#Just Send It

Just send it! It means, “Just Do It,” say yes to something, don’t think about it, have confidence and just Send It! I finished reading a book by Jonah Lehrer called, “How We Decide”, (spoiler alert!) and early on, Lehrer introduces his main theme:

“Sometimes we need to reason through our options and carefully analyze the possibilities. And sometimes we need to listen to our emotions.” The bottom line is – Go with what your gut feeling is regarding the choices you have to make.

How does “Just Send It” apply to AV?

Well, in the AV planning stages you have lots of choices to make.  It is so easy to over think everything, especially when an architect gets involved or you have a brother-in-law who is offering advice based on the fact that he, “has hooked up a stereo system for a buddy,” “helped the place they work install a TV on the wall,” or “I have computer business.”  And most likely, these are true statements and well-intentioned as I have heard these many times over the years. But truly, it’s difficult to talk someone off the ledge at this point once they have committed to this person.  Even if they are “family” or you have invested cash into this person to retain them, does this make them your expert?  Be careful.  I sat down with a customer after a poor experience. He had wasted a lot of money on poor direction and he admitted he should have gone with his gut feeling.  He discovered that cheaper was not better and the promises that were made to support his tech long term were not going to really happen.

At this point stop!

Your gut is telling you, “I am over my head and I should not be taking biased advice when this is my project, my dream and my vision.” This is not a slam on architects; I envy them and value all they bring. But it’s usually a “lost in translation” moment when the client gets most of their direction from the architect.  Example: I got called into a project late in the construction phase, when the ceiling was about to go up.  The client told me, “I want this new space to be quieter than our older space.” But the client did not know how to express this to the construction team and neither the architect nor the general contractor brought it up.  The truth of the matter is you only know what you know.  And no matter what certifications, state licensing or education is listed, which was presented at the time to “win the bid” for any particular project, there will still be blind spots.

How to Stay True to Your Gut

My experience tells me that most people abandon their gut feeling or initial vision for their project. They are led down a path that seems better and I want to help navigate them through a truly better process. Here are some suggestions:

Back of Napkin – Write your ideas down as they come or dedicate a note book to this process.

Find a consultant who is looking for clients, not customers. Clients are relationship-based; customers are transaction-based.

Stay with your gut vision all the way through the process.  Only become dependent on the consultant/designers around you to refine your process, not high-jack it.

Hire an Audio Visual Designer

What is an Audio Visual Designer?  Why Do You Need to Hire One?  Lucky for you, we’ve written a previous blog post answering these questions.

IMHO, you should check it out.