You need only look at the numbers to see Springfield is doing a lot of things right.
Let’s start with job creation. During the past four years, the workforce in the Springfield metropolitan area has grown by more than 8.5 percent, according to a August 2013 Forbes magazine report. And the manufacturing sector has posted 13 percent job growth since the low point of the recession, according to the Springfield Business Development Corp.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor reports Springfield unemployment stands at 6.1 percent, just below the national average. What’s more, economic output has doubled in the last decade, making Springfield one of the 50 fastest growing economies in the United States, according to the SBDC.
The question is, why? What is so special about Springfield that is driving this economic success? I have given these questions considerable thought since moving here from Wichita, Kan., a year ago to take the helm at Commerce Bank.
Banking is one of the few professions that touches, literally, all facets of a community and all sectors of its economy. Because banks touch so many lives, bankers have an opportunity to see how the many parts of the community fit together and what makes them tick. Bankers also have the privilege of being a catalyst for change, whether by providing financing for an expansion that will bring additional jobs to the region, or by bringing together leaders to address a community challenge.
I’ve spent this past year getting to know the Springfield community. And I think I figured out its secret. What makes Springfield successful is not just one big thing. It’s a combination of little things, many of which are intangible and, therefore, not easily measured in national rankings and polls. I’ll mention just three.
1. We know the value of a dollar. Manufacturers throughout the world invest millions of dollars on lean manufacturing – production practices that concentrate on reducing waste. In Springfield, that way of thinking seems to be a way of life.
Last August, Forbes magazine ranked Springfield eighth on its list of cities with the lowest cost of doing business. Our cost of living also is low, consistently hovering 10 percent or more below the national average. Other rankings have named our community the least expensive place to live in Missouri and one of the top 25 cities in the country in which to buy a new home.
All this is especially attractive to small businesses, which may be one reason why, according to the SBDC, 95 percent of the businesses in our region have 50 or fewer employees.
2. We are willing to work hard. Springfield is filled with self-made men and women who don’t mind getting their hands dirty. The businesspeople I’ve met understand that to make it in business, you’ve got to hustle and cling to old-fashioned business values. Quite often, this means working your fingers to the bone.
People here also are resilient. They hold on, understanding that overnight success is rare.
3. We feel a sense of responsibility to one another. In a big city, it’s easy to be anonymous. In Springfield, it feels like there is rarely more than two degrees of separation between one person and another. We have many business owners who, at the end of the day, realize they are responsible for helping their employees put food on their families’ tables.
Their employees know it, too, and are willing to put in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. Businesses built on those kinds of employer-employee relationships are central to a community’s success.
Doug Neff is Springfield Region Chairman and CEO of Commerce Bank. He can be reached at Doug.Neff@CommerceBank.com.
