"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." -- Albert Einstein.
The second most common comment/question I hear is basically, "Why should I vote for you?" I've previously commented on this, but it's something worth talking about again since an election is basically one long job interview.
Job experience is something that is often cited when applying for a job, so let's review my work history...
My first job was at a Dunkin' Donuts back when Dunkin' Donuts had a counter where you could sit and drink coffee from china cups. My first job in Falmouth (my family moved here when I was halfway through high school) was at D'Angelos, which was replaced by a job in a local machine shop as a draftsman and then machinist's apprentice.
The machinist job was a true blue-collar job. I'd come home smelling of oil and cigarette smoke (no, I don't smoke, but everyone there did) with aluminum dust in my hair and embedded in my clothing. I did that off and on for probably 5-6 years between high school, college and the real world.
I had stared college with the idea of being a mechanical engineer, but ended it by getting a degree in computer information systems. In between, I had two significant jobs, one as a shift supervisor in a copy center (where I was robbed at gunpoint one evening) and the other for Larry O'Connor - O'Connor Home Improvement - as his office manager.
Shortly after finishing college, I got a job as a computer technician at Sandwich Cooperative Bank. When SCB was bought by CompassBank (which was later bought by Sovereign Bank) I found a job at Ernst & Young in Boston and spent the next several years commutting 5 hours (round trip) to work.
Along the way, I was promoted several times, had responsibility for some budgets, hired and supervised a few people, and managed various projects of various sizes.
My current job is as a network engineer for Novell, a software company. It's a job I took because it allows me to work from home as a telecommuter. After spending 5 hours a day commuting to/from Boston, I took a career hit so I could spend more time with my family.
Which brings us back to the Einstein quote. Einstein was brilliant, not just for his insight into how the universe works, but for his common sense.
My job is about solving problems, and let's face it, Falmouth has problems that need to be solved. Some of those problems - 40Bs, cranberry bogs - are self-inflicted, and if we are to solve them, we need to think differently.
But to think differently requires different leadership. Without that, we'll keep making the same mistakes.
We CAN do better.
[This post was later edited on 4/1 @ 10:15PM]
