SiliconBeat

I just returned from Echelon’s 20th anniversary celebration at the home of co-founder Mike Markkula. It would be hard to calculate just how many acres he has, but the 5-minute drive from the street to the 2-story theater in his backyard was impressive.

The reception was somewhat bittersweet because just last week, Echelon president Beatrice Yormark died unexpectedly. Together, with CEO and Chairman Ken Oshman, she had run the company for almost two decades.

In any case, it was a beautiful reception that included remarks by Oshman, Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNeely, and Markkula. Most impressive, though, was James Rogers, the CEO of Duke Energy. There’s something I wouldn’t expect to say: I’m impressed by someone who runs a utility. But it’s true. He gave a passionate speech about the need for what he called “cathedral thinking.” By that, he meant creating a vision that might take generations to achieve, like the great cathedrals of Europe.

That sums up Echelon pretty well. The San Jose company makes network control devices, tiny embeddable computers that can placed in just about any device. The vision years ago, as conceived by Markkula, was to use them to create smart homes, smart cars, smart buildings, smart everything. By placing these devices everywhere and getting them to talk to each other, it would create a number of benefits, including massive energy savings.

But selling that vision has taken far longer than anyone imagined. And while Echelon has done okay over the years, it’s only the last couple of years when it’s begun to explode. And that’s in large part due to the creation of its new smart meters, which companies like Duke Energy are embracing. As a result, Echelon’s revenue almost tripled in 2007 over 2006.

What has also caught my attention, though, was the company’s commitment to long-term thinking. And the ability of Oshman and Yormark to sell that vision. We live in an era dominated by short-term thinking, and an unhealthy obsession with quick payoffs and the bottom line. And Echelon is a shining example of a company that’s managed to buck that thinking.

I did a story and a podcast on Echelon last summer. You can listen to the podcast here.