Orlando, Fla., February 23, 2015 — National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) President and CEO Vern Dosch has authored the business book Wired Differently which shares the compelling story of the organization and its nearly 50-year history of being based on the cooperative business model. Dosch unveiled the book during NISC’s annual meeting on Feb. 22, 2015 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

“There are tangible reasons why NISC has seen consistent growth over the years, and why so many of our employees have chosen to build a career at NISC rather than consider us merely as a stop along their journey,” Dosch said while addressing an audience of over 500.”To the best of our ability, through story and example, Wired Differently offers NISC as a business, cultural and leadership model for the reader’s consideration.”

NISC leaders have discovered that the power of leadership through service, the importance of putting values in action, and the foundational strength of operating as a cooperative combined to deliver a collaborative culture in practice, according to Dosch.

“Wired Differently seeks to present an intriguing business case for these elements because, at NISC, we have seen how effective they are at drawing out the best in people, empowering them to consistently deliver positive bottom-line results to our Member/Owners and our customers,” Dosch said.

Readers of Wired Differently are taken inside the IT cooperative where one out of every 10 employees has chosen to stay and contribute for more than two decades, and the average tenure of over 1,000 employees exceeds 10 years. Wired Differently offers insights, errors and the story of NISC’s successful evolution into the well-respected community partner and industry leader that it is today.

NISC is a leading provider of information technology products and services in 49 states as well as in Canada, American Samoa and Palau. It offers billing, accounting, engineering, e-commerce and infrastructure products, including 24-hour support, and provides consulting to utilities and telecommunications companies. NISC also serves other infrastructure industries, and its clients include businesses from Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 lists.

NISC’s solutions and services make it easier and more cost effective for its Members and customers to do business with their own customers. Recent successes include:

• Computerworld magazine has recognized NISC as one of the Top 100″Best Places to Work” in the IT industry for the past 11 years.
• The greatest business growth in NISC’s history occurred during 2007-2013—when the rest of the national economy was experiencing a collective downturn.
• HDI (formerly Held Desk Institute) named NISC to its 2014″Elite 50″ list, which recognizes businesses worldwide for their outstanding technical service and support.

Award-winning professor John N. Doggett wrote the Foreword to Wired Differently. Doggett is a senior lecturer for the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin, and he consults with clients in 30 countries around the world.”This book will move you,” Doggett says.”It tells a humbling, inspiring and wonderful story of what can happen when people strive to live a life of meaning and service to others. It will show you the power of putting organizational values into action, and perhaps it will even wake up corporate America to the cooperative model and a whole new way of doing business.”

Early praise for Wired Differently has come from authors, clergy, academics and industry executives, including Martin Lowery, Executive Vice President of Member and Association Relations with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Arlington, Va.

“Management books come and go, and most are not remembered,” Lowery says.“This book, as the title implies, is different. Above all, Wired Differently has made an important contribution to the philosophy of cooperative management that has profound implications for how organizations can and should operate in the future.”

Net proceeds for Wired Differently go to the NISC Foundation, a 501(c)9 organization devoted to providing benevolent assistance and financial help for NISC employees and their families. To learn more about Wired Differently, visit www.wireddifferently.coop.

About NISC

National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) is an information technology organization that develops, implements and supports software and hardware solutions for their Members/Customers. NISC delivers advanced solutions, services and support to more than 700 independent telephone companies, electric cooperatives and other public power entities. NISC is an industry leader providing information technology solutions including billing, accounting, operations, automated mailroom services, third-party integration as well as many other solutions. NISC has facilities in Mandan, N.D., Lake Saint Louis, Mo., Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Shawano, Wis. and employs more than 1,000 professionals between the four locations. Additional information can be found at www.nisc.coop.