Yoda Speaks

Yoda was one of the most renowned and powerful Jedi Masters in galactic history, who was known for his legendary wisdom, mastery of the Force and skills in light saber combat according to the collaborative publishing platform Wikia.

Over the years I had the pleasure of listening to Ray Ozzie speak numerous times. Some before my career at Microsoft while practicing the art of IT as a CIO and numerous occasions while at Microsoft. When Ray speaks it is a metaphysical experience as he inspires imagination and creativity that I may not have found on my own. While it’s hard to believe, I often feel that Yoda is in second place behind Ray.

Last week Steve Ballmer announced that Ray was to stepping down from his role as chief software architect. He will remain with the company for some time as he transitions the teams and ongoing strategic projects within the company. While it’s difficult to lose someone of Yoda’s caliber, the impact of Ray’s tenure was immense and like Yoda did in Star Wars, he has left an organization and its people changed, stronger and with a clearer vision of the future than ever before. You can a sense of what I am talking about by reading Ray’s blog entitled “Dawn of a New Day”.

For the Power & Utilities industry it’s been a “Dawn of a New Day” as the collision of energy and the environment has caused the industry to step back and re-think the basics and the some of the most fundamental structural tenets of how power is created and delivered to customers as well as the role of the customer in the energy value chain. Ray’s comments on continuous services and connected devices on are target with where we think the industry is headed and certainly the cloud will be the accelerator as the consumer takes center stage in the smart energy ecosystem of the future.

When Ray speaks his words often transcend the imagination of mortal men and women. Like Yoda, he is a teacher and a mentor that inspires others to realize their full potential beyond their dreams.

While Ray may be stepping down he is leaving the “Force” with us. – Jon C. Arnold