Our Sources Say
The future: On our minds today and every day E
ver felt tempted to visit a psychic? Gaze into a crystal ball? Read the tea leaves? In these uncertain times, life would certainly be less stressful if someone could tell us what is lurking around the corner. Predicting the future isn’t new. People have been trying to do it for hundreds of years, though not necessarily using the same methods. Grandpa Burgess would predict the severity of winter by examining wooly worms and noting their color. According to folk wisdom, when the brown bands on fall woolly worms are narrow, it means a harsh winter is coming. The wider the brown band, the milder the winter will be. At a recent Tennessee Valley Public Power Association conference Scott Rasmussen, the co-founder of the Entertainment Sports Programming Network (ESPN) and one of the nation’s foremost pollsters, intrigued a large audience with his perspectives on the future. For example, he said the advent of better technology could force upwards of 80 percent of doctors to look for other work. “Computers will be doing the bulk of daily diagnoses for most patients,” he said. “I don’t know exactly how it’s going to play out, but were I in medical care right now, I’d be pretty terrified.” Computers? Diagnosing medical conditions? It hasn’t been that long since some well-educated folks were questioning the need for them. Thomas Watson, chairman of International Business Machines (IBM), said in 1943: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” And Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. said in 1977, “there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Clearly, those guys were gazing into a hazy crystal ball. History is rich with other examples of incorrectly reading the tea leaves.
Phillip Burgess is Communications, Government Relations and Conferences Director for the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association.
Consider the newspaper industry. “Let’s say it’s 1992,” said Rasmussen. “This is a newspaperpublishers convention and I’m here talking to you about the Internet. “I tell you that there’s this new thing coming that’s going to wipe you out – totally destroy your business model. People will give up reading newspapers in favor of getting their news online. “You’d laugh,” he said, “but that’s the way change takes place – it’s usually outside the normal channels of discussion, and that’s true in the business world as well as the political world.” Change. We don’t need a crystal ball to understand everything is continually changing. That’s particularly true for electric utilities. These are tumultuous times for us. The public is demanding better service at lower costs. Customers are convinced that utilities can find more energy to reduce the cost. They believe the technology is there and that it can be done in environmentally friendly ways. And Alabama’s electric cooperatives have embraced these challenges. We’ve taken advantage of technological advancements to minimize power outages. We’re helping our customers save on their electric bills through energy efficiency programs and educational efforts. And, best of all, we’re listening to our customers. After all, as cooperative members you own the company. We work for you. Electric cooperatives can’t predict the future. We aren’t employing a crystal ball. The product we provide is so important and relevant to the lives of Alabamians that we don’t want to leave its future to chance. What we are doing is daily finding ways to be more effective and efficient. We’re thinking about tomorrow – today. A