What Do You Do?

The first question people ask, at least in the west, when meeting you tends to be, “What do you do?” While that may say a lot about who we are as a society, that’s not the topic of this post. Rather, it’s how hard that question is to answer!

People want the quick, thirty-second elevator pitch and I struggle with that.  It almost always comes out as something along the lines of that most despised phrase, “It depends.”  But it is the truth.  When working with partners in the US who are trying to solve the issues of aging farmer demographics, then it may look like being a part of new farmer and rancher outreach and development programs.  Or it may look like connecting a tech expert in Slovakia with people in Burundi to build a PC in that country for the first time.  Or it may be teaching at a pastor training center in Nicaragua.  Or developing collaborations among universities around agriculture and health care.  It depends.

A friend of mine, and board member, called me something that I had never considered that has brought clarity.  He called me a connector.  I’ve always thought of myself more as a strategic problem solver.  But I think he’s right because problems are most often solved by connecting those in need with those who have solutions.

So, what do we do at Tapestry International?  We connect those in need with those willing to serve in strategic partnerships to meet those needs.  Like a techie in Slovakia with a tech-poor country.  Or a USDA program with churches who have available space for demonstration urban farms.  Or universities seeking to expand their capacity to meet severe and substantial problems with a university working to provide those solutions.

While still “it depends” it is also all the same.  Connecting those in need with those willing to serve.