Reinking stopped by the radio show’s live broadcast at the Georgia Technology Summit.[/ultimate_heading][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Atlanta, Georgia – April 12, 2012 – Jabian Consulting’s founding co-partner Chris Reinking joined Atlanta Business RadioX host Lee Kantor at the Georgia Technology Summit, held at the Cobb Galleria Centre on March 28, to discuss the technology industry in the state of Georgia.
The Georgia Technology Summit is the flagship event of the Technology Association of Georgia (of which Jabian is a Platinum Sponsor), bringing together C-level executives, entrepreneurs, technology professionals, and academia to celebrate and recognize Georgia’s technology community. The theme this year was Innovation: The Path to a Bright Future.
Kantor questioned Reinking to gather his perspective on a variety of issues.
On challenges for start-ups and early stage enterprises:
Reinking acknowledged that access to capital is always a top concern, but recommended that start-ups also place an emphasis on planning, to research and “understand their market position and how to go to market with their products and pricing capabilities.” He went on, “I’m a big believer in understanding your market and understanding the long-term profitability of certain product sets.”
On fostering company culture:
“Stay core to mission and values,” Reinking advised. He pointed out that a company experiencing fast growth, as Jabian has, must remain cautious and very focused on culture. “We’ve come to the understanding that culture isn’t one particular thing – it’s a collection of best practices across the board.” Excellent client service comes from having the best people on board, and to retain those people, a firm has to provide an environment in which people love to work. Or, as Reinking says, “If we wake up every day and spend this much time on it, we sure as heck better enjoy it.”
On the development of a technology workforce:
A vocal advocate for STEM education and workforce readiness (he chairs the board of the TAG Education Collaborative), Reinking agreed with Kantor that the shortage of qualified workers coming into the technology field is troubling. “It really is apparent that we need to do a better job at encouraging students even at middle school levels to get engaged and understand what the value of STEM education is and understand that there are very good career paths” in this industry.
He highly recommends internship programs as a way of attracting top talent. “It’s important to establish personal connections between the students and the companies. Locally, kids aren’t seeing this as the top career choice – the thing that’s going to make them famous. We need to do a better job marketing some of the successes we’ve had locally. They need to understand that there are rewarding, high-paying jobs in this field.”
To hear more, listen to the entire interview.
Atlanta Business RadioX encourages business-to-business idea sharing by airing interviews with business owners, thought leaders, and executives.