Having recently sat through a set of parent-teacher conferences with my children’s teachers, I’m freshly attuned to the concept of “performing (or not performing) to one’s fullest potential.”

Whether you are a parent yourself, or an uncle or aunt, or simply an observer of behavior, you know that children are vastly different in their inherent talents and intellect, motivational triggers, and reactions to criticism and failure – some of the factors which help them reach their fullest potential. So, too, do all businesses have positive and negative characteristics that affect their ability to reach their fullest potential in the marketplace.

Just as a devoted parent or guardian will quickly grasp their child’s weaknesses – whether it’s a quick temper or a lack of confidence or a learning disability – and strive to help him improve, so, too, does an incisive business owner or operator focus on capitalizing on the strong traits of a company and improving weaker ones so it can be ultimately successful.

The development of HSM’s (formerly Honeywell Security Monitoring) “personality” by its management is what caught the attention of SDM’s editors, who honored HSM with its 2005 Dealer of the Year award. This is the first time in the 26-year history of the award that a national company has achieved this honor.

It’s no secret that smaller security dealers seem to get great satisfaction from knocking larger security companies’ customer service. The criticism may or may not be deserved; but the perception remains in this industry that while there are certain things a large, national company does well, connecting with customers the way small dealers do is not one of them.

That’s what makes HSM unique for its size. Connecting with its customers is a fanatical ambition among the company’s new management team – in fact, many of the programs and practices now in place were developed so that HSM could perform like a local dealer. Yet, at the same time, it has the sophisticated expertise to tackle national accounts and the large commercial market in a big way.

This perspective comes from the top down. At the Securing New Ground conference last month in New York, HSM’s chairman and CEO, Jim Covert, told an audience of investors and CEOs: “When the big companies can be as good as the small companies, the industry will be better.”

So, small security dealers – there’s a compliment for you; as well as a sign of new things to come from this time-honored security giant. It’s clearly not “your father’s Honeywell” anymore.

SDM Appoints New Publisher

SDM is pleased to announce that Mark McCourt has joined SDM as publisher. Mark brings more than 20 years of experience in business media to SDM.

“This is an exciting time to join SDM and the security market. Under Laura Stepanek’s editorial leadership, SDM has become the market leader and we will continue to inform you through new media, such as pod-casts, and new content developed for the emerging needs of our subscribers. At the same time, marketers will benefit by effectively and efficiently reaching our subscribers.”