Episode 33: Profit Leaking Out the Floor: Inside Lighting's Broken Spec Process

Lighting's go-to-market model is one of the most complex in any product category. Does anyone outside the industry actually understand that—and does it matter if they don't?Amy Bonder came to Luminii from the Fortune 500—Black & Decker, Advance Auto Parts, Bridgestone—and found that nothing prepares you for lighting's go-to-market complexity. In this episode, hosts Avi Mor (Morlights) and Lisa Reed (Reed Burkett Lighting Design) dig into what's broken. One agent partner touched a single project 178 times. The conversation moves through data fragmentation, spec integrity, and a harder question: why does this industry still fail to develop its own leaders? "Better is better," Amy says. Take the nuggets and move. In This Episode: (00:00) Amy Bonder's path from Fortune 500 to the lighting industry (06:55) Why lighting's go-to-market model is unlike anything else (14:24) The real cost of a fragmented specification process (23:53) Solving the data and software gap across the value chain (32:50) Spec integrity and the lighting designer's role in reducing friction (37:31) Personal branding and leadership development for design firms (44:08) Feedback as a leadership tool: building stronger teams (50:26) The business fundamentals design school never teaches (55:15) Interns, AI, and developing the next generation Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.  Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes! About the show:  Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design. Resources:Amy Bonder LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-bonder-3b23b47/ Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLkEKnB8XgSXoeDY0T8t3w Lisa Reed  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-j-reed-b198154/  Reed Burkett Lighting Design  http://www.rbldi.com Avraham Mor  https://www.linkedin.com/in/avrahammor/ Morlights  https://www.morlights.com/