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All good management meetings begin with a review
of “where are we year-to-date”. Let’s start with
that. As of this date April 19, 2005, we are:
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Ahead of budget
·
We have successfully installed over 30 new
Sweet-CAD systems
·
We have expanded our development team by 130%
·
We have stayed on track for all aspects of
development with minor exceptions
·
We are approaching the installation of our first
RMS (Record Management System)
·
We have received our largest order in history
(that is saying a lot given a 19 year history)
·
We have located several possible acquisition
targets
·
We have defined a long-term business strategy
My family is healthy, business is good and it is
spring. As my college freshman son exclaims when
his Lacrosse team is winning, his grades are
good and his girlfriend smiles… life is good.
How about our customers? How are they doing?
Generally not as well! There is downward
pressure on reimbursement (EMS) and expectations
of EMS, Police and Fire are increasing. Stated a
little differently, the Public Safety market is
spending more overall - but not at the
individual agency or operation. The direction is
to do more while providing less with which to do
it. How can something like this happen and where
does it lead?
Generally speaking this “state” is a normal
condition of most “markets”. The forces that
change a market - frequently external - occur
and the market reacts. Unfortunately, the
correction or adjustment (available funds or
reimbursement) never completely corrects or
adjusts as rapidly. This is a never-ending cycle
of behavior. I will offer a simple example that
many of you can easily relate to if you are an
armed forces veteran. Following each War,
“Police Action” or Violent Political
Disagreement (my own term) we, in the form of
our government, move quickly from a position of
immense gratitude and appreciation to one of
“fiscal conservatism”. Sound familiar?
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