Listen instead on your Monday Morning Drive:

I’ve been in this industry for 40 years. At the beginning of every Q1, I reflect on what moved the needle and what’s ahead.

For most of my career, reflection centered on technology: new projectors, digital video, wireless frequencies, programmable lighting consoles. Each generation of gear required a specialized technician to make it all work.

That era is over.

Technology got easier. It got cheaper. No single brand dominates, and you can get good sound, good lighting, and good video from almost any device on the market.

The gap between the best gear and the rest has never been narrower. And that’s freed us up.

When we were the “technical solution,” clients only wanted our advice on whether the equipment would work. They didn’t ask about content, show flow, agendas, or the audience’s visual experience.

Now we’re deeply involved in the events themselves. We productize services and sell our expertise, not rentals. That’s a massive change, and it happened in the second half of my career after barely budging in the first.

So what’s worth paying attention to throughout the rest of 2026? Three trends stand out.

More Women in Management

When I walk into AV companies today, I see more women in management positions than at any point in my career.

For decades, this industry skewed heavily male. One in 10 employees might have been a woman, often buried in operations with a title like “labor coordinator.” The technical side of the business attracted a particular demographic, and it stayed that way for a long time.

That’s changing fast. More women are moving into AV event management and sales roles. The female attendees at my annual Jumpstart workshops have grown dramatically.

I’m watching what happens when they enter the room. They coalesce faster. They make connections more easily. They embrace new ideas sooner. They celebrate wins better.

Introducing different perspectives into any team changes the conversation. You get new perspectives, different considerations, and more challenges to the status quo.

We’re a service industry. Any service industry benefits from looking like your customers, and your customers are diverse. You’re not producing events for monolithic organizations.

If open-minded people keep leaving your company, that says more about you than it does about them. If you’re having trouble finding women who fit your business, same story.

This trend will shape the AV industry over the next 25 years.

The Next Generation Gets It Right

Every generation of managers says the same about 20-year-olds in the warehouse: “They don’t have our work ethic. They don’t have our commitment.”

I’ve heard it for four decades. And every time I push back, the response is the same: “Well, sure, there was Bob. He was like that.”

Exactly. We’ve always had knuckleheads in the workforce. A young team that lacks experience isn’t a character flaw; it’s a starting point.

This current generation rejects old school thinking fast. They spot outdated practices and ask, “Why is that still around?”

They don’t tolerate relationship selling, where a salesperson chats you up and slings BS to impress you. They want honesty in the sales process. They want someone who listens, solves their problem, and gives a straight answer.

They have a healthier relationship with pricing, too. Price shopping doesn’t interest them. They understand you get what you pay for. We say that all the time, but this generation actually practices it.

They’re quick to say, “I don’t know how to do that, but I can learn.” That kind of honesty opens doors with buyers.

Sit down with a client and say, “My team is excited to figure out how to implement your ideas. We’ll make some mistakes along the way. Can we have some fun doing it?” This generation is all in.

Work-Life Balance Will Make Us Better

The single biggest impact from the newest generation is work-life balance. The same quality that makes old-timers grumble is the quality that will fix this industry.

“I’m not working 80 hours a week. I’m not staying late to cover for poor planning. I’m not giving up my friends, my family, and my hobbies for a career that won’t reward me later.”

These aren’t complaints. They’re boundaries.

If you’ve read my book “Balance,” you’ll recognize the character in every company: the consummate hero. They save the day, solve every problem, work every job, and take every shift. And we rely on them completely.

That reliance is what holds companies back. Heroes reject systems and processes. The system is “call me and I’ll fix it.” The process is “I’ll be the hero.” It’s ego masquerading as dedication.

If you’re so good, why can’t you build a system so everyone else can do it, too? Then you can go tackle the next challenge.

A generation that refuses to be the hero forces the rest of us to build better systems. That means paying people what they’re worth, selling at real margins, and eliminating the human subsidy we create by finding someone with no life who’ll work 100 hours a week.

Selling, Planning, and Administration Stay Off Show Site

I didn’t invent the concept of balance in your business. We all figured it out together after the pandemic. When shutdowns became normal and steady work disappeared, companies had to do more with fewer people.

The answer: make the people who sell and plan the projects the anchors. Keep them out of execution. Let them sell and plan the next project as freelancers deliver the one you sold.

That methodology is spreading across the industry, and it’s working.

Think about a plumber. The person who fixes the plumbing at your house isn’t answering phones, writing up orders, managing upsells, or sending invoices. Separate people handle each of those jobs so the plumber spends more time doing what they do well.

When your selling, planning, and administration teams stay out of execution, you can sell year-round. You can work on your business even when shows are running. On the busiest day of the year, you still have a full team focused on future planning, future improvements, and future growth.

I’m watching younger companies with fewer people succeed faster than companies that followed the old model of “hire another person every time we make a mistake.” Leaner teams, better people, fewer positions, fewer hours, and less time on the show site. That’s the formula.

What 2026 Looks Like

I don’t know what the rest of the year will bring. Nobody does.

Continue moving through 2026 with the right team, a balanced organization, diverse leadership, and young people in roles that push the business forward. Clarify your goals as a business owner. Your model can handle whatever comes next.

If you’d like to talk about what’s ahead for your business, let’s schedule a conversation.