GE Manager Bernie Anger Addresses Tri-County’s Largest Graduating Class

ANDERSON, SC – Dramatic and accelerated changes in the digital world will be exciting and terrifying and will change how we interact, Bernie Anger, general manager of GE Intelligent Platforms, a business unit within GE Energy Management based in Charlottesville, Virginia, told Tri-County Technical College’s largest graduating class ever at the spring commencement. Six hundred and twenty-three received degrees, diplomas and certificates at the ceremony held May 8 at the Anderson Civic Center.

“You have seen the information revolution shape your personal life. That same information revolution will shape your professional life, and we are only at the very early stages of the technology era we are living in. If you want to get a quick sense for the speed of change you will face during your career, I encourage you to look back in time and imagine similar scale changes happening twice as fast going forward. So, for example, go back 10 years (that is the world before smartphones and Facebook) and imagine that much change happening in the next five,” he said.

“Until 1900 the recorded volume of human knowledge doubled approximately ever century. By the end of World War II, knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today the collective knowledge of humanity doubles every 13 months,” said Mr. Anger, who has been recognized for his expertise in executing successful product introductions. He is a recipient of the 2004 GE Infrastructure Technology Leadership Award, the 2001 GE Industrial Systems Most Innovative Software Disclosure Award, and the 1999 Engineering Innovation Award. He also holds several patents for his innovations in technology.

A lot will look different going forward, said Mr. Anger. “You’ll outlast your job multiple times before your career is over.” Depending on how you choose to look at things, all this change can be either exhilarating or downright terrifying.” He gave the graduates advice on how to deal with change in their professional and personal lives.

“Approach life with an endless sense of curiosity. If you want to thrive in the workplace, make learning a lifelong habit. Keep your learning muscle active,” said Mr. Anger, who personally challenges himself to learn something new each year.

He added that making conscious choices is a great source of stability, particularly in highly stressful situations. “Transformative events are connected to difficult moments. When I reflect back on my own life, I can trace most of the transformative events of my life to a tough moment followed by a conscious choice. Choices matter.”

He added that when change is happening it brings hope of a better future. That phenomenon is the power of possibility. Possibilities are brought forward by individuals, and amplified by the efforts of many. My wish for you is that you find ways of declaring your own possibility and surround yourselves with those who can help transform that possibility into history. In so doing, you’ll create a better world for us all.”