Publishers’ Letter – Spring 2022

WE WERE RECENTLY REMINDED OF DANIEL GOLEMAN’S QUOTE, “The social brain is in its natural habitat when we’re talking with someone face-to-face in real time.” We happened to be in Las Vegas at the time, at a large industry convention and everyone was commenting on how nice it was to be back in meetings where you could really connect with colleagues. We’ve been experiencing this phenomenon since last fall when we got back on the road attending events, trade shows and client meetings.

CEDIA’s Tech Summits have been well attended and the major buying groups in consumer technology, including ProSource and HTSA, are reporting great numbers for upcoming events they are hosting. So are we getting back to normal? And what does the new normal look like? And most importantly, how can you benefit from re-engaging with your design-build colleagues?

While trade show attendance hasn’t reached peak levels from 2019, we have definitely seen the numbers going steadily up and we’re of the mind that trade shows will continue to play a key role in most industries. On a more granular level, we think that regional shows and personalized, experiential events will become more important moving forward than they were in the past. But only if innovation of the events themselves takes place.

As you all realize, performance home design and build trades are highly specialized areas of expertise. Technology is now cross-pollinating the architect’s design with the builder’s expertise and the designer’s vision. Collaboration is becoming more important as technology binds the disciplines together – the results from closely collaborative design-build teams speak for themselves.

So if we all agree that face-to-face is of benefit, how do we get the various faces together and expand everyone’s knowledge base and comfort zones? Well, that’s certainly something we’ve given a great deal of thought to. You see, our team has years of event management experience and we’re interested in taking the TD story on the road. And we’re talking to our clients, colleagues and trade partners about how best to serve the design-build community and how to create a new style of event that serves everyone’s purposes, including the homeowner who really can’t go anywhere today to fully experience the world of performance homes.

We think you’ll agree that perhaps what we all missed most the past few years was the socializing and collaboration that goes hand-in-glove at events where we can be face-to-face, talk shop and expand our knowledge. If we can bottle that essence and involve the customer, we might just open new doors and new opportunities for design-build teams across the country.