As the Founder and CEO of a successful national consulting firm Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners, you might be wondering, why start an adjacent firm, why does the world need Play Above Partners?
Play Above is a brand that comes from one of my favorite Miles Davis quotes, where he says, “Play what you know, and then Play Above that.” For those who know me well, Miles (and other jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, Kahil El Zabar, Charles Mingus, Andrew Cyrille) are huge inspirations to me. My teenage daughter recently gave up her drum set for guitar, and while I have enjoyed learning how to play jazz drums by ear, my artistic expression is through my consulting work, I am no musician, but I AM an artist. What I have always admired about Miles is his constant evolution, his bold strength to consistently search and reinvest and innovate, and to not stand still but evolve his art as he learns and evolves his creative spirit. Through Miles’ inspiration, I strive to be the same.
Having been in real estate development and economic and community development for the last 24-years, Steadfast City was started to proactively bring together multiple disciplines interested in community betterment but not connected together (government, civic, social, urban planning, real estate, social, philanthropy) into a new interstitial model of economic development. Through its own avante-garde jazz style or Ellington orchestra-like approach, Steadfast brings together new sounds from segmented fields and separate ways of doing things – to maximize and elevate both social and economic impact, to lift both real estate AND human development, at the same time, in a coordinated and multidisciplinary problem solving fashion.
Play Above is the next iteration of Steadfast. Just as Miles would not have been able to create the fusion of jazz and guitar rock with his 1970 record Bitches Brew without having first gone through and recorded Miles Ahead (1957) and Kind of Blue (1959) and later, In A Silent Way (1969), Play Above would not be possible without Steadfast City.
Play Above solves a problem that Steadfast City cannot – that sometimes in public private partnerships involving real estate development and community and economic development, conflicts occur that can only be resolved by someone other than the representative of the developer or the City or community. Sometimes in this field, an independent, 3rd Party, unbiased advisor and ombudsman, who can neutrally facilitate and align the visions of groups in conflict or in plans that need bold new energy, is the best medicine for community impact and problem solving. Just as Miles added rock to jazz, and Steadfast City fused together sectors and disciplines into a new model for economic and community development, Play Above fuses together non-traditional sectors to create another new sound and innovation in my field. In this case, the application of techniques from mediation and alternative dispute resolution to public-private partnerships in economic development, urban planning, and real estate development.
Through these techniques, Play Above offers independent, 3rd party, and the “highest and best” strategic advice – advice that transcends disagreement and conflict, in situations that lack clarity and have bias, that need fresh and bold and unencumbered ideas drawn out from and above the fray of parties who cannot agree or are not neutral. Using an ADR/neutral ombudsman/facilitation approach holds the promise to better realize previously unseen visions around public-private partnerships and community plans, and in doing so best optimize alignment in community and economic development for the benefit of all. As conflict and emotion are diffused and coalesced, all voices will truly be represented and heard, and great things will happen! We call it Alternative “Deal” Resolution.
Bringing people, communities, society, and misaligned and contentious groups together around great ideas through the lens of conflict resolution, peace, and a more democratic engagement is exactly our why – and is what this seemingly disordered and fractured world needs more than anything.