Your ship’s flag should be community-owned 

Your goal is to build a powerful identity that empowers your customers (aka your community citizens) to take up the flag and carry it with them in their lives. 

Link to Good Flag, Bad Flag compiled by Ted Kaye:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/097477281X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0

Your ship’s flag should be community-owned 

Your goal is to build a powerful identity that empowers your customers (aka your community citizens) to take up the flag and carry it with them in their lives. 

Link to Good Flag, Bad Flag compiled by Ted Kaye:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/097477281X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0

People will wear an identity that puts them in a story; the mission, the values, the fight of the ship. What makes a person show the world their passions? It’s called social signaling; it’s how we show our expertise, our uniqueness, and our passions. 

Social Signaling plays a significant role in driving our conversations. People signal to society their uniqueness, their expertise, and their passions by talking about brands, organizations, products, and movements they uniquely identify with. 

We carry these symbols throughout our lives in the real world and digital world. Today an advocate isn’t going to wear a brand-standards manual on their chest. People will wear an identity that puts them in a story; the mission, the values, the fight of the ship. A wise person once said, “We want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.” 

Think Flag, not Logo

By thinking flag, not logo, we can move beyond just a symbol into a collective community-owned identity. 

Why is it that a flag created by a not-so-famous pirate (Jack Rackham) is still a cultural symbol over 300 years later? It’s the mythology. Thanks to the stories that we hear, that we collect and enrich—we have a common understanding of pirates. The simple symbolism of the skull and bones perfectly symbolize those myths, both real and fictional. 

The skull and bones flag of pirates (the Jolly Roger) wasn’t just a cute mascot. The black flag was a symbol of the nation of people on that ship and a signal to spark fear in those they challenged for plunder. 

Your ship’s flag should be community-owned 

Your goal is to build a powerful identity that empowers your customers (aka your community citizens) to take up the flag and carry it with them in their lives. 

Link to Good Flag, Bad Flag compiled by Ted Kaye:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/097477281X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0

Creating your Code

Becoming a successful pirate ship required a crew’s full effort. Thus, pirates created “pirate social insurance,” wherein proceeds from successful plunder were divided according to the pay scale established in the pirates’ code. Pirates built democratic communities on ships based on codes that ensured mutual benefits to all. Since pirate ships shared their plunder as a crew, their codes ensured full effort by all, no free-riders. Believe it or not, there was “pirate democracy” on pirate ships. In order to cooperate for mutual gainers and advance their criminal organization, pirates needed to prevent their outlaw society from degenerating into bedlam.

A Shared Ship needs a purpose that is shared by all parties. In order for people to join your ship, you need to have an emotional call to action and everyone needs a job to do. We stand for something: together we can change the world. People want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, but they also want a brand/organization to share that same mission, values, problems, and injustices.

Let’s explore your values and beliefs

This exercise is called Values Explorer and provides individuals and groups with the opportunity to develop clarity about values, both personal and professional. These act as motivators for achieving success at an individual or organizational level.

Why identify and establish your values?

Your values are made up of everything that has happened to you in your life, including influences from your parents and family, religious affiliation, friends and peers, education, and more. Successful people recognize these environmental influences, identifying and developing a clear, concise, and meaningful set of values, beliefs, and priorities. Once defined, values impact every aspect of our lives.

How can you use the Values Explorer?

Individual or Organizational: Sort the Values Explorer list into two topic areas: Always Valued and Never Valued. Using the 40 values below, sort the appropriate values for each topic area. Prioritize your top five Always Valued words from the least to most important. What values(s) are non-negotiable? Refer to the Never Valued topic areas. What is it about those values that you never consider and why?

The Values List

Collaboration

Affluence

Help Others

Authority

Community

Love

Adventure

Competition

Autonomy

Family

Courage

Justice

Fame

Knowledge

Influence

Happiness

Freedom

Compassion

Change

Integrity

Responsibility

Competence

Recognition

Achievement

Wisdom

Economic Security

Activity

Enjoyment

Reflection

Advancement

Loyalty

Balance

Order

Self-Respect

Challenge

Friendship

Personal Development

Spirituality

Creativity

Physical Fitness

Pirates For Good

Pirates Field Guide

The Fight

Pirates. Yes, those rapscallions of the seas. Those villains who stood together to fight the injustices of the day: oppression, poverty, equal pay, health, prejudice, slavery. In the spirit of pirates, we need to find the courage to walk the plank of the unknown. Walk in the footsteps of your employees and advocates, examine your values and beliefs, and find what mutually benefits us all. 

You don’t need a two-day offsite event to determine your purpose. Ask yourself one simple question: at the end of the day, what difference are we trying to make in the world? Don’t filter any of the responses. Instead, simply jot down whatever comes to mind. After doing so, toss out any responses that say your company’s purpose is making money, as most successful Pirates have a purpose that extends way beyond the mighty dollar.

So, what’s your Fight? (Your Inspired Purpose)

Welcome Aboard!
 Let’s Get this Ship Sailing! Hello, I’m Geno Church your host on the Shared Ship.

You may know me from a few things. I’ve co-authored a couple of business books, maybe you’ve heard me speak. You might be part of my family or a friend. Or you could be here because. You saw or heard 
something about PIRATES and thought what’s that about? I can’t blame you!

I started working on this podcast over two years ago. After eighty plus takes - I thought I had that first episode. Then this happened. Our world has turned upside down! We’re all living and coping in the midst of a pandemic.

I recently did a webinar for Amplifique and the good people of Brazil. I struggled to prepare for the webinar - what’s going around the world challenged me. And I questioned what if any value am I providing to those watching. I asked myself "what can I do to help people right now?”

This is Captain’s Journal Entry One Welcome to The Shared Ship

You would think feeling like crap, 
being unhappy — would tell ya something. 
Well — I was really comfortable with denial!  And I was afraid to know the truth. 

I’d been running from a looming health crisis for about a year. Every day was a journey!  That safe little world of denial I created. Came tumbling down at a speaking gig at Walt Disney World. 
Next thing I know I’m sitting on a bench at Disney Studios with an attendee at the conference. I spilled my guts. In return — 
I got some much needed tough-love advice. Go to the doctor. When my doctor told me I was a diabetic, 
it was like waiting for molasses to drip. 


I’ve spent most of my adult life believing I’m an empathetic person. 
I’ve worked on a lot of social causes; 
child abuse, literacy, addiction, teen pregnancy, teen tobacco prevention, fighting sex trafficking, 
minority community empowerment. Give me a badge, right? The truth is it doesn’t work that way. Just putting in the work doesn’t grant you an empathy badge. All that work — 
gave me an excuse to not put in the real work on myself. I used my work to make myself feel good. 
I let my work shift who I was.