Poverty … Why?

While leaving the terminal to head home, I was thinking about a very insightful meeting I had. It was with two members of a task force making recommendations to a community about the transportation needs of the under-resourced.  I and another transit patron were asked to share our views on some of their recommendations. One possible idea caught my eye... expanding training on using transit and various alternatives for getting around.

I asked what brought this on, the reason behind why a task force was formed. The response was more than intriguing. A city-wide study was done on community needs. A community, which many see as a solid American middle-income population, actually has one of the highest poverty rates in the country. With about  25% living in the poverty level, it ranked higher than Chicago, Washington D.C.. Also, there are more children in schools from families who qualify for funded school lunch programs, percentage-wise, than other small cities like this one. Transportation and housing were two other higher-ranking needs.

As I watched businesses, government buildings, houses go past me on the ride back to my place, I was wondering how could this be. One possibility came to mind.

In my early life I had a training service for businesses. Based out of this area, I sought to train employees on personal skills to be productive and efficient as people. Those of us in this profession had this view. When you develop your people in your business to be productive, you function more efficiently, you create a higher quality in your product or service. When the quality is higher you can sell it at a greater value, consequently, your profits increase.

As it turned out it was not as successful as I would have liked. My colleagues in the same profession told me this community, generally, is a soft market for training. Employers don't invest in it very much. They see it as an additional overhead cost. My colleagues encouraged me to seek business outside the area, but live here as they did. Those who did seemed to be doing well.

The spin-off factor affects the community though. People with productivity skills not only increase the value of a company's products and/or services, but it spills over into a person's lifestyles. They live more productively, building the whole quality level of the community.

Why would a seemingly nice community suffer from a high poverty level? By not investing in people productivity development in a business, profit margins are lower, and it also keeps people struggling financially which affects the whole community. A triple loss... the business, the employee and the community.

Lesson learned. No train, no gain. We reap what we sow. If we don't sow it, we won't reap it.

Communities with a business mindset of not investing in people, have communities with more under-resourced people. Thus, more live in poverty.

Communities with businesses and organizations who invest in developing their people, have stronger organizations as well as healthier and stronger communities. Thus, more live above their needs.

To me there's a correlation between the level of training and development of people in jobs and the corresponding effect it has on the well-being of the whole community. Employers who disregard developing their people in their workforce, contribute to increasing poverty in the community.

I believe a business should be profitable, but have a keen awareness of the weight of responsibility they carry on their shoulders. They should be keenly aware and responsive to the welfare of community. They should build people who can live more profitably and productively.

...Close to my bus stop. Need to pull the cord and get off here.

(As an additional note, I deliberately didn't mention the community I was referring to, as this, I feel, is relevant to all communities. Here's what a commission on impacting poverty had in its recommendations of which I agree.

"Springfield’s workforce needs greater skills."

" The Springfield region’s relatively low wages produce a situation where our community has a relatively low unemployment rate, but high levels of poverty."

See page 9:  "4. Jobs and Economic Climate.")

http://www.impactingpoverty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/IPC-Report_FINAL-nobleed.pdf

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Small acts of kindness add up to a big thing

It's been awhile since writing on this blog. I have had many thoughts, but was sorta waiting for the new bus transfer station to open.

Well, I was at the new transfer station with about a 15 minute wait for my bus. At the time there was only me and a few other guys inside... most were outside as it was a nice spring day.

A gentlemen was looking around seeming somewhat bewildered. The ticket purchase people were on lunch break so he went over to look at the automated ticket purchase machine.

He pressed some of the buttons to see the options for buying a ticket. I asked him what he needed. He said just one ticket. He then asked me if I knew the area. "What are you wanting to do," I asked. He said get to Greyhound and asked "Do you know how to get there?" I said you need to take the northeast bus, line 2, to Walmart and then I think there is a direct line that goes back and forth on Kearney. You would need to hop over to that one from Walmart.

I went to the map rack and pulled a route map for that line which I was not personally acquainted with. It runs three times in the morning and three times in the afternoon I noted. He said getting to Walmart would be good enough, "I can walk the rest of the way," he said. "Is the fare $1.25," he then asked. Well, "yes," I said, "but you would need a dime for a transfer" if you choose to try to catch line 35, the Industrial Express. Getting to Walmart is good enough he responded. Then with a dollar in hand he asked, "Does this machine give change?" No, I don't think it does. I reached in my pocket. I had three quarters, so I gave him one. "Here's a quarter, welcome to Springfield," I added.

I woke up this morning thinking about this. I got more satisfaction in my day for helping this man than anything else that day. He needed some help and I decided to do what I could to help him.

Lesson learned. What is a big thing are the kind small things we do for others when nobody's watching.

On the bus, there's a quiet, meek lady who does kind things for people all the time. I have noticed many bus drivers do small nice things for their passengers. It's everyone doing this on a regular basis, without fanfare, that makes it a great world to live in

In a way, I find greater satisfaction to help someone in a small way. To be unknown in what I do. To live each day with this in mind, means more to me than having my name on a big building. I really like the lifestyle of being unknown, but doing nice things when I get a chance.

Well, that day I was boarding line 2, too. I walked by this man as I was getting to a seat. He acknowledged me in a way that indicated he appreciated what I did. 

I believe being nice, and doing kind things, when no one else will know, is recorded in a book in Heaven. My one hesitation for sharing this is since telling this, I may have taken away my reward. As the Scriptures say we are blessed when we give in secret. I didn't keep it a secret... just told you.  

Maybe though by sharing some small acts of kindness we may encourage others that it's a good thing to do nice things when no one's looking, or we think no one's looking. It encourages others to do the same.

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Finding the Unsung Heroes

In the summer of 2012 I began my conversion of being a regular bus rider. In the fall of that year, new leadership took over the reins of transit. Carol Cruise, who worked for Transit about all her life, was retiring as Director that fall.

From 2012 to now Transit has had four different directors. It seemed whatever could happen, happened and a new leader came to the helm. What I wondered was how, with all these leadership changes in this period of time, could they have kept the bus system running smoothly. It seemed, from the outside as a rider, you never would have known this revolving door of leadership changes was taking place. Everything kept going on without any major hitches. There were some route changes early on but the ridership seemed to adjust to them reasonably quickly.

I thought there had to be an unsung hero who kept it all together. So I began looking around and talking to those there during that time.  I sent inquiry emails to Steven Stacye and Diane Gallion. Steven was interim director for a while between directors. As operations director, he oversaw the daily bus operations. Diane Gallion was constantly on the funding hunt for new and better buses, or buses they could get within their budget.

Steven Stacye and Diane Gallion both said the credit goes to the team. Not one person could be credited for keeping things going in stride. It was a team effort. The bus supervisors of Dale, David, Melissa solved the daily problems buses in route may have faced. Michelle upfront, Kathy and Susie maintained the details of the operation.

Both Steve and Diane emphasized to me, you really can't single out one person. They all hung together, worked together, through change after change in the front office director's chair. As a unit, they were unsung heroes. Without much fanfare they did their jobs.

Before Carol Cruise retired, she and her boss Kathy Fritts were over the Transit system. Carol's goal was to build a team that could run transit, knowing what to do, even without direct input from the director. Her desire was to cultivate a team that could run on its own.

When absent, they all could make good decisions on how to handle what came up. She and Kathy were unsung heroes.

The bus drivers all knew their jobs well, and could perform day-in and

day-out, knowing what do... self-directed leaders. They too held together and got the job done. Many give credit to having a quality group of bus supervisors to confer with and seek assistance when needed.

With Christopher Jones, and Kelly Turner now in the Transit driver's seats, as Associate General Manager over Transit and Transit Director, respectively, this seasoned team helped pave the way so Kelly and Chris could give due attention to some new advances coming up.

A great team... who shy away from being singled out and being the one in the spotlight, preferring to be recognized as a team. So the unsung heroes were how everyone at every position, did their job and worked with each other.

Lesson I learned.

Legendary people build others coming along to be the next legend to follow. When focusing on others' success and enabling each other, the success of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The result is a tremendously great company.

During these years of upfront changes, I couldn't find "that person" who was the unsung hero. But they, corporately, uniting as one, were the true heroes.

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