We live in an age of great uncertainties and dangers to the global economy. Nuclear proliferation, tight energy supplies, global warming, war, terrorism, the clash of civilizations and a whole host of other forces interplay in a great dialogue that we have come to call "globalization."

But, as the quote from Ronald Reagan suggests, the culture here at FLIR Systems, Inc. is decidedly action oriented. Trends and events come and go but, at FLIR, our core values–and a commitment to proactively managing the future–never change.

As the CEO, I am the steward of this culture at my company. I also know that this forward-looking, action-oriented approach is a philosophy shared by most successful companies over time.

Today,we know our customers are being asked to speak the language of financial analysis that was once the exclusive domain of an elite few within all organizations. Cost justification, return on investment (ROI) and speed to market are just a few of the new buzzwords.

To many, this is culture shock. To us, this is a mega-trend of the future that requires our due diligence.

All customers, regardless of industry or position within their organizations, must speak this new language of finance if they are to succeed.

Our market communications, inside and outside sales forces and our training organization all do a good job of helping to educate customers in this regard, and our people are dedicated to helping customize this information for any given prospect or customer.

Today, we’re investing heavily in research and development, robotics and supply chain efficiencies that are both driving down prices and greatly increasing product quality–the two pillars of any financial ROI.

The result is a whole new breed of extremely lightweight, ultra-portable, easy-to-use thermal imagers at very low prices. Of course, low prices shorten the payback period and increase ROI–an overarching strategic goal.

At the same time,we have not lost focus on the professional thermographer with the introduction of our new high definition infrared camera. This state-of-the-art high definition infrared camera is ideal for professional in-house thermographers or IR consultants–and, once again, we’ve kept it highly affordable.

Confronting the future is a commendable theme. At FLIR, we’re focused on delivering an exceptional ROI to all our customers. MT