May 2008: Jim Walker

Jim Walker Executive Director, Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project Leadership Austin Affiliation: Moderator, 2008 Engage Speaker Series Faculty, Essential Class

Community Involvement:
Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project
Mueller Airport Redevelopment
Envision Central Texas

Why is Leadership Austin important to our community?
While every community has leaders who guide and shape what happens in that community, there is often not enough guidance and training from long time leaders to emerging leaders. Leadership Austin is continually extending a strong network and pipeline for new leaders, as do the many other Leadership chapters in our region and Texas.

Give an example of a leadership challenge where you weren’t successful.
On several occasions I have under-estimated the amount of education and communication needed - to the public and those in leadership positions - ahead of a key decision. The consequence is not only that the decisions didn’t go in my favor, but also a sense among others that their time and effort were wasted; you end up creating a secondary, and distracting, challenge for yourself of preventing erosion in how confident people are in your leadership.

If you had $1M to spend on a local Austin issue, what would it be?
I’m not a fan of simplified questions like these because our local and regional issues have grown too complex and intertwined, and bigger than money alone can handle. Our thinking needs to be toward leveraging and optimizing the money and human energy already being spent on our issues - and at a regional scale, not just within Austin.

What was your most recent indulgent purchase?
A sound level decibel reader. I’m a big fan of live music in Central Texas - it is vital to our economy, our quality of life, and the cultural roots of our success; from downtown Austin to the rural dance halls. I’m also an advocate for preserving the unique character of our neighborhoods, and sometimes, in the core of Austin at least, the sounds of music can be more than a neighborhood really wants, so a tension is created. I just wanted my own decibel reader so I could better understand that tension when I’m out and around town.

What is your favorite restaurant in Austin?
I love the restaurants I can walk to. Mi Madre’s for the morning breakfast taco fix, Hoover’s or El Chilito for lunch, and Eastside Café or Eastside Pies for dinner... and always Clementine for the coffee and The Red House for adult beverages...

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