Tag: leadership
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Finding balance in the archives
I abhor a mess. But for most of the last month, my dining room table has looked like this. As an executive director, I do an enormous amount of writing–grants, emails, newsletter articles, and blogs. But I had almost forgotten how historical writing stretches your brain in entirely different directions. It was almost like my…
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It’s time to talk about toxic loyalty
“I’m miserable in my job, but I can’t leave until I finish this major project in two years.” “I keep thinking that my next boss will be better.” “I feel terrible about leaving my staff behind in this terrible situation.” We probably all have a friend that has said something like this. And for those…
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Four Years
Today is the fourth anniversary of the board vote. You know, that board vote. The one where I was no longer Interim Executive Director and became President and Executive Director of Dallas Heritage Village. Here’s how I shared that news on facebook: This afternoon, I’m having a lot of fun deleting the word “interim” from…
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The joys of data
It’s nice to be proven right. Way back in 2010, back when I was the Director of Education and Gary was still running things, Dallas Heritage Village went through a strategic planning process. The recession was crushing us, and we knew we needed to make some dramatic changes. We made a few key decisions that…
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I don’t know where to start
When people ask me: “What’s going on at DHV?” my standard reply has become: “Where do you want me to start?” It’s partly a joke, and partly a way to gauge what they’re actually interested in (or if they’re just being polite) and partly the honest truth: I just don’t know where to start.…
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Of Beer and Neighbors: Welcoming Four Corners Brewing to the Cedars
On Friday, I had the most meaningful beer I’ve ever had. Most of you know what’s happening in the Cedars. Back in 2014, a lot of major buildings on Ervay (one of DHV’s borders) changed hands–with significant redevelopment plans. Promises were made with projected opening dates of 2016. All of those buildings remain quiet for…
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My New Mantra
After my initial shock about the results of the election wore off, one of my first thoughts was that my job was going to get a lot harder. And sure enough, the idea of eliminating the NEA and NEH was put forward pretty quickly. I’m still waiting to see how changes to HUD and other…
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Lessons from Fair Park
It seems everyone in Dallas is talking about Fair Park right now. And it’s not just the usual fried food anticipation that comes with every State Fair season. A few weeks ago, an old friend asked me on Facebook “Will you explain the Fair Park issue to me like I’m five years old? I don’t…
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More Answers
You would think after two+ years, the questions would have stopped. “Why are you being so nice to Vogel Alcove?” “Where’s the money in community involvement?” “Why do you go to so many neighborhood meetings?’ There are a lot of very good answers to these questions, some of which I’ve addressed in previous blog posts.…
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Prycer Consulting 