Jim Anderson has a nice corner office at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, with plenty of windows and a view of travelers in downtown Springfield. Trouble is, he doesn't get to see it much during his workweek as chamber president.
On this late August Tuesday, Anderson's day begins with meetings - two of them, actually. He's double-booked and opts to attend a 7:30 a.m. Leadership Springfield board meeting, missing out on a meeting of the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners' community relations board, on which he serves.
Having to choose between activities isn't unusual for Anderson, but he sees the positives in doing so.
"I think it's a sign of a vibrant community. There's a lot of stuff going on," he says. "I make that choice based on my job. What would be most beneficial for the chamber?"
There are three pressing matters on Anderson's mind today:
• meeting the next day with the chamber's volunteer leaders, who will put the current business plan under the microscope to determine what's working and what needs to be changed;
• finalizing the agenda of the annual board retreat in mid-October; and
• leaving at the end of the week for a quick jaunt with other chamber leaders, including Chairman Doug Pitt, to Springfield's sister city, Tlaquepaque, Mexico, where there is also a chamber volunteer exchange program in place.
"In all cases, the planning is there, the preparation is there, but it's (handling) all those final details," he says.
After the Leadership Springfield meeting, Anderson takes a few minutes to read e-mails, but realizes that his printer is out of paper and darts out the door for a refill. On his walk to the supply area, he greets a couple of staff members and returns to his office in just a few minutes.
The office door stays open - as is his preference, unless a private meeting is necessary - and chamber receptionist Delores Austin's voice floats softly down the hall as she answers calls in the lobby. Outside his windows, downtown traffic is moving briskly on this sunny day, but Anderson stays focused on his work.
He digs into a hefty pile of accounts payable. As part of the chamber's system of checks and balances, requisition requests are sent from employees to department heads to Anderson, who reviews all requests and signs checks twice a month.
Though it is not uncommon for Anderson to have between five and seven meetings a day, he's not above taking time off to honor a friend. Today, he grabs his jacket and keys at 9:30, heading out for the funeral of Bill Reser, a former Empire Bank executive and longtime chamber advocate.
Hours later, Anderson is back at work, reading 11 pages of bylaws for the Partnership for Sustainability, in preparation for a meeting he will attend the next day.
At 11:45 it's time for lunch, which on Tuesdays means the regular meeting of the downtown Springfield Rotary Club at Kentwood Hall.
He travels to the meeting on foot, using the brisk walk to soak up some sunshine, his jacket thrown over one arm.
Among his tablemates are Warden Marty Anderson of the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, and Jack Munsey of Ollis & Co. The warden takes a moment to fill Anderson in on the meeting he'd missed earlier.
Anderson knows just about everyone who passes his table, including attorney David Agee and Judge J. Miles Sweeney, and he shows an uncanny ability to match names with faces on the fly.
Instead of walking back to the chamber, Anderson rides with Great River Engineering principals King Coltrin and Spencer Jones, who have scheduled Anderson's only nonchamber-related meeting of the day.
Anderson also is vice chairman of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, and during the short meeting, Coltrin and Jones gauge his thoughts on whether changes to Missouri's 800 Bridges Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement program could result in more design work for local firms.
With these guests, just as he is during chamber staff meetings, Anderson is an intent listener, careful to allow all parties plenty of time to speak. But he doesn't just limit discussions to official business. When Jones admires Anderson's tiger-stone ring and says that he has one that looks similar, the two swap stories learning that each received the rings from their fathers. Anderson's prognosis is that the changes will, indeed, provide more opportunities for local designers.
The meeting wraps with handshakes, and Anderson prepares for his next guest, City Council candidate Bob Stephens, who spends roughly 45 minutes with Anderson, discussing general city and business issues.
At 3:30, he's out the door again, this time to attend a 4 p.m. board meeting of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association. This meeting lasts about an hour, and afterward, Anderson heads back to his office. He stays until 7 p.m., tidying up his desk and getting organized for the next day.
Such is a typical day for the man who leads the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, where Anderson has worked since 1988.
A busy day, yes, but he says his presence at so many meetings and events is just part of the gig.
"I wouldn't be invited ... or expected, if I didn't have the job I have," Anderson says.
How do you like to start your day?
On a typical day, I get up 6-ish, and if I don't have a real early morning meeting ... I try to get on the treadmill every day that I can. One of the occupational hazards of this job is ...that I do a lot of breakfast meetings, lunch meetings and dinner meetings, and I love to eat. I have to be careful. ... I don't (use the treadmill) as much as I should, in terms of time. I try to do 10 to 15 minutes, and it's supposed to be 20 to 30. I guess I could get up earlier, but I don't ... and I listen to KSMU and (National Public Radio) as I do that. It gives me a chance to sort of clear the cobwebs and get ready.
How many hours do you work each week?
I try to keep it at 70 to 80 hours a week. ... I try to take Saturdays off, but are many Saturdays when I'll come (to the office) for two or three hours. I always come in on Sunday afternoon and early evening. ... That gives me a chance to get the next week organized and ready to go in my mind. I catch up on mail and correspondence. When I don't have an evening meeting, I'll still work until about 7.
How much time each week do you spend on duties related to your role as vice chairman of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission?
It is not uncommon for me to spend 15 to 20 hours a week on MoDOT-related business. It takes a lot of time.
Why do you still use a paper calendar rather than a digital one on your computer?
It's not the most efficient, but I find it a lot easier. I can write something and go on a lot quicker than to enter it into the computer. My New Year's Resolution is to throw this (calendar) away and have only Outlook on the computer. I'm not there yet.
How much vacation time do you get annually, and are you good about using it?
I lose vacation time every year. I think I get three or four weeks. This summer, I took one day of vacation, the Friday before Labor Day. I'm not proud of that. One thing I do is share some vacation days with some other folks who maybe really need it for personal reasons. I travel so much with the job that frankly, sometimes for me, a vacation is staying home. Sometimes, I feel like I'm a stranger in my own house. (Anderson is about to break that cycle; he's excited about an upcoming 12-day trip to Italy with wife Janet for the couple's 30th wedding anniversary.) I think we deserve it.
How do you prefer to get the news?
I'm still old-fashioned. I get the newspaper on the driveway every morning. I'll read online, too, but I'll glance at the papers, and maybe read the headlines. In the evening, I'll read the paper. I'll always watch the evening news, and try to be in bed by 11.
How do you handle the frequent calls that come with your job?
My philosophy has always been that the phone is always answered a live person, and not an automated attendant ... and that phone calls come directly to me. ... I just think that's better, but especially with my MoDOT responsibilities, I just couldn't keep up. So now, some calls, not all, will go to Judy. Sometimes, calls don't need to come to me, they need to be routed elsewhere in the building, and that's been a big time-saver.
What about e-mails?
I could sit in front of my screen and not get anything else done, just answering e-mails, and that's not productive. I try, at certain times of the day, to answer e-mails, rather than just when they come in. ... That means that I don't always answer e-mails within five minutes of whenever they come.
Does your work pace impede on family time with Janet and daughters Rebekah and Rachel?
I think back, and I want to believe I didn't shortchange family and did what I could to provide quality time. The kids are grown now, but when they were young, where this wore on me was when I would leave for work in the morning and the kids would still be asleep, and come home at night and the kids would be asleep. That got old real fast. There were more days that I care to count ... when that happened. That's not the way to raise a family, but that's part of the job, and I (did) what I could to keep it to a minimum. That's the part, when I think back, that really hurts the most.
