DAY 15
PLY By Jeff Shinabarger Founder of Plywood People and author of More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity. @shinabarger
W
e all instinctively can picture plywood. We see it all the time. It’s the material of the first ramp you made for your bike as a kid or maybe even a skateboard if you were adventurous. Every new home being constructed is wrapped in plywood as it is being constructed. In the modern design sense, even Urban Outfitters uses plywood to construct their new product displays.
finished piece. Most plywood is pressed into large, flat sheets used in building construction.1 There is strength in numbers. Three different independent units working together to solve one problem collectively, make a stronger unit. Finding problems is easy. Recruiting others to join you in solving the problem is hard. To solve problems we must attract great people.
We see it put into a window replacing broken glass or maybe in a developing neighborhood to keep out squatters. It’s not trendy (like reclaimed wood that has a story 50 years long). Rather it’s a cheap wood; it lasts for a reasonable amount of time given the investment and solves the problem when it is needed. If you ever see rebuilding quickly after a massive destruction, a coastal city bracing for a forthcoming disaster or the poor communities of your town – plywood is present.
As you start to build your team, consider what the shared ethos of the people will value. What is your culture? If someone does not add to the culture of how you operate, you will hurt your potential of solving problems. At Plywood People, we have a few cultural commitments that our team will always speak through, not around.
Plywood is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. It’s a little different than a band-aid, its longer lasting and it helps defend. It’s a lasting material, yet not the ultimate solution. It is a jump start on a trajectory toward problem solving. There may be a better solution in the end, but it propels progress in a stagnant place of great need. Plywood is made of three or more thin layers of wood bonded together. Each layer of wood, known as ply, is usually oriented with its grain running in stark contrast to the adjacent layer in order to reduce the shrinkage and improve the strength of the 60
1) Plywood People earn the right to be heard. It is clearly known that to gain influence we must not just talk about ideas; rather we show progress and results. This value is communicated through a brand promise, “We will be known by the problems we solve.” The community has been built on the credibility of the people and the commitment they show over a long period of time toward engaging social issues. Many people have great ideas; few make them come to life. As you earn respect, others will call for your opinion and wisdom into their life and projects. 2) Plywood People develop sustainable and innovative solutions to problems. When creating solutions we challenge ourselves to imagine a creation
From Clouds To Concrete
