Shake, Rattle and Roll!

April 27, 2009

Sometimes, we are slow to act.  As Winston Churchill famously and cynically said, "Americans always do the right thing, after they have exhausted every other possibility."  But when we spring into action, watch out!

Today's global economic and climate crises are forging the tools for profound change.  As major social and economic trends converge to foment the Green Revolution, I believe short-term counter-events - such as the price of oil - may slow down but will not stop the upheaval that lies ahead.  Add to the fire $50 or $60 Billion of stimulus money directed at renewable energy, energy efficiency and the smart grid, and we are ready to storm the gates of business as usual.

Don't be afraid, my friends.  Revolutions can be fun...and profitable.

Think, for example, of the birth of rock & roll - a musical revolution first, of course, but quickly a social and business movement, as well.  As a new art form, Rock & Roll conjoined Gospel, R&B, Country/Hillbilly and Jazz.  But, in the process, it also revolutionized the businesses that generated pop superstars, major record labels, media empires such as Jan Wenner's, rock impresarios and the like.  In similar fashion, the Green Revolution will connect enlightened consumers with energy visionaries, creating green collar jobs and their own new business paradigms.

The rock & roll revolution brought disparate groups into collaboration and even helped break down America's persistent color barrier.   In the case of the Green Revolution, the need to save the planet and create jobs is pushing disparate groups like the private and public sectors, environmentalists and utilities and oil giants into each other's arms.

One major factor in creating the rock & roll revolution was a man named Sam Phillips.  A pioneer of the "open studio," first as a DJ and later as a producer recording the works of African-American and White artists, he did good for music and for America - and did well for himself and his investors.    First he produced R&B greats like Howlin' Wolf, BB King and Junior Parker.  Later, the first ever rock n' roll recording, "Rocket 88," came out of his Sun Studios.  But what really distinguished Sam Phillips was his ability to identify and develop transformational talent that spoke to America's baby boomers.  He discovered Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Ike Turner.  He said, "Everyone knew that I was just a struggling cat down here trying to develop new and different artists, and get some freedom in music, and tap some resources and people that weren't being tapped."

Perhaps the Sun Studios of the Green Revolution is Acorn Energy.  Our entrepreneurs have huge ideas on how to improve the efficiency and reduce the risk and environmental footprint of the energy industry.  We created Comverge, which was named by Newsweek "One of America's Top Ten Eco-Friendly Companies" in 2006.  Now our first new acquisition, CoaLogix, has won the Platt's Global Energy award for "Commercial Technology of the Year."  

We have proved our ability to discover transformational entrepreneurial talent.  Each of our companies addresses a major pain point in the energy field. And we are working to commercialize innovations that will have far-reaching impacts on the energy and environmental industry for years to come.

You say you want a revolution.  We say, let the good times roll!

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