American Gas - April 2010 - (Page 34)

If the Founding Fathers O The qualities and decision-making processes of our nation’s Founding Fathers could serve today’s utilities well. n Washington, D.C., the political center of the country and home to AGA, it is not uncommon to hear people ask, when thinking about a hotbutton political issue, “What would the Founding Fathers do?” Be it a supreme court ruling, legislation before congress, or a social issue such as school prayer or school choice, the question always arises, “What would the Founders have done or thought about that?” Which got me to thinking. Working for the trade association that represents the natural gas utility industry, but also working as a syndicated columnist who writes about historic topics, especially early American history, i found myself wondering, “How would the Founders have run a company such as a natural gas utility? Which of them would have taken on what roles, and what talents would they have brought to their jobs? Are there similarities and useful lessons in the way they ran the country and the way AGA’s members run their companies?” To attempt to answer these questions, i have taken what i know of our most famous Founders—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, James madison, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin—and assigned them executive positions in a modern-day energy utility. GeorGe WashinGton President and CEO This is a no-brainer. Washington was the greatest leader our country has ever had, but the qualities that made him great in politics would have easily transferred to the corporate world. First, Washington was a visionary. He understood that, as the head of the nation’s first government under the U.s. constitution, practically everything he and his administration did would set a precedent that would be followed by succeeding administrations, and he kept that in mind with every decision he made. He was also a strategic thinker, and when he made a decision he believed was right he stuck with it despite intense pressure to change his mind. The Jay Treaty of 1794 perfectly illustrates this quality. The Jay Treaty, named after John Jay, whom Washington chose to negotiate the contract, was the result of an altercation with the former mother country, Great Britain, which—being at war with France—was preventing American merchant ships from trading with France. This so angered Americans that they clamored for war with Britain, and when they learned of the terms of the treaty that Jay finally negotiated with Britain they erupted in rage because Jay had conceded to Britain the overall right to dictate the terms of America’s foreign trade. But in return Jay had averted war and had gotten from Britain a promise to remove all forts, military equipment and soldiers from the American continent, something they previously had refused to do. From a “big picture” april 2010 AmericAn GAs

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - April 2010

American Gas - April 2010
Contents
President’s Message Energy Secretary Chu: A Stand-up Guy
Industry News
Safety First PHMSA Publishes Final CRM Rule
Tech Talk Talking Technology
Full Speed Ahead
NGVs: A View from the Motor City
The Secret to Customer Satisfaction
If the Founding Fathers Operated a Natural Gas Utility…
Places to Be
Marketplace
Advertisers’ Index
Noteworthies
Jobline
Facts on Gas

American Gas - April 2010