Welcome to Electronics Design Group’s new blog. We’ll be using this space to talk about anything and everything related to custom electronics integration and design. We — and our guest bloggers — will be offering opinions of industry news, observations on exciting new technologies, thoughts of our philosophy about doing business in today’s evolving digital world, and more. Please feel free to add your comments to any post; your opinions matter to us and we welcome the dialogue.
This first post is a good time to discuss what we do here at EDG, because it’s not as obvious as it seems. On the surface, we’re a pretty high-tech operation, and could define our business as something like this: “The design and integration of custom home theater, wholehouse audio/video, lighting, and home automation control systems in residential and commercial applications.” Pretty geeky stuff, for sure, and it’s true that our day-to-day here is largely consumed in working closely with trade partners like architects and interior designers identifying our clients’ needs, creating engineering diagrams, ordering parts, and constructing the elaborate systems for which we’ve won so many CEDIA Lifestyle and industry magazine awards. Then, like any other enterprise, we’ve got the ongoing job of promoting ourselves and making sure that there’s always another project lined up so we can thrive and provide a secure professional environment for the 50 or so employees who rely on us.
But all of this misses the real point about why we continue to succeed in what is arguably the most difficult economic environment in our company’s 22-year history. That part can be best explained not so much in what we do, but in why our clients hire us. They do so because they’ve come to realize the import in their daily lives of the systems we design and implement. They recognize, though not always consciously, that there is an emotional element to using custom electronics that derives from the power of the technology to entertain them, to shift their mood at the touch of a button, to assure their physical comfort, to protect and secure their persons and property. And, above all, to simplify their lives so that these benefits can be seamlessly enjoyed at will. Few trades involved in building a custom home have the same power to so dramatically enhance — or foul up — the ongoing lifestyle of the homeowner. While our successes are great, so is our responsibility, and we take it very seriously. That commitment to our clients is what’s separated EDG from its competition since the very beginning.
So if we crow a bit when we win an award, or receive another testimonial or referral from a happy client, its not just because we’re proud that we’ve successfully maneuvered all these elements into place one more time. It’s also because we know we’ve given a very real gift to the families that have placed their trust in us, one that will last their tenure in their home. Unlike with some other businesses, our clients touch what we do every single day, and it makes for pretty gratifying work. Now, granted, this isn’t the only reason we do what we do. But it’s one of the best.
Bob Gullo is the President and founder of Electronics Design Group
My 13 year old son sent me an email with a link to http://www.musicforrelief.org/ Rob knows I’m passionate about Dave Matthews Band, I collect their live recordings, and travel around seeing DMB shows every summer. Dave Matthews Band donated the July 5, 1997 live version of “Typical Situation” recorded at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, Irvine, Calif.
The download is a compilation of unreleased music from, Linkin Park, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Gabriel, Alanis Morissette, Slash, The All-American Rejects, Hoobastank, Kenna, Enrique Iglesias and Lupe Fiasco. There is a separate link to donate (It’s the honor system, donate whatever amount you want.)
