Shapers

Shapers Plot Summary

Introduction

Manny rises with the sun, his surfboard shaper's studio already aglow with golden light streaming through the windows. His weathered hands trace the contours of a half-finished surfboard as he contemplates the day ahead. This morning, like most mornings, he'll spend hours meticulously crafting custom boards that carry his signature touch - a perfect blend of artistry and function. But Manny isn't just shaping surfboards; he's shaping his life through meaningful work that aligns with his deepest values. In a world where most people endure rather than enjoy their work, Manny represents something rare and valuable - someone who has deliberately crafted a working life that brings him alive. This is what it means to be a shaper: someone who refuses to accept conventional boundaries and instead actively designs their relationship with work. Throughout these pages, we'll explore how people across industries and lifestyles are redefining what work means, finding purpose amid uncertainty, and creating more fulfilling careers. As our traditional structures crumble and new possibilities emerge, we stand at a watershed moment with an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine work as a source of meaning rather than merely income - and to shape our lives accordingly.

Chapter 1: The Search for Meaning in Modern Work

In a large meeting room in downtown Chicago, Emma stares blankly at the PowerPoint presentation. As a mid-level marketing executive at a Fortune 500 company, she's achieved what many would consider success - a six-figure salary, impressive title, and enviable benefits package. Yet as she glances around at her colleagues, all dutifully taking notes about the latest corporate initiative, she feels nothing but emptiness. That evening, she finds herself searching online for "how to find meaning in your career" - joining millions of others asking the same question. Emma's crisis reflects a much broader phenomenon. Despite our unprecedented material prosperity, surveys consistently show that up to 85% of people worldwide feel disengaged from their work. The statistics are staggering: the majority of employees are either actively disengaged or merely going through the motions. This disconnection costs economies billions in lost productivity and takes an enormous personal toll on individuals who spend most of their waking hours doing work that feels pointless. The search for meaning isn't new, but its centrality to modern work life is unprecedented. Historically, work was primarily about survival - you toiled to put food on the table, not to fulfill existential needs. As religious frameworks have weakened in Western societies, work has increasingly become the domain where people seek purpose and identity. In one major international study of meaningful activities, work ranked second only to family, mentioned in 44% of responses about where people find life's meaning. This evolution has created a fascinating paradox. While we have more freedom to choose our work than any previous generation, we also face greater pressure to make the "right" choice - one that not only pays the bills but also provides a sense of purpose and identity. The burden on the self has never been heavier. For shapers, however, this burden becomes an opportunity. They understand that meaning isn't something found in a job description but created through deliberate choices and connections. Instead of asking "What job will make me happy?" they ask "How can I shape my relationship with work to align with my values and strengths?" This subtle shift in perspective opens up possibilities that remain invisible to those trapped in conventional thinking about careers.

Chapter 2: Breaking Free from Traditional Employment Models

When Ted reached his breaking point at the consulting firm, it wasn't because he disliked the work itself. What crushed his spirit was the rigid system - the fluorescent-lit cubicle farm, the arbitrary 9-to-5 schedule that ignored his natural productivity rhythms, and the mandatory face time regardless of what needed accomplishing. After submitting his resignation, he didn't jump to another corporate position. Instead, he assembled a portfolio of freelance projects, teaching engagements, and a small online business. His income initially dropped, but something else happened: his energy, creativity, and sense of agency soared. "It's not about working less," Ted explains to skeptical friends who assume he's simply escaping responsibility. "Some weeks I work more hours than I did at the firm. The difference is that I'm working in alignment with my natural rhythms and values. I choose when and where I work, which projects to take on, and how to structure my days. That freedom makes all the difference." Ted represents the vanguard of a massive shift in how people relate to employment. Traditional employment relationships - characterized by fixed hours, single employers, and decades-long tenures - are rapidly giving way to more fluid arrangements. Nearly half of the American professional workforce now consists of independent workers, and the numbers continue to grow. What was once called the "gig economy" has evolved into something more profound: a fundamental reimagining of the relationship between individuals and organizations. This shift brings both liberation and challenges. The freedom to design one's work life comes with the responsibility of navigating uncertainty, managing multiple relationships, and creating structure without external frameworks. Many people flounder in this new landscape, overwhelmed by possibilities and insecurities. Shapers, however, see these conditions as perfect for crafting work lives that reflect their unique gifts and aspirations. They don't simply react to market conditions or follow prescribed paths. Instead, they actively experiment, combining elements from different domains and creating hybrid careers that didn't exist a decade ago. The podcast producer who also teaches meditation, the engineer who consults part-time while developing eco-friendly products, the corporate executive who structures their role to accommodate deep creative work - all are examples of people breaking free from traditional models. The key insight isn't just that employment models are changing, but that this change creates an opening for a more personalized and meaningful relationship with work - if we're brave enough to seize it.

Chapter 3: Building a Culture of Fluid and Adaptive Teams

The production studio buzzed with energy as the team approached their deadline. Artists, engineers, and marketers moved seamlessly between workstations, conversations flowing organically as problems arose and solutions emerged. An observer might have struggled to identify who was "in charge" - leadership seemed to shift fluidly depending on the task at hand. When a technical challenge emerged, an engineer naturally stepped forward to guide the team; when creative decisions needed making, a designer took the lead. Most remarkably, several team members weren't even employees of the company but independent professionals brought in specifically for this project. This scene from Pixar Studios exemplifies what organizational theorist Amy Edmondson calls "teaming" - the dynamic practice of forming, dissolving, and reforming groups based on specific challenges rather than fixed organizational charts. "More and more people in nearly every industry are now working on multiple teams that vary in duration, have constantly shifting membership, and pursue moving targets," Edmondson explains. This fluidity isn't accidental but essential for tackling the complex, interdependent challenges of modern work. Organizations at the forefront of this shift are discovering that fluid teams unlock extraordinary potential. When Dutch healthcare provider Buurtzorg reorganized its 10,000 nurses into self-managing teams of 10-12 people, the results were remarkable: patient satisfaction soared, costs dropped by 40%, and emergency hospital visits decreased by 30%. The nurses, freed from rigid hierarchies and empowered to make decisions, developed innovative approaches to patient care that bureaucratic structures would have stifled. Similar principles apply in technology companies like Spotify, which organizes its workforce into "squads," "tribes," and "guilds" that can rapidly reconfigure as needs change. Fashion retailer ZARA achieves its legendary responsiveness by giving store employees the authority to communicate customer feedback directly to designers, who can then adjust production within weeks rather than seasons. These fluid structures aren't just more efficient - they're more human. They recognize that creativity and innovation emerge from genuine collaboration rather than top-down directives. They create space for individuals to contribute their unique perspectives and skills while remaining aligned with collective purposes. And they acknowledge that different challenges require different configurations of talent and leadership. For individuals navigating this landscape, success requires developing what might be called "teaming intelligence" - the ability to quickly build trust, adapt to different group dynamics, contribute effectively without formal authority, and move between contexts with agility. Rather than defining themselves by position or title, shapers develop reputations based on the quality of their contributions and collaborations, building social capital that transcends organizational boundaries.

Chapter 4: The Five Principles of Shapers: Learning and Feeling

Maya sits in a coffee shop, deep in conversation with a mentor she met through an industry group. "I feel stuck," she confesses. "I'm good at my job, but something's missing." The mentor nods thoughtfully and asks, "When was the last time you learned something completely new? Something that made you feel like a beginner again?" Maya falls silent, realizing it's been years. The next week, she enrolls in a data science course completely unrelated to her field in marketing. Within months, she's not only applying these new skills in unexpected ways but experiencing a renewed sense of curiosity and engagement in all aspects of her work. Maya's transformation illustrates two fundamental principles that drive shapers: learning and feeling. While conventional career advice often focuses on achievement and advancement, shapers understand that continuous learning and emotional engagement are the true foundations of meaningful work. Rather than pursuing credentials or promotions for their own sake, they deliberately seek experiences that stretch their capabilities and connect with their authentic emotions. At Google's X (their "moonshot factory"), this principle is institutionalized through practices that actively reward learning through failure. Teams celebrate when experiments don't work because each failure generates invaluable insights. This approach stands in stark contrast to traditional organizations where failure is stigmatized and avoided at all costs. The paradoxical result is that by embracing failure as learning, X has produced remarkable innovations that more cautious approaches could never achieve. The feeling dimension of work is equally crucial. For decades, conventional wisdom held that emotions should be checked at the office door - that professionalism meant maintaining a neutral demeanor regardless of what you actually felt. Shapers reject this artificial separation between professional and emotional selves. They recognize that genuine engagement requires bringing your whole self to work - your passions, fears, hopes, and doubts. This integration doesn't mean indulging every emotional impulse but rather developing what emotional intelligence experts call "emotional agility" - the ability to experience feelings fully while responding thoughtfully rather than reactively. When Erica Avey realized after six months of experimental microdosing with LSD that her corporate job was draining her spirit, she didn't impulsively quit. Instead, she used this emotional clarity to carefully plan a transition to work better aligned with her values. Learning and feeling operate as a powerful feedback loop for shapers. Emotional engagement motivates learning, while learning creates new emotional connections to work. Together, they create a virtuous cycle of growth and meaning that conventional approaches to career development simply can't match. By continually expanding their capabilities while staying connected to their authentic emotions, shapers maintain a sense of forward momentum and purpose even as specific roles or projects change.

Chapter 5: Leading with Purpose in the Future of Work

When Patty McCord joined Netflix as Chief Talent Officer, she faced a daunting challenge. The company was pioneering a business model with no precedent, requiring extraordinary adaptability from every team member. Traditional management approaches - detailed job descriptions, annual performance reviews, and complex approval processes - would only slow them down. Instead of tweaking the existing system, McCord and CEO Reed Hastings decided to reinvent it entirely. The result was a radical approach to leadership captured in the famous "Netflix Culture Deck" that has influenced organizations worldwide. Its central premise was treating employees as responsible adults rather than resources to be managed. They eliminated vacation policies, expense report systems, and formal reviews. Instead, they focused relentlessly on hiring exceptional people, communicating context clearly, and then giving teams the freedom to solve problems as they saw fit. When asked about this approach, McCord explained: "The best thing you can do for employees is hire only high performers to work alongside them." This shift from controlling to enabling represents the heart of purposeful leadership in the future of work. Unlike traditional command-and-control models, purpose-driven leaders focus on creating conditions where people can do their best work rather than dictating how that work should be done. They understand that their primary role isn't to direct but to provide clarity, remove obstacles, and build cultures of trust. At Microsoft, CEO Satya Nadella transformed the company's declining fortunes by shifting from a "know-it-all" to a "learn-it-all" culture, personally modeling curiosity and growth mindset. His leadership philosophy emphasizes empathy and purpose over positional authority, creating psychological safety for teams to experiment and innovate. The results speak for themselves - Microsoft's market value has increased by over $1 trillion since Nadella took the helm. Purpose-driven leadership operates through five distinct modes, each valuable in different contexts: Teachers who provide clear direction and support; Learners who model curiosity and adaptation; Mobilizers who align teams around shared goals; Givers who put others' success first; and Coaches who help people solve their own problems. Rather than relying on a single style, effective leaders move fluidly between these modes depending on what their teams need. This approach to leadership isn't just more humane - it's more effective in today's complex, fast-changing environment. When work requires creativity, problem-solving, and adaptation rather than routine execution, intrinsic motivation becomes essential. Purpose-driven leaders tap into this motivation by connecting daily work to meaningful outcomes, creating autonomy within clear boundaries, and fostering genuine community among team members. The shift isn't easy, particularly for those trained in traditional management methods. It requires vulnerability, patience, and a willingness to share both power and credit. But for those willing to embrace this new paradigm, the rewards are substantial: more engaged teams, greater innovation, and the profound satisfaction of helping others achieve their potential.

Chapter 6: Embracing Technology While Preserving Humanity

In a sleek office overlooking San Francisco Bay, a team of designers and engineers gathers around a prototype of their latest product - an AI assistant designed to help people manage their digital lives. "This feature will save users three hours a week," explains one engineer proudly. An older designer listens carefully before asking: "But what will people do with those three hours? Will this actually improve their lives or just create space for more digital consumption?" The question hangs in the air, challenging the team to think more deeply about technology's purpose. This scene captures the central tension facing shapers in a technological age: how to harness technology's extraordinary power while ensuring it serves human flourishing rather than diminishing it. The challenge isn't simply technical but philosophical - requiring us to continually ask not just "Can we build this?" but "Should we build this? And if so, how can we design it to enhance rather than replace human capabilities?" The debate around automation exemplifies these questions. Predictions about robots taking jobs have persisted for decades, yet the reality has proven more nuanced. While some tasks are indeed automated, new roles emerge that require distinctly human capabilities - creativity, empathy, ethical judgment, and contextual understanding. As one AI researcher puts it: "The goal isn't to race against the machines but to race with them, combining human and machine intelligence in ways that enhance both." Forward-thinking organizations are discovering that the most powerful applications of technology don't replace humans but augment them. At Mayo Clinic, AI systems help radiologists identify patterns in medical images that might escape human notice, while the radiologists provide the contextual understanding and ethical judgment that machines lack. The result is better diagnosis than either humans or machines could achieve alone. Similarly, while remote work technologies have enabled unprecedented flexibility, they've also revealed the irreplaceable value of human connection. Companies that initially embraced fully remote models are increasingly adopting hybrid approaches that combine digital collaboration with intentional in-person gatherings. They recognize that while technology can transmit information efficiently, the trust, creativity, and serendipitous discovery that emerge from physical presence remain essential. This balanced approach extends to personal technology use as well. Shapers develop what technologist Alex Soojung-Kim Pang calls "contemplative computing" - mindful practices for using digital tools without being dominated by them. They create boundaries around technology use, schedule digital sabbaticals, and design their physical and digital environments to support focused attention rather than constant distraction. The technological revolution brings both unprecedented opportunities and challenges. By approaching these changes with intention rather than passive acceptance, shapers help create a future where technology serves human needs rather than subordinating them to algorithmic imperatives. They recognize that the most important designs aren't just of our technologies but of the systems and practices through which we integrate them into our lives and work.

Summary

Throughout these explorations of modern work, a consistent pattern emerges: meaningful careers don't happen by accident but through deliberate shaping. The individuals who thrive in today's complex landscape aren't those with the most impressive credentials or the most carefully plotted career paths. They're the ones who approach work as an ongoing creative practice - continuously learning, adapting, and aligning their activities with their deepest values. They navigate uncertainty not by clinging to outdated security but by developing the resilience and agility to evolve with changing conditions. The invitation of the shaper's path is both liberating and demanding. It asks us to take responsibility for designing our relationship with work rather than accepting default arrangements. It challenges us to integrate rather than segment different aspects of ourselves, bringing our full humanity to our professional lives. And it requires us to engage with complex questions about technology, organization, and purpose that have no simple answers. Yet for those willing to embrace these challenges, the rewards are extraordinary: work that energizes rather than depletes, contributions that matter, and the profound satisfaction of shaping a life that reflects your unique gifts and aspirations. In a world where traditional structures continue to dissolve, becoming a shaper isn't just a path to professional success - it's an essential practice for creating meaning in an age of transformation.

About Author

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Jonas Altman

Jonas Altman is a speaker, writer, and entrepreneur on a mission to make the world of work more human. As the founder of award-winning design practice Social Fabric, he creates learning experiences to elevate and grow leaders at the world's boldest organizations.He is part of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship faculty at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business. Altman coaches leaders on culture change, speaks regularly at conferences about the future of work, and travels the globe learning about the changing nature of work. His chronicles have appeared in The Guardian, Quartz, The Telegraph, and The Sunday Times.For leisure, he enjoys riding waves.

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