Photo by Leah StiefermannWe met up with Crista Hogan at Vantage Rooftop Lounge and Conservatory to talk about to-do lists, mentorship and the importance of not wasting time.
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Leadership
Advice & Whiskey with Crista Hogan
After 21 years, Crista Hogan knows how to run the Springfield Metropolitan Bar. And yet she’s still innovating and tweaking things to get the most for her 900 members
By Michael Stevens
Mar 2023
On how she keeps engaged and moving forward after more than two decades on the job
“That is not a problem for me. I am kind of obsessed with making things efficient. I am always stressed, so I am always organizing. I just enjoy making things faster and better and more efficient.”
“I don’t like ‘one-and-dones.’ It’s a lot of trouble to do something once. So, anything that we do, I want some economies of scale. I want to do it twice or three times or every month or every year forever.”
“At one point I think I had a 30-page single spaced to-do list. I always have unrealistic expectations of what I want to get done. I have rampant ADD—that is not a secret. I like to think of that as a gift.”
On soliciting feedback and implementing change
“I have this feedback formula that I use: If I have gathered a group of talented people, whether it’s a board or students in a class, I want to make sure to take advantage of that opportunity. I ask everyone for feedback, not just those that volunteer it. I go around the table one by one requesting input.”
On “doing it all”
“I graduated [from University of Tulsa Law School] with a 9-month-old on my hip. When I was 35, I was the president of the Junior League with three kids in the house…and I had a job. I look back and don’t know how I did that. But I didn’t know how not to. Knowing I didn’t have to do it all would have been a valuable life skill. My advice to younger women is: ‘Don’t do it all.’”
On overcoming adversity
“Stubbornness!… It sounds funny, but it’s not a joke. It was 13 years ago today that my husband was diagnosed with what ended up being terminal cancer. Part of the reason that I didn’t fold is because I have a responsibility to the people that love me, that depend on me—particularly my children. And honestly all the bad stuff has opened doors and created opportunities and required me to do better, try harder, learn more, and in a roundabout way I am grateful for it.”
Words to live by
“Don’t waste time. Don’t waste yours. Don’t waste other people’s.”
