6 minute read
Ply by Jeff Shinabarger
DAY 15 PLY
By Jeff Shinabarger
Advertisement
Founder of Plywood People and author of More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity.
@shinabarger
We 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
that is changing industry five years from now and disrupting the current culture. We strive to create innovations for the world’s most pressing problems, understanding that it takes forethought, planning and creative execution. We value a return on investment and are committed to showing that solutions can be built in new ways that can be self-sufficient over an extended period of time.
3) Plywood People generously share knowledge, connections and resources to address social needs. We understand that relationships have been given to us, and one of the greatest values is to curate the connections of others. We try to make connections that will enhance ideas in meaningful ways without any personal gain. Generosity is rooted in a lifestyle and we hope to exemplify this with our team that it may be replicated throughout the community.
4) Plywood People create and introduce experiences that make others dream in remarkably new ways. In a digital age, we believe that in-person events create opportunity for transformation and connection. We gather people in all different locations and sizes, with the hope of creating an experience that cause others to say wow, and influences the way they live going forward. We value art, content and ambiance for the purpose of connection and learning.
5) Plywood People are doers of unthinkable action. If we have all the greatest ideas in the world and they never come to life, we have failed the reason for ideas. Purpose becomes practi-
cal when ideas come to life. We lean toward action and implementation.
The culture you are creating may be in stark contrast to our ethos, and that is ok. But, you need to de-
termine what you value, otherwise others values
will determine your culture. As you attract other people, it is important to understand the way you desire to operate and bring people around you that have an agreeable posture. Once you understand the ethos you are committed in making with your team, consider the team that you need to make a significant innovation come to life. As we are engaging in problem solving, there are three key people groups that are essential in launching a social innovation: cultural creatives, innovative business influencers, and social activists.
THE PROBLEM SOLVING TRIUNE
1) Cultural creatives – This team will tell the stories of what you are doing. They are the writers, artists, designers, filmmakers, programmers, and all other creative individuals who craft the message of your innovation in such a unique way that others will be informed, and moved to action. Your quality and imagination of this team of storytellers will determine how far your message will be shared. The greater the creativity, the more viral and attractive the solution will be to others. This may only be a face value of what you are doing, but in an age of design and social media – it is a given that your storyline will be done at the highest level of creativity. The challenge with this community will usually have something to do with budget limitations and completion dates. As an entrepreneur it is very important to not limit creativity, but make this team conscious of the reality of resources. Give the needed time to create, with a deadline that is reasonable.
2) Innovative business leaders – This team will focus on business structure, scaling the idea, sustainable models, sales and marketing strategy, and funding opportunities. I work with many creative and entrepreneurial people with great ideas, but they need these leaders around them to make their ideas happen over a long period of time. Without the business leaders, the scope will be limited, the timeline will be short and the strategy will be weak. Lean into business leaders to make your idea better than you ever concepted. They will get the idea on paper in a way that makes sense to others. They take ideas and make them real.
3) Social activists – This is the heart of problem solving. Understanding a statistic is hollow to these people; they know problems by name. They have relationships directly with the people who are most hurting. Without these leaders, the solutions are simply logistics. The activists give meaning to the ideas; they think through the lens of the suffering and create solutions in dignified ways. Putting names and faces to problems make the solutions about human touch and care for individuals.
Often times entrepreneurs are great at one of these dimensions, but rarely more than one. It is important to draw teams together that look at solutions from all these perspectives.
