One of my favorite business maxims is: "Don't just do things right. Do the right things."
I remember coming across that quote on one of my dad's note pads when I was a teenager. At the time, he was under contract with General Motors to provide its upper management with a corporate history to supposedly help guide them back onto the path of success. The story goes that my father's book-length history contained all the warts as well as the glories of the world's first modern corporation from its prior 80-odd years. Implicit in the pages of the history were that the current management in General Motors had not learned the lessons of a generation of mistakes from the ‘60s, ‘70's and ‘80s.
A few days after submitting it, he found it on his desk with the chairman's own handwritten red pen scrawl on the cover: "NO! Not what we need."
Two and a half decades later, that same exact insular arrogance of the Detroit corporate car culture that wrote those words came home to roost as the once unthinkable became the inevitable, and the formerly magnificent General Motors went bankrupt.
There are always lessons to be learned. Failure to learn them is a good way to bet against yourself.
In North Adams and Northern Berkshire County, we face a parallel predicament. Do we move forward, learning from the past? Or do we keep pretending that we are already on the right track, failing to acknowledge that aspects of our community are simply on
We certainly do lots of things right. But are we doing the right things? Are we simply patching potholes? Or are we trying to fix the road so it lasts?
There is absolutely no denying that the current fiscal crisis makes it difficult for city government to do anything but the basics right now, but there is a silver lining in the economic crash. In effect, the bone-cutting budgets and basic-needs prioritizing that are occurring as I type this are doing more than just creating pain. This contraction is wiping the slate clean for the new ideas of the next generation.
As the national and state economies recover, and I have great faith that they will, we will have a once in a generation chance to dramatically alter the trajectory of our city and address some of the systemic challenges that face us. Largest among these are how we as a community deal with poverty. Do we continue to simply react to poverty by giving away free lunches and heating vouchers? Or do we implement housing policies and school reforms that address not just today's poor, but better the next generation's prospects? Do we deal with crime simply by making more arrests, or do we take away the economic incentives of illegal drugs and gangs by creating economic opportunity for all?
Do we continue to try and imitate other communities that have prospered with the arts, or do we unleash the inherent talents of our own community to make North Adams the benchmark that others measure themselves by? Do we continue to dictate to businesses exactly how many bar stools they should have and what color their signs should be? Or do we let those whose own self interest is in their success determine how to run their businesses profitably?
And there are the nuts and bolts of city government. Do we continue to run our city the same way it operated in 1970? Do we write budgets in secret and pass them with little scrutiny? Or do we have a process that allows public input and deliberation? Do we continue to keep our ordinances and zoning laws in a binder behind a desk? Or do we make that information available to all with a computer who might be able to use it to their benefit?
Do we try and keep unflattering information away from residents and employees because it could create a headache? Or do we acknowledge it and move forward to resolve issues in a professional and adult manner?
These are all questions that voters should be asking themselves before they go to the polls next week. Why? Because there are lessons to be learned and it is the right thing to do.
Greg Roach is a father, husband, writer and chef who is also a candidate for North Adams City Council. He can be reached a greg@
gregoryroach.com. The Transcript invited all council candidates to write opinion pieces for this page before Wednesday, Oct. 28.
Font Resize
