One of the most important and impactful quotes I have come across in my career is “only the paranoid survive” a statement by the Andy Grove the first CEO of the Intel Corporation, arguably one of the most successful and impactful technology companies in history.  We have used this quote many times here at NISC as we talk about our strategies and position in the market, and in my humble opinion, this statement and admonition is more relevant here at NISC today than ever in our history. Perhaps some of you are thinking, lighten up Vern, because , t the risk of sounding full of ourselves,  the facts are that NISC is strong financially, our pipeline is full, we have a larger market share than any of our competitors and we have assembled an impressive group of technologists and subject matter experts in both the telecommunications and Utility industries unlike any of our competitors, and we are delivering the most comprehensive enterprise solution in the market … why be paranoid, why now 

For the past 50 years, NISC has traditionally been a lean, hungry, focused, and determined organization, those attributes have propelled us on an unrelenting journey to improve and strengthen all the aspects of our organization from the status of our products, to the depth and breadth of our employees’ base, to our financial stability and resources.  This was and is not an easy journey, and I hope that not a single one of our employees feel we are at a place where we can relax, let-up, and coast across the preverbal finish line.

If ever there was a time for us to be paranoid, it is now, we have worked so hard to get to this place of success and prominence,  and with that success comes the fact that we have a very large target on our back, every one of our competitors is gunning for us, and there is nothing they would like more than for NISC to stumble, let up, be distracted, or lose our focus, giving them an opportunity to recapture market share that then have lost to us over the past several years.

The sense of urgency here at NISC should palpable, we are in a battle every day to win the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of our existing Members and those whom we are working to add to our cooperative family.  And never before have we had such a profound opportunity to meet unmet needs of our Members, to provide technology solutions that enable them to offer new services, and products to their members at the end of the line.  The industry is taking notice of NISC’s growing strength and success in the market and without question, this is our time … the question is, do we embrace the urgency, do we have the intestinal fortitude, the desire, the determination to Capri Diem – to seize the moment. 

I am convinced that the only way for us to be successful is for every employee at NISC from the newest employees we hired yesterday to our most tenured employees at 45 years of service to feel this incredible and overwhelming sense of urgency.  We have been very clear that our singular strategy, our focus for this fiscal year is to successfully bring iVUE Connect to market.  This initiative is without a doubt the most complicated and challenging project we have ever tackled in our history, and I have every confidence that we will be successful.  But to be successful will require a sense of urgency on the part of every NISC employee unlike we have ever seen in our history, this is not just happy talk, rather it is the reality we face, the opportunity that has presented itself.

The future of our beloved organization, the careers of our employees, and our ability to effectively meet the expectations and requirements of our Members / Owners and our reputation are dependent on whether or not we can pull this off.

Make no mistake about the power, capabilities and potential of 1200 NISC employees focused on a single goal a single initiative, with a sense of urgency that cannot be matched by our competitors … are you in … I am, let’s do this, and do this  very, very well.

Thanks for listening

I appreciate you

Vern