Dear Bob:
With the resignation of the Dallas Chamber’s top paid employee, you now find yourself in a position to do something very powerful for Dallas. While usually the volunteer chairman’s duties don’t entail much more than shaking hands and calling meetings to order, this is a whole new ballgame. You’re the team owner who’s been called in to pitch a tie game in the bottom of the 9th. [Movie script there, anyone?]
The Chamber needs to be completely gutted and refurbished top to bottom. It is a 1930’s civic organizational model in a 2020 world. Remaking it may seem a huge task, but fortunately we’re here to help. Last year D CEO published two articles by TI’s Phil Ritter that tell you why and how to do it ( here and here).
The key is to pause and take a big breath. Because before you set about hiring a new person, you need to focus the business community’s attention on what we’re hiring a new person for. This is an opportunity for Dallas to catch up to other cities on how we develop our regional economy, prioritize our common legislative goals, and coordinate the work of the corporate leadership for maximum impact. Whether we seize this moment and make the most of it is now entirely up to you.
Good luck. We’ll be watching (and of course, we always have suggestions). Your friend, Wick
