Hello, my name is Michael Vincent Fowler. I usually go by Mike. I'm going to do something here I am very uncomfortable with and toot my own horn. If I am going to ask you to support this foundation you have a right to know a bit about the person who is asking.
When I was very young my father was an assistant principal and very interested in my education. As a result, I got off to a good start. Unfortunately, my parents split up when I was in second grade, and I went from a very good private school in Pennsylvania to a public school in East Los Angeles. They said I was too advanced for second grade and put me in third grade. I mention this so you can see that at an early age I got to experience two very different versions of education.
I was the type of kid who, whenever I got curious about something, would go to the library and check out books until my curiosity was satisfied. To this day, I am a voracious reader. In spite of this fact I almost didn't graduate high school. I was so bored and disillusioned I came very close to dropping out. I tell you this in the hope of demonstrating the value of a proper education- I didn't learn the skills I needed to really succeed. Compare this with a very wealthy gentleman I know who struggled to score a 720 on his SAT, but went on to live a life of tremendous success and achievement. The difference is education- not that he didn't work hard, but he learned the right things early in life (I learned this by interviewing him). It is my goal that more children learn what they need to be successful, whatever success means to them.
In the area of real world achievement, in my early twenties I went to work at a company called Intermedics, Intraocular making lens implants for cataract patients. I started there shortly after the company opened and worked in the assembly area. This was delicate work done under a microscope, working on plastic lenses with metal tools. When I got there, their target was for each technician to make eight lenses per day. Before I left the target was up to thirty-two per day. I helped accomplish this by improving processes and modifying the tools we were using. I was also put in charge of training and promoted to lead the department.
Later, at a company called Technar, after proving myself in the military products assembly area, I was given the opportunity to take a new product out of research and development and into production. The product was one of the safety switches for some of our nuclear missiles, and involved a very complex set of processes. The goal was to have five employees produce 100 switches a month and keep the reject rate below 25%. In less than six months, we were producing 125 switches a month using only four employees and keeping the reject rate below 15%.
After that, when I went into management at AT&T I had to train a new crew in a newly created department. We developed processes as we went. I also had to teach myself Microsoft Office while doing this (how's that for dating myself!) My team of troubleshooters (one of eight teams in that department) consistently had the best results. This was because I actually taught my crew what they were doing instead of just having them follow a script, I already knew the value of education.
Between the success of my team, and the fact that I had written the majority of job aids, I was transferred to staff to write Methods & Procedures. I had to really hit the ground running at this position because we had a new system coming on line. I had to learn the system, re-write the methods and procedures for our department, then design and deliver the training all in less than three months. While in that position, I also redesigned the support website, designed and conducted various trainings and participated in new product development. I was once given two months to develop a training program to bring people with no experience up to speed in case of a work stoppage. I developed and delivered a two-week training so successful that we handled a three-day work stoppage with no negative impact to our customers. As mechanization took over more and more of this work, I went on to be a Layout Design Engineer before leaving AT&T to start this foundation. On the side, my wife and I ran a successful vending business for a few years.
Speaking of my wife, we have been married since 1992. I worked for ATT (Pacific Bell when I started there) for twenty-three years before leaving to start this foundation, so you can see that I am stable and dependable.
I am sharing all of this with you to show that I have a history of developing successful processes and of leading teams that don't just meet, but exceed, goals. I work hard and I get things done. These are skills I believe necessary to the accomplishment of this foundation's mission.
It can be said that I have no background in education as a profession, or in running a nonprofit. To that I say no one person could have all the skills needed to accomplish what I have outlined on this website. Many, if not most, people who start nonprofits have no experience. The list of successful people and companies that started with no experience is very long, indeed. I fully realize that I am not capable of accomplishing the goals of the foundation alone, but I can lead the team that will! Once we have funding, the needed expertise can be hired or developed.
What can't be hired is the inspiration and drive to get started in the first place, and the will to make it happen. I claim no skills or expertise other than what I have demonstrated in my life - a love of research and learning, a talent for developing good processes, and an ability to successfully lead teams to achieve excellence. My vision is to get our children a better education, and I have dedicated myself to making it happen. I have a history of getting the job done. I believe this is the most important thing I can do with my life and that the activities outlined on this website are critically necessary to help our children get the education they need, both now and in the future.
I need your help in order for this foundation accomplish its purpose. I hope you will join me and help in whatever way you can.
Yours truly,
Mike
Michael V. Fowler, President
Foundation for the Next Generation
When I was very young my father was an assistant principal and very interested in my education. As a result, I got off to a good start. Unfortunately, my parents split up when I was in second grade, and I went from a very good private school in Pennsylvania to a public school in East Los Angeles. They said I was too advanced for second grade and put me in third grade. I mention this so you can see that at an early age I got to experience two very different versions of education.
I was the type of kid who, whenever I got curious about something, would go to the library and check out books until my curiosity was satisfied. To this day, I am a voracious reader. In spite of this fact I almost didn't graduate high school. I was so bored and disillusioned I came very close to dropping out. I tell you this in the hope of demonstrating the value of a proper education- I didn't learn the skills I needed to really succeed. Compare this with a very wealthy gentleman I know who struggled to score a 720 on his SAT, but went on to live a life of tremendous success and achievement. The difference is education- not that he didn't work hard, but he learned the right things early in life (I learned this by interviewing him). It is my goal that more children learn what they need to be successful, whatever success means to them.
In the area of real world achievement, in my early twenties I went to work at a company called Intermedics, Intraocular making lens implants for cataract patients. I started there shortly after the company opened and worked in the assembly area. This was delicate work done under a microscope, working on plastic lenses with metal tools. When I got there, their target was for each technician to make eight lenses per day. Before I left the target was up to thirty-two per day. I helped accomplish this by improving processes and modifying the tools we were using. I was also put in charge of training and promoted to lead the department.
Later, at a company called Technar, after proving myself in the military products assembly area, I was given the opportunity to take a new product out of research and development and into production. The product was one of the safety switches for some of our nuclear missiles, and involved a very complex set of processes. The goal was to have five employees produce 100 switches a month and keep the reject rate below 25%. In less than six months, we were producing 125 switches a month using only four employees and keeping the reject rate below 15%.
After that, when I went into management at AT&T I had to train a new crew in a newly created department. We developed processes as we went. I also had to teach myself Microsoft Office while doing this (how's that for dating myself!) My team of troubleshooters (one of eight teams in that department) consistently had the best results. This was because I actually taught my crew what they were doing instead of just having them follow a script, I already knew the value of education.
Between the success of my team, and the fact that I had written the majority of job aids, I was transferred to staff to write Methods & Procedures. I had to really hit the ground running at this position because we had a new system coming on line. I had to learn the system, re-write the methods and procedures for our department, then design and deliver the training all in less than three months. While in that position, I also redesigned the support website, designed and conducted various trainings and participated in new product development. I was once given two months to develop a training program to bring people with no experience up to speed in case of a work stoppage. I developed and delivered a two-week training so successful that we handled a three-day work stoppage with no negative impact to our customers. As mechanization took over more and more of this work, I went on to be a Layout Design Engineer before leaving AT&T to start this foundation. On the side, my wife and I ran a successful vending business for a few years.
Speaking of my wife, we have been married since 1992. I worked for ATT (Pacific Bell when I started there) for twenty-three years before leaving to start this foundation, so you can see that I am stable and dependable.
I am sharing all of this with you to show that I have a history of developing successful processes and of leading teams that don't just meet, but exceed, goals. I work hard and I get things done. These are skills I believe necessary to the accomplishment of this foundation's mission.
It can be said that I have no background in education as a profession, or in running a nonprofit. To that I say no one person could have all the skills needed to accomplish what I have outlined on this website. Many, if not most, people who start nonprofits have no experience. The list of successful people and companies that started with no experience is very long, indeed. I fully realize that I am not capable of accomplishing the goals of the foundation alone, but I can lead the team that will! Once we have funding, the needed expertise can be hired or developed.
What can't be hired is the inspiration and drive to get started in the first place, and the will to make it happen. I claim no skills or expertise other than what I have demonstrated in my life - a love of research and learning, a talent for developing good processes, and an ability to successfully lead teams to achieve excellence. My vision is to get our children a better education, and I have dedicated myself to making it happen. I have a history of getting the job done. I believe this is the most important thing I can do with my life and that the activities outlined on this website are critically necessary to help our children get the education they need, both now and in the future.
I need your help in order for this foundation accomplish its purpose. I hope you will join me and help in whatever way you can.
Yours truly,
Mike
Michael V. Fowler, President
Foundation for the Next Generation