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The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Its been made clear in the past few months that the uncertainty were facing as a country has impacted almost every level of society. And its not lost on me that there is an overwhelming amount of pressure on our state leaders in the current political and economic environment. Unfortunately, Im not confident that these leaders are using their power to tackle the deep-rooted issues that our country continues to facelike the growing wealth gap. In my home base of Albany, New York there are over 1,000 abandoned properties with the number of unhoused people rising 38% since 2022. Governor Hochul claims to have plans to reinvent New York City, the Finger Lakes and the Hudson Valleyrecently announcing a $412 million proposalbut despite budget approvals, weve yet to see a concrete plan and timeline that will move the investment forward. Take it a step further. The wealth gap in America isnt just growing, its accelerating. And the reality is, we can do something about this. According to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, from 1981 to 2021, income for the top 20% of earners in the U.S. jumped 165%. For the middle and lowest earners? Just 33% and 38%. Why leaders should be frustrated Ive grown tired of waiting for government leaders to step up and fight. I no longer expect sweeping reform from the top. So, Ive focused on what I can do from the ground up. Four years ago, my wife Lisa and I started Business for Good in New Yorks Capital Region. Our mission is to close the wealth gap. We invest directly in communities: supporting small businesses, affordable housing, offering marketing and HR resources, mentoring entrepreneurs, and creating ecosystems that allow people to riseand stayout of poverty. Its working. But its not enough. Not unless more of us get off the sidelines. Thats why Im calling on other leaders to join me in replicating the model that weve used for Business for Good. All it takes is simple, powerful steps that any business leader can follow to use their privilege for good. These are not theoreticalthey work. And theyre built on a belief that I hold deeply: Privilege can be shared, but only by those who have it. The courage to act is contagious. Here’s where we start Change starts with one simple but powerful action: listening. We must be willing to actively hear from those who are directly impacted by the growing rise of uncertainty and inequity. Next, do your homework. Deepen your understanding of inequities and the impacts of rising uncertainty and systemic exclusion. Be courageous, as individual learning and growth is required to drive real change. Then, confrontand speak up. Acknowledge your own biases as well as share information and resources. If you have a platform, use ityour voice, your company, your community, social media, etc. Remember that if words matter, actions speak louder. We also need to partner with local government leaders and policy makers who are committed to dismantling barriers and fighting for each and every member of our communities. For us, at Business for Good, we work with local leaders in the Albany/New York Capital Region as part of our pilot program. Showing up matters. Leverage your privilege for good by sharing your opinion, engaging in activities that support belonging, starting a conversation, and connecting within your local community. Engagement is key. That means having hard conversations with colleagues, friends, and family. Be brave enough to speak up. We each have a role to play in breaking the silence and building awareness. Finally, invest. Real impact takes resources. Actionable ways to drive change At Business for Good, weve put our money where our mission is, fighting for our neighbors and communities. Weve invested over $1 million to help create the Albany Black Chamber of Commercea hub for community leaders, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to thrive. Weve supported a local community center focused on improving the lives of those in need from youngest to oldest. Were working with like-minded leaders in the private sector to tackle issues that our local government is not: housing and employment to name a few. Other leaders and cities can and should take this approach to replicate the progress weve seen in our community. I recently read a set of community values posted in Dubai. And while this was halfway across the world and it wasnt my own community, one message struck me: A successful society is one that lifts everyone up. Lets bring that idea home. Ed Mitzen is cofounder of Business for Good.
Category:
E-Commerce
There is a nationwide talent war for frontline, skilled workers, and unfortunately, too many companies are losing. Turnover among deskless workers, who account for about 80% of the workforce globally, is high, and they are notoriously difficult to train through traditional training programs. Corporate training solutions that work for someone sitting behind a desk rarely work for someone on a job site or factory floor. HR professionals cited employee engagement, retention, and recruitment as the top management challenges within the deskless workforce, according to a Society for Human Resource Management study. Unlike office workers with predictable schedules and easy access to digital tools, deskless employees are mobile and harder to reach. As a result, 79% of HR leaders cite learning and development as the biggest talent challenge for deskless teams, followed by retention and onboarding cited by 75%. Training can address each of those issues, but even when available, it’s often disconnected from actual business outcomes and lacks measurable value. Why? Because training frontline workers is fundamentally different from training office-based employees. Training and onboarding in-the-field workers is complicated and complex, so many companies are slower to invest in it. Recruit, Ramp, and Retain And yet, the frontline workforce is a business-critical system. Executives love to say, “People are our most important asset.” However, when asked what systems they use to recruit, ramp, and retain employees, most stumble, which tells you everything. The workforce isnt always treated like the strategic system it is. To connect training to business value, we need to view the entire employee journeyrecruit, ramp, retainas an integrated pipeline. Of those three stages, ramp is the most important. Its the anchor. Companies that invest heavily in ramping programs find it easier to recruit and are more successful at retaining. When you invest in frontline workers early, they stay longer. This is especially true for skilled and industrial workers. Studies show that the majority of employees say training programs positively affect their engagement, and 94% say training encourages them to stay at a company longer. In contrast, lack of career progression is one of the top reasons employees leave. So what does ramp look like for most frontline workers today? Most often it is job shadowing. Theres value in that, especially when mentorship is involved, but the challenge is that it doesnt scale. Not every employee is a good trainer. As experienced workers retire, mentorship will become harder to deliver consistently, especially in industries facing labor and skills gaps. Digital Training Allows For Customization The goal, then, is to build a digital training system that can act as a mentor but can scale. Simulations have already been proven in aviation, medicine, and the military. They offer the closest thing to hands-on training and will become even more accessible as spending on technology for deskless workers increases. When digital learning is done well, it mimics great teachers by not just showing people how to do their jobs but also challenging them to understand why it’s done that way. It also provides assessments, which is critical in ramping programs. A strong system meets new workers where they are, quickly understanding their current capabilities and tailoring training accordingly. Digital training also supports personalized learning plans, delivering key lessons in short, targeted bursts that can teach whats needed to improve job performance and support career advancement. Too often, training is treated as a one-size-fits-all solution without alignment to the business strategy. AI will bring even more customization to learning, making it more relevant. But to tie it back to business outcomes, companies must use data to track progress and impact and then align it to company goals. Retain Frontline Talent Companies that see real results are those that define success, design training programs that build the skills to get there, and actively measure how training improves operations. Were already seeing this investment mindset emerge in places like private equity-backed roll-ups of skilled trades companies. These firms are building standardized, scalable training systems across dozens of operating companies to drive profitability. In doing so, theyre setting a model that others can follow. Winning the war for frontline talent requires a shift in thinking. Leaders need to ask themselves: Do we treat workforce development like other critical business systems? Can the knowledge gained translate to measurable business outcomes? Do we have a learning and development foundation that is connected to the business? Can our existing training system leverage the power of AI to deliver personalized, engaging training that derives even more value for employees and the company? Those who can answer yes to these questions are creating a system that recruits faster, ramps better, and retains longer, all of which help transform workforce development from a cost center into a competitive advantage. Doug Donovan is CEO and founder of Interplay Learning.
Category:
E-Commerce
White smoke at the Vatican can only signal one thing: A new pope has been elected. But online? A flurry of memes are roasting the traditions of the pope’s Midwestern roots. Just hours after the conclave concluded, electing Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Provost as pontiff (who will now go by the name Pope Leo XIV), users all over social media are taking part in stereotype-laden antics, associating the pope with deep-dish pizza, sports, and, of course, Malört. New Chicago Pope byu/mikraas inchicago The r/Chicago Reddit thread is flooding with papacy-related memes. In one post, an image of a Catholic priest holding the sacramental bread has been edited to turn the wafer into a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. The post’s caption reads: “Coming this Sunday to a Vatican near you.” (Never mind that most Chicagoans prefer thin crust.) the communion wafers are deep dish now— Armand Domalewski (@ArmandDoma) May 8, 2025 Another user made a similar joke on X, saying “the communion wafers are deep dish now.” Da Pope byu/StinkStar inchicago Another X post poked fun at Malört, a self-punishing spirit popular among Chicago bars, saying: “Cannot wait for holy water & wine to be replaced by Malört & Old Style.” AI images that feature the pontiff sporting Chicago Bears merchandise are widely circulating on social media. In one image posted on Reddit, a user commented: “Chicago produced a pope before a 4000 yd. passer.” On TikTok, one user posted a skit pretending to be the new pope. “I just got a call from God, saying that deep-dish pizza is real pizza,” he said. A user commented on the video, saying: “Blessed be the children of God across the entire world, except those who live in Green Bay.” An American Pope from Chicago. God help us all.pic.twitter.com/b8VmtR7O9R— chefkids (@girlflopping) May 8, 2025 Many users on X also likened the pope to the fictional Chicago-native protagonist of The Bear, featuring clips from the TV show. A post featuring Chef Carmy screaming is captioned: “An American Pope from Chicago. God help us all.” the pope from chicago receiving a message from god pic.twitter.com/leYJd6liu9— patrick. (@imPatrickT) May 8, 2025 Another post, referencing stills from the show’s Season 1 finale, was captioned: “the pope from Chicago receiving a message from god.” The message in question? “I love you dude. Let it rip.” As memes continue to flood social media, the internet’s reaction might best be described by one user on X: “Announced to my office (we live in Chicago) about the new pope, and the immediate millennial reaction was, “Oh, the memes are gonna be amazing.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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