Pivotal Moment #2

I was about 5 years into my first job out of college and had the title of Controller in a family owned manufacturing business. I had learned a lot but realized my career would be limited there as I was not family. So I landed a Controller job at a technology company that made Gallium Arsenide wafers and Epitaxial Reactors.?

I was at the job for a few days when my boss came to me and said, “if you are going to be successful here you need a personal computer and we can’t afford to get you one.”??It is 1985 and personal computers were new and expensive. I had to have a portable or as they were called, luggable, so even more cost. About $3,500 for what would do the job.

I didn’t have that kind of cash, it was almost 2 months worth of pay, so I would have to get a loan to finance it. I took the leap, knowing in my gut that the boss was right. This new type of computer was going to be a game changer.?

With that move I became an early adopter of technology. I learned spreadsheets and computer based accounting. Networking soon followed. The internet, IP telephony, enterprise software as well. I stayed at the forefront of all these and other technical innovations. Had I not been willing to take that initial leap into PC’s I would not have developed the skills needed to start and grow FCR.

I continue to be a person intrigued by new technology and firmly believe that we have to continue to adapt and change. Those who become stuck in the past, get passed.