A shift in approach from designing control systems to a focus on enabling technology utilizing smart grid communications holds a key to a larger door into the smart grid revolution. The expansion of grid technology allows us to consider a focus on motivation in lieu of commands and information as an alternative to control. This whitepaper offers an update to our traditional control-based thinking to present an approach that enables independent development of smart grid products. The proposed concept architecture can act to also simplify the prioritized action plans undertaken by various industry groups and initiatives. This paper describes the functionality enabled by true smartness at the end nodes. Replacement of the command and control approach with an inform and motivate approach allows the customer and the power grid to interoperate with full transparent, extensible, and scalable interoperability. The concept discussed also opens a doorway enabling a device manufacturer to design their product or system to be qualified as a virtual end node that is able to participate in any larger smart grid entity above it without fear of obsolescence. This concept presents a simple but workable approach for management of onsite or remote resources of both a similar and non-similar nature to accelerate development of the overall smart grid as well as smart grid enabled products.