, and Restaurant Critics – There is a great deal of information available at our fingertips to find out about a restaurant. All that data is useful, but you need to read carefully. Information can be outdated and they are based upon personal opinions that may not align with yours. Information is not knowledge and you need to use your best techniques and situational awareness to measure what makes a good client and what may not be a good client.
  5. Nutrition and the Menu – Nobody loves fried chicken and BBQ more than me. And while it tastes great and I love it while I’m eating it, I know I better eat it in moderation or it might just kill me. There are things your company does well; probably better than your competition. Find the opportunities that will nourish your organization and sustain you long-term. The financial health of your organization is critical.
  6. Exercise – As you get older your physiology changes (often not for the better). You need to constantly pay attention to your body and mind. You lose flexibility and agility. Your business is no different. Just because you are still in business doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be constantly looking for ways to change and improve. Unlike your body, you can always gain back your business flexibility and agility. Agility is everything in business!

Food for thought!

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The Future of Our Business https://humancircuit.com/the-future-of-our-business/ https://humancircuit.com/the-future-of-our-business/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2016 15:36:38 +0000 http://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1345 We were recently asked by Commercial Integrator (CI) magazine to write a brief opinion of where our industry would be in 2021…five years from now. It didn’t take long for our CTO to jump on the opportunity to wax philosophical and process the answer.

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Not since the digital revolution in the early ’90s has technology placed such a comprehensive burden on business, employees and individuals to reinvent their business plans, services and products, and themselves to keep pace with the changing marketplace.” – Simon Mainwaring

We were recently asked by Commercial Integrator (CI) magazine to write a brief opinion of where our industry would be in 2021…five years from now. It didn’t take long for our CTO to jump on the opportunity to wax philosophical and process the answer. We are watching a consolidation of manufacturers, distributors and systems integrators. We are also witnessing the demise of some our brethren from conspiring economic conditions. So what to do? Easy answer…change and evolve as we have for nearly 50 years.

Our CTO, Jim Hatcher, provocatively draws the lines between life imitating art in his response to CI.

“I am suggesting that we have a paradoxical relationship with the technology we deploy and the market we create. This paradox will inevitably lead to the demise of Systems Integrators as a discrepancy continues to grow between the perceived value of technology and the perceived value of integration. By 2021 many of us will have inadvertently integrated ourselves out of business.” – Jim Hatcher, CTO,  Human Circuit

To read all of Jim’s thoughts and other predictions on where the industry will be in five years, Click Here

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The AV/IT Convergence https://humancircuit.com/the-av-it-convergence/ https://humancircuit.com/the-av-it-convergence/#comments Mon, 21 Mar 2016 19:07:30 +0000 http://www.humancircuit.com/?p=1289 Human Circuit sees very differently what people refer to as AV. The company doesn’t believe in isolating technology, they prefer to address it as a stack. In a recent blog published by Biamp Systems, Human Circuit’s President and CEO Bruce Kaufmann was asked about their differing view of the industry. According to Bruce Kaufmann, “we’ve […]

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Human Circuit sees very differently what people refer to as AV. The company doesn’t believe in isolating technology, they prefer to address it as a stack. In a recent blog published by Biamp Systems, Human Circuit’s President and CEO Bruce Kaufmann was asked about their differing view of the industry.

According to Bruce Kaufmann, “we’ve been talking about the AV/IT convergence as the reason for our struggles for at least 15 years; but that’s not it. The real problem is lack of acceptance.” Instead of continuing to talk about the convergence as something that’s happening, Kaufmann calls for acceptance of the fact that the convergence has already happened. AV professionals must commit to this reality and build upon it. “What we do is a function of IT. Once we’ve accepted that, we can move forward and do amazing things.”

Kaufmann cites inactive cooperative participation as the modus operandi for AV integrators: sitting at the table and contributing an AV-only point of view on the project. Focusing on only the niche capabilities has worked well for AV professionals in the past, but the speed and depth of technological innovation makes that a luxury the industry can no longer afford. “We have to be able to walk into the room and be an authority on the overall project, and have a point of view on how the whole thing should run, not just the audio.” – Component by Biamp

Read the entire article, An AV Business in an IT World: Part Two, in the blog Component by Biamp.

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