One last Y2K lesson: 'People get the job done'

Year 2000 Information Coordination Center home page

As the Year 2000 Information Coordination Center officially closes this

month, Peter Kind, the ICC's director, attributes much of the program's

success to teamwork.

"People are really what make it happen," Kind said, speaking Tuesday

at the GovTech conference in Washington, D.C.

But in order for people to be successful, Kind said, they must have

fast, reliable equipment and managerial support. "If you want to make the

process efficient, give them the tools," he said. "Properly led and motivated,

people get the job done."

Under John Koskinen, head of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion,

the ICC collected, analyzed and shared Year 2000 incident information among

representatives from federal, state and local government agencies and industry.

The ICC World Wide Web site had more than 3 million hits Dec. 31, 1999.

But aside from a few minor millennium bug-related incidents such as a Defense

Department satellite that failed and the 4,000 small businesses that did

not download compliant software, the rollover occurred without incident,

Kind said.

The lessons learned from the ICC experience, Kind said, include proof

that it is possible to gather information from domestic and international

governments and private industry and make it available in a timely manner.