A broken television set in his parents’ home is what started Thomas Lee, owner of The Audio Visual Company, on a career path in the electronics industry. Lee, at the time a high school student at Saint Louis School, had to sit at home and wait for the TV repairman to arrive.

When the young technician showed up, he took a brief look at the TV and said he had to take it in to be fixed. Two weeks went by with no television before the set was returned — along with an expensive repair bill. That’s when Lee decided he would study electronics himself.

Conventional schooling was always a chore for Lee, he recalls, so right out of high school he joined the Hawaii Air National Guard to study electronics and work with the Avionics group on F-102 fighter jets. Lee did earn an associate’s degree in science, however, and later attended New York Technical School for Electronics in Honolulu.

Lee’s old teacher, who started his own electronics business, asked Lee to work for him as a TV technician at Hoffman’s TV. In 1978, Lee was asked to become a partner in the business. In 1988, he purchased what is now The Audio Visual Company (AVCO).

Today, AVCO is on the forefront of systems integration and engineering. The company provides professional audio, video and communication solutions through quality products and services for city, state, federal government and many branches of the military.

From audio and video conferencing to room automation and signal routing control systems to interactive digital whiteboards, AVCO continues, year after year, to be ahead of the technology curve.

Pacific News Bytes asked Lee to share his thoughts on AVCO and his role in Hawaii’s high-tech electronics industry …

What is the greatest lesson you have learned during your time in this industry?
Don’t sit back and wait for things to happen. The electronics industry is changing and growing so fast that you have to find a way to keep up with technology, or else you’re doomed. I’ve seen so many video stores close up in the 1990s because they just didn’t know how to change and keep up with technology.

How has the Audio Visual Company grown over the past three decades?
When I bought the company in 1988, we had eight employees with annual revenue of around $1 million dollars. Today, we have 38 employees with annual revenue of over $10 million dollars. The demand for new technology is growing so fast that we always find ourselves overloaded with work. Like many other businesses in Hawaii, finding enough qualified employees has always been a challenge. At times, we look forward to a few slow days so we can get caught up with our work.

How has the market in Hawaii changed?
Go back 25 years and anyone can see that electronics has changed drastically. At times I find myself reminiscing with my employees and we always ask the same question, “How did we ever survive without fax machines, cell phones, computers, emails, GPS’s, etc?” Like the mainland, Hawaii is no exception when it comes to new technology. We’re all hungry for new technology.

What are the latest developments in the field that are popular in Hawaii?
Video Conferencing is by far the most popular technology used today. Major banks, hospitals, schools, courtrooms and Military organizations are the largest users of Video Conferencing. With skyrocketing prices of fuel and travel, Video Conferencing is the next best thing other than a face-to-face meeting.

What do you think will be the next greatest innovation in your industry?
More and more wireless systems will always be one of the greatest innovations of all time. Look at how many billions of cell phones, GPS’s, Internet, TV and radio frequencies are floating through the air worldwide. It’s scary just thinking about it. It just amazes me how someone can invent these wireless technologies and keep all these air waves from interfering with each other. I feel that this will continue to be the wave of the future until some genius invents a way to beam a body to any destination just like in Star Trek.

Who is your greatest influence? Why?
My employees are my greatest influence. Without them, I would have no reason to continue to own my own business. At times, I feel that it would be easier for me to just work for someone else. As an owner for 29 years, I sometimes feel like I’m beginning to wear down, however, it’s my employees that keep me going. I have at least 20 employees that have been with me for over 10 years. Eight of them have at least 20 years here. Their love and loyalty for the business is what makes my day and keeps my blood flowing.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Why?
Since no two projects are the same, I enjoy the satisfaction of accomplishing one job after another and gaining another satisfied customer. I enjoy hearing how well a project went, especially with all the complexity of the project and how much hard work the employees put into it. When all is said and done, we often ask ourselves, “How did we ever get this job done?”

What describes a typical day in your job?
I like to get into work before 7:00 a.m., watch the local morning news and read the daily newspaper. At the same time, I’ll read all my emails and sort through all the unfinished “business” that has piled up on my desk. When my operations manager Rena comes to work, we go over the projects that are in progress and discuss any new or outstanding problems that need to be addressed. This is my typical morning, which is pretty routine. After 8:30 a.m., there is no such thing as a typical day. Before you know it, 4:30 p.m. comes around and my office staff is telling me goodbye. This is where the routine starts all over again: finish up all my emails, watch the 5:00 p.m. news, sort through more “junk on my desk,” go home around 6:00 p.m. and spend the rest of my precious time with my wife of more than 27 years. (We also have a son, 24, and a daughter, 22, years old.)

What is the greatest challenge of your job?
Time management has always been my greatest challenge. There never seems to be enough time in a day. At the end of the day, I have to ask myself, where did the time go? What did I accomplish today? With so much new technology and multiple projects going on at the same time, I often have a line of employees waiting outside my door to meet with me who are looking for solutions. At times, I jokingly tell the employees to please take a number. I always believed that customers need answers and solutions right away. With that belief, I tell all my employees that I will always have an open door policy and I will always make myself available to answer any question. It doesn’t matter whether I’m on a vacation, in a foreign country or working on a project, I’ll take your call unless I’m in the middle of a golf swing.

What is the best way to stay competitive in the industry?
Learn your competitors and keep up with new technology. If you play poker with the same people day after day, you’re bound to learn how they think and what their financial limits and capabilities are. Knowing your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses along with keeping up with technology will always give you the competitive edge. I always believed that if you “put your money where your mouth is” and give your customers the service they deserve, then they will continue to do business with you and competition will become less of a factor. If you let your guard down, customers will definitely look for other competitors.

If you could change one thing at your job, what would it be and how would you do it?
The biggest change that I have been trying to accomplish for years is to pass on all my responsibilities to the employees. I would love to see the company run without me. Aside from teaching my employees, I have been budgeting more money every year toward employee training. I have to learn to let my employees “crash and burn” and not get all bent-out-of-shape when they make a wrong decision. Many times I have told my employees that the day I feel lonely like the Maytag Repair Man, then it’s time for me to retire. When this day happens, then I have reached my ultimate goal of success.

If you weren’t in the tech field, what other profession or career would you pursue? Why?
I always loved the construction field. It’s just fascinating to see how a building is constructed, especially when it requires so many different trades. It’s just amazing to see how human beings can build such monumental structures. Being a project manager for a major construction company would definitely be at the top of my new career list.

Please tell me something unique about yourself.
Since I love to eat sushi and it costs so much, I actually taught myself to become my own sushi chef. I cook my own rice, mix it with sushi mix, cut my own fish and created my own recipe for spicy tuna. I enjoy making sushi for family and friends several times a year with an average of 20 to 40 people at a time!

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to golf, travel, grow plants and keep up with the daily news. Invite me for a round of golf, and I’ll find a way to make it fit my schedule. I’m still trying for my first hole-in-one. If travel is for business, I’m usually attending trade shows or meeting and collaborating with other professionals in my field. If travel is for pleasure, then I’m usually in Las Vegas still trying to hit “da BIG one.” My whole house is surrounded by plants. I just love the green look. Sometimes, I’ll stay up until midnight repotting plants or pulling weeds. I like to top off my evening by reading and watching the news. First, I’ll read the evening paper and then I’ll watch the 9:00 p.m. news on one channel and then the 10:00 p.m. news on another. I get a few hours of sleep and I’m ready to go again!