‘Have fun or don’t come to work’
Social entrepreneurship according to Brian Smith
I met Brian Smith about 15 years ago at a Youth & Sustainability conference in Whistler, British Columbia. I presented a ‘Songwriting for Sustainability’ workshop with a colleague from the company I was working for at the time — Sea to Sky Outdoor School for Sustainability Education. Brian led a workshop on cooperatives as a model for youth engagement in business, on behalf of the BC Cooperatives Association.
We chatted over lunch and I was immediately drawn to his energy and intelligence. A few ‘sustainability nerd’ friends of mine were into cooperatives as an alternative business model, and had formed one in order to buy land and create a small-scale agricultural community. Brian opened my mind to his inside-yet-outside-the-box and business-centric approach to sustainability. His was a vision completely different from my own slant within the radical education for sustainability world.
We met again a few years later at a parent-tot drop in, surprised to find we had both moved to the same small community and had kids of similar ages. Over the next few years we established ourselves as acquaintances with mutual interests, continuing to run into each other around town. Not long after that a much-needed amenity opened its doors on the Sunshine Coast: Persephone Brewing Company was a beer company on a mission to improve the social and ecological fabric of the neighbourhood, and Brian Smith was behind it.
Along with enjoying the beer that came out of Brian’s hard work, our relationship deepened as his children entered my school and then my classroom. As a parent in our alternative program (NEST), Brian has been enormously supportive as we invent and reinvent learning through nature’s lens. Through Persephone’s ‘Kids in Agriculture’ grants, Brian has invested in the development of initiatives on our campus such as our Greenhouse Project.
I asked Brian a few questions about his life and work in social entrepreneurship in order to get a sense of what drives him, how he approaches challenges and where his impacts have been felt. As I study entrepreneurship in education, I want to learn what I can from this friend and community leader and see what I might apply to my work as a classroom teacher. What kind of social enterprise might my students be able to create as a part of their school work? How can we use the resources at our disposal to make positive contributions to the well-being of ourselves, our community, and the local and global environment?
I have come to understand that Brian’s motivation for his work runs deep. It is a part of who he is, instilled in him from early in life. His commitment to justice hasn’t wavered and his well of creativity hasn’t run dry. He works on complex problems on a variety of levels, consciously analyzing phenomena intellectually in order to understand more deeply, find access points for solving problems, and provide himself with an alternative to the emotional center of an issue. In our interview he references ‘Panarchy theory’, which looks at stability and change within and among complex economic, social and ecological systems.
Brian observes, reflects, creates, celebrates and starts again. He supports and inspires people around him and has made a positive and measurable impact on the problems he approaches. Based on his internal development cycle that follows a ‘learn, reflect, experiment, build, learn’ format, I am beginning to envision long-term student projects whereby teams of learners become entrepreneurs; researching, developing, prototyping, enacting and then reflecting upon the economic, social and ecological impacts of their products.
In my classroom, fun is never far from the fore. I believe students need to find belonging, passion and joy in their work as learners, and I know that when they enjoy themselves and feel respected everything works better. Brian supports this vision. One of the standout company principles at Persephone Brewing Company is “Have fun or don’t come to work … is not a joke. We believe that the well-being of people depends on their job satisfaction and that THEY must share in the responsibility for that outcome.” Sage advice from a beer guy.
Please see the full interview below:
January 28, 2020
- What motivated you to work as a social entrepreneur?
A sense of justice started bubbling up in me around the end of high school. My parents instilled a strong set of values from very early but my drive for justice arrived around grade 12. I think of my primary motivation as intrinsic (vs others whom are motivated by extrinsic factors). I’m not motivated by money or pressure from people with greater power than myself or even much by recognition. The central motivation that gets me out of bed and compels me is to see justice in the world. Economic and Social Justice have been at the top of the list but environmental and cultural are close behind. It’s unacceptable to me that some people have exorbitant and excessive wealth while millions more are entrenched in poverty. So, for the most part, I see my life work as an iterative development process to uncover the most effective ways to make a contribution to ensuring justice for all.
Academically and practically, I’m a problem solver by nature (this is both a strength and a shortcoming, I’m sure). So I’ve typically come at justice issues including income disparity, social inclusion, and otherwise as problems to solve. Whether I’ve been trying to drive innovation in the public or non-profit sector or creating new business models it’s always with the question, ‘how can we do this better?’ In the back of my mind. Admittedly, once I have an idea fully baked and the implementation in place, I often get bored and start thinking about how it’s not good enough and so there must be ‘a better way we can do this.’ That sees my attention pivot to start working on the next level or next problem to try to solve — I have suffered from entrepreneurial itchy feet three or four times throughout my adulthood. And yet, in spite of having started quite a few social enterprises and instigated several problems being solved, much of the world, in my view, remains deeply unjust. So, I get out of bed again to see if there is something else I could be doing to solve that problem.
- What personal or professional barriers have you had to overcome and how did you accomplish this?
As corny as this is going to read, “barriers” are more a state of mind than actual impediments. I didn’t come from wealth, I’m not particularly intelligent nor charismatic and I’m completely tone deaf — or so my kids tell me every time I sing to them — among many shortcomings I possess. So, like everyone I have had to overcome some adversity from time to time and have had to learn to be creative and resilient in order to take on bigger and bigger problems and make bigger and bigger contributions. And yet, I’m also critically aware of my privilege that comes with being white and Canadian and male and having access to advanced schooling and people whom also have profound privileges. Adversity or barriers I face, pale in comparison to the privilege I fell into.
I’ve been accused of being unmitigatingly optimistic so let me get a bit more corny… I have a genuine appreciation for the barriers or challenges that have been put in front of me. Whether it was a lack of financial resources or challenging relationships or deaths of people near me or terrifying experiences they have all made me stronger and more effective and, hopefully, more useful.
As an example, when I worked in the downtown east side of Vancouver in the affordable/non-profit housing sector I discovered a man in one of our SRO hotels that had hung himself. It wasn’t the first time I’d found or seen a dead body but it was the first time I found someone that I knew well and someone for whom I was, at least in part, responsible for their well-being — and he’d killed himself. Needless to say this experience hit me hard and yet, after a grieving period, that experience fuelled my drive for justice. While I don’t want to disrespect him and the circumstances that led to his choices, that experience, which prospectively was an emotional, personal and professional barrier manifest in some of my best work and most creative ideas in the field of social purpose real estate and housing finance. Adversity, barriers, challenges have time and again been springboards as opposed to things to simply overcome.
To answer the latter part of the question with a straight forward answer (i.e. how to overcome)… I rely on three main “coping mechanisms.” Exercise, nature and close relationships. Some combination of these three things will get me through/over/around just about anything.
- What do you recommend for people interested in fostering creativity, innovation, or entrepreneurship where they work?
This cycle of development: Learn-reflect-experiment-build-learn…. This is my internal developmental cycle. I’m not sure it is right for everyone, but for me:
learning new things inspires ideas that are outside the norm;
reflecting helps situate ideas and self in the context of our world, society, community;
experimenting is the only way to test whether new ideas have merit — notably experimentation devoid of risk is only going to affirm what you already think;
building (including both the physical and non-physical and should especially include building relationships) is the contribution we make to a better world;
And, then we learn again/more or at least we should because we’ve made mistakes and there is no greater teacher.
- Do you see your work contributing to social, economic, cultural, or ecological realms? How and in what ways?
Yes. I think it is critical we stop pretending that these realms are distinct — as if we can contribute to the economic and not impact the environmental, etc. Everything I work on attempts to be conscious of the interconnectedness of systems and that, ultimately, our world is comprised of systems of systems.
I’m a big fan of Panarchy Theory and the notion of complex adaptive systems, interconnectedness of levels, resilience and scales and the applicability of this conceptual framework in all of the realms listed above and more. Thinking about systems (e.g. micro systems, our bodies or systems thereof, organizational units, communities, even societies, etc.) as going through stages including a generation, growth, creative destruction and reorientation is appealing to me for a few reasons not the least of which is the resonance with the world I observe. However, I also find it appealing in its distancing from emotion-based or opinion-based value judgements that too often influence our decisions.
The social enterprises I have instigated are grounded in progressive world views, values and approaches that are at least cognizant of the interconnectedness of these systems and the importance of each. With that grounding, we try to make things better. Below I’ve copied the Company Principles of Persephone, which, while intentionally concise, hopefully reflect our collective desire to learn about and build a company that contributes to a healthier world.
Our Products and Service
We are serious about the quality of our beer, the craft of brewing it, and the ingredients that comprise it. We grow locally what we can and support neighboring communities and other B Corporations to supply the rest.
Continually innovate for quality, efficiency, product and service improvements. We are a learning company, which means we have comfort with both ambiguity and stability in our operations.
Surpass our communities’ expectations by serving the highest quality products, providing an extraordinary experience and including them as if they are owners of our company — many of them are!
Achieve profits that, in turn, further the goals of the company, employees and shareholders.
Building Healthy Communities and Culture
Balance the myriad of needs, especially health and well-being, of the company, staff and their families. Jobsite safety, adequate income, sufficient time off and access to nutrition are critical elements of our culture.
Promote healthy beer culture and the responsible enjoyment of beer.
We acknowledge the inherent value in diversity, even when it is uncomfortable. So, we do the work to build trust with each other and, in doing so, commit to caring relationships and kind yet honest communications.
Have fun or don’t come to work … is not a joke. We believe that the well-being of people depends on their job satisfaction and that THEY must share in the responsibility for that outcome.
Lead by Example
Our land ethics include farming in an ecologically responsible way that adds value to our local food system and economy, for generations to come.
Provide a model of how business can be used as a force for good. We are committed to the B Corp certification to both track our improvements and articulate our impact.
Partner with other social ventures to advance our collective goal of responsible business, healthy community and a sustainable world.”
And, here’s the purpose of Rhiza Capital
“Rhiza Capital is a financial intermediary acting in direct response to the challenge of financing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We build Positive Impact (PI) financial products, programs and partnerships that localize the SDGs and connect community to opportunity. Rhiza supports the adoption of a positive impact approach, so Canadians can step up their positive impact on the economy, society and the environment, and actively participate in bridging the financing gap for sustainable development.”
