T H E P L A Y B O O K

EDITION 1

Hello there, welcome to the SmallBox “playbook.”

WELCOME

We think most employee handbooks aren’t that

helpful, or even read by the employees, but we

hope that this playbook will help you do great

things at SmallBox and beyond.

DO GREATTHINGS.

DO GREATTHINGS.

no. 1

06OUR ORIGIN STORY

Pitching NUVO

How we got our name

Initial growth

What the CMS wrought

Following opportunities

Growing up

Getting intentional

18THE SMALLBOX WAY

Being present

Creating value

Practicing respect

Thinking like an owner

Embracing failure and mistakes

Holding each other accountable

Engaging in healthy conflict

Building healthy habits & behaviors

12THE BIG PICTURE

Core values

Why are we here?

Our definition of “great”

What do we do?

What we believe

Where are we going?

24OUR INSTITUTIONS

Factory Week

Nice Grants

24 Hour Web Project

Think Kit

CONTENTS

26HR STUFF

Commonsense practices

Advice for new hires

Benefits and perks

Performance reviews

Who is my boss?

How to get a raise

Professional development

Conferences and certifications

Employee graduation

32MONEY STUFF

How to use your company credit card

Company structure

How profit share works

36QUESTIONS

How should we treat clients?

What does our ideal client look like?

What is “our culture?”

Can I do freelance work?

What’s up with all these meetings?

What is our role in the community?

What’s my role in SmallBox’s culture?

Do we have a dress code?

40MISC. STUFF

Recommended reading

Appendices

Our Origin StoryPITCHING NUVO

HOW WE GOT OUR NAME

INITIAL GROWTH

WHAT THE CMS WROUGHT

FOLLOWING OPPORTUNITIES

GROWING UP

GETTING INTENTIONAL

HISTORY

6

WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN…

W

7

e want every employee to know our origins. We

have a tight knit team and it can be a little intimidating

coming into this company – we get that. We hope that

some background on how we got started and our “early”

years will create some context for you. In many ways,

who we are is a composite of our experiences, our shared

story. Now you have the opportunity to continue and

expand this story.

8

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

let’s go back in time – waaay back to 2005. SmallBox’s

co-founders, Jeb Banner and Joe Downey, were both

working at Antique Helper, an auction house here in Indy.

Jeb had co-founded Antique Helper with Dan Ripley in

2001, but he was ready to do something new. Jeb and Joe

built a couple websites together, including the Antique

Helper website and musicalfamilytree.com. Joe coded and

Jeb pointed at the screen and said, “Make it do this!” They

worked well together and saw the potential to build a new

business around website development.

Musical Family Tree is an important part to the story. We

didn’t know it yet, but it put us on a path of doing things

differently. It put investing in what we believe and caring

about community in our DNA.

PITCHING NUVO

Not one to start small, Jeb decided to pitch NUVO

Newsweekly on a new website. This would be the third

website Jeb and Joe would build together. It was big and

bold with social networking functionality. It was a real

beast. For some reason NUVO’s editor Kevin McKinney saw

something in this fledgling company and took the chance.

It didn’t hurt that the price was right: $8,000. Now this

company needed a name.

HOW WE GOT OUR NAME

During the early weeks of 2006, SmallBox was born. On

an unseasonably warm winter day Jeb took a walk around

What’s the story?

9

JUSTBUILD.

no.44

his neighborhood and brainstormed on names. He thought

about what the company wouldn’t be – namely it wouldn’t

be “big box.” And he thought about the iPod in his pocket.

Such a small thing, yet it carried as much music as his record

collection. Devices were getting smaller but more powerful.

Small teams were doing big things with very little overhead.

SmallBox spoke to all of this. It might not have been the

best name, but it meant something and there was a contract

with NUVO that needed to be inked.

INITIAL GROWTH

Working with NUVO created new opportunities. Jeb’s friend

and former roommate PJ Christie jumped on board as a

project manager. Lydia Whitehead was NUVO’s designer

on the website project and soon joined SmallBox full time.

Soon Jack Shepler, Jordan Wilson, Karl Hofstetter, Ben

Jehring and others joined the fold. Starting from one little

office shared by Jeb, Joe and PJ, SmallBox began to grow.

WHAT THE CMS WROUGHT

Over the course of our first year in business we decided to

build our own CMS. We looked at Wordpress, Joomla and

Drupal, but all seemed limited in different ways. So we built

our own custom solution. People loved it.

It caught the attention of MediaSauce, a local digital agency

that was growing quickly, and before long SmallBox was

building their websites. This relationship lasted about two

years (from 2007-2009) and resulted in more than 30

10

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN TO BUILD ON THAT FOUNDATION.

11

websites launching. Despite the confines of being a sub-

contractor, the experience was a crash course in how

agencies work (for better or worse), created needed cash

flow and introduced us to an army of talented folks, a few

of which became SmallBoxers later (Leigh Marino, Justin

Lacey and Tyler Bender).

FOLLOWING OPPORTUNITIES

As many businesses do, SmallBox grew by following

opportunities. But over time we found ourselves

organizationally unfocused and frustrated by some of the

work we were doing. By 2010, the early excitement had

evaporated. We wanted to stop jumping from project to

project, to saying yes to whatever walked in the door.

We were ready to grow up.

We began to define the opportunities we

wanted, the work we wanted to do, and the

impact we wanted to make.

GROWING UP

Part of growing up was moving from a website company to

a full-service creative agency. Our design and development

services had matured, and it was time to go deeper.

Leigh Marino brought creative concepting and traditional

advertising experience, which pushed our work to be more

strategic. Jeb had hired Dan Fahrner to be the managing

director of Musical Family Tree, but he quickly pivoted to

building out the marketing side of SmallBox. Dan’s first

hire, Sara McGuyer, grew from a freelance strategist to our

first internal marketer. We were bringing our brand to life

in new ways. We also started thinking about process, from

both a creative and operational standpoint. Our first office

manager, Elizabeth Heil, brought operational order to a

house admittedly full of chaos.

GETTING INTENTIONAL

SmallBox 2.0 was really born over our first Factory Week

during the summer of 2011. Although we didn’t really know it

then, we were at the beginning of a new journey, one that

we continue today. We were becoming a purposeful company.

We began to define the opportunities we wanted, the work

we wanted to do, and the impact we wanted to make.

The Big PictureCORE VALUES

WHY ARE WE HERE?

OUR DEFINITION OF “GREAT”

WHAT DO WE DO?

WHAT WE BELIEVE

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

12

DIRECTION

hy are we here? Where are we going? Hopefully

this section of the playbook can help illuminate

the path a little. Just keep in mind, we are constantly

challenging ourselves to better understand and define

who we are and where we are going.

WE ARE NEVER FINISHED.

W

13

14

CORE VALUES

These are not just words for us, they are behaviors and

benchmarks. We realize that at many organizations core

values are written once and forgotten. Not here. You

will hear us talk about these again and again. We hold

ourselves accountable to them. No one, from CEO to intern,

is above the law when it comes to our core values.

WHY ARE WE HERE? aka Purpose

In 2011 we had something of an existential crisis. “Ack!” we

uttered. “What is the purpose of this ‘SmallBox’? Why do

we exist?” After much soul searching – individually and

collectively – we decided our purpose was, drumroll... “to

do great things!” That might seem a little vague at first, so

let’s unpack it.

Do: We are action oriented. We don’t just want to think

about stuff, we want to do it. If we aren’t creating impact

then we aren’t fulfilling our purpose.

Great: We use the word “great” a lot. But what does that

really mean? First thing to keep in mind is that great is

not perfect. There is a place for perfect and sometimes

we get there, but that isn’t the same thing as great. Great

stands outside of perfection. Great creates “wow.” It

surprises, it can be subtle, it can be bold, it can even be

messy. Bottom line, great endures.

Things: We are not limited to digital. We want to do all

kinds of great things – things Online, in person, and in

the community. Heck, maybe we’ll get to do great things

in space someday!

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

CURIOSITYAlways start with understanding, with asking why and getting to the

bottom of things. If we find ourselves talking more than listening, then we

probably aren’t being curious enough.

COURAGEBe bold and willing to have hard conversations, take on challenging work

and do truly great things. The hidden driver of courage is vulnerability.

Being willing to say “I don’t know” or “I need help” takes courage.

COLLABORATIONWhen in doubt, default to collaboration. Seek outside perspective, be

willing to let your ideas flourish or die as needed. There are times for focus

and times for input. Find and practice a healthy balance between the two.

PERSISTENCEWhen you hit a wall, find a way through it, around it or over it. In the rare

cases when you give up or run out of time, accept failure and learn from it.

15

core values

16

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1 WHAT DO WE DO? aka Our Master Positioning Statement

SmallBox partners with authentic organizations to create meaningful

experiences for both customers and employees. We believe that

strategic alignment around purpose and values is the foundation of

strong brands. Our unique Culture-Powered Marketing approach

helps build a better culture and gets results.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe that marketing starts with the employee experience. We

see that the employee experience drives the customer experience,

which is the most effective way to build an amazing brand experience.

Therefore, we believe organizations that create meaning for their

employees also create powerful marketing, sometimes as an accidental

by-product. So why not be intentional?

We see a new way of marketing that can require organizational

transformation. It starts with purpose and is driven by vision.

Organizations that align themselves around great causes attract

great people. We believe that people need and seek meaning across

all areas of their lives, especially work. Meaningless, stressful work

literally kills us. It also kills businesses.

We believe that healthy organizations are filled with happy people

doing work they love. We believe that healthy organizations pretty

much market themselves. Therefore, we consider our tactical work

as an agency to be training wheels that should be removed as our

clients gain strength in their voice and mastery of the tools needed

to amplify it.

WHERE WE ARE GOING? aka Vision

We see a revolution coming and we want to help spark it. We see a

unique opportunity to realign organizations around purpose and

away from profit. Ironically it will be profit that drives this change. The

most profitable companies will soon be the ones that create the best

employee experiences. They value experience over bureaucracy,

ideas over hours, design over efficiency. They know that an engaged,

passionate worker is vastly more valuable (and efficient) than one that

hates his job. These organizations will attract the very best people,

create amazing experiences for them and their customers and they

will dominate their markets. The rest will wither and die, wondering

why their marketing and sales are increasingly ineffective.

Great

17

stands outside of perfection. Great creates “WOW.” It surprises, it can be subtle,,it can be bold, it can even be mBOTTOM LINE

Great

Great endures.

essy.

The SmallBox “Way”BEING PRESENT

CREATING VALUE

PRACTICING RESPECT

THINKING LIKE AN OWNER

EMBRACING FAILURE AND MISTAKES

HOLDING EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE

ENGAGING IN HEALTHY CONFLICT

BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS & BEHAVIORS

18

ACTIONS

19

his is stuff we expect from every employee. In many

ways these items expand on our core values – getting

into specific ways we need to be curious, engage in

collaboration, have courage and be persistent.

TIME TO ACT.

T

20

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

BEING PRESENT

Whether you are engaged in your work, a conversation,

observing or taking a walk, you are encouraged to always

be fully present. Don’t check your email or phone during a

meeting unless it’s an emergency. Commit fully to whatever

you are doing or stop doing it.

CREATING VALUE

By value we mean additive. When 1 + 1 = 3. Moving ideas,

projects and opportunities along in meaningful ways. Go

that extra mile to transform whatever you are doing from

good to great. Don’t settle, re-scope.

PRACTICING RESPECT

Create the experience for others that you want to have for

yourself. Always assume the best in others until they prove

otherwise. Respect your team, your clients, your community

and, most of all, yourself. Always err on the side of respect

and kindness.

THINKING LIKE AN OWNER

We encourage thinking like an owner. Everyone from the

intern to the CEO is expected to participate and speak up.

We value the opinions of all team members. On the flip

side, we must recognize when the time is right to make

space for others to speak up.

21

EMBRACING FAILURE AND MISTAKES

You will be expected to fail and make mistakes. This may

be a new thing for you – a place that encourages productive

failure. When you fail you will be held accountable. Not in a “I

told you so” kind of way but in a “Hey, that didn’t work, what

did we learn?” kind of way. The key is to not make the same

mistakes repeatedly. Once you have awareness around your

failure you should recognize it as a growth opportunity, a

chance to get to the next level. Continue to make better and

smarter mistakes.

We are constantly revisiting the

ways in which we work. Above,

you can see us mapping out our

entire process (with the help of

some serious coffee).

22

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

We must practice healthy conflict to

do great things. There is absolutely

no way around it. Expect it and bring

it, with kindness and love. We must

always remember to treat each other

with kindness and love.

MAKEDISCOVERIES.

no.21

23

HOLDING EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE

This is where companies cross the line from

good to great. Accountability is probably

the hardest thing to do – in business, in life,

in general. We all have those gut reactions

when something isn’t right. This is an area

of weakness for us. We aren’t there yet, but

we know that we cannot achieve lasting

results without it. Transparent accountability

is our great opportunity to realize our vision.

ENGAGING IN HEALTHY CONFLICT

We must practice healthy conflict to do great

things. There is no way around it. Expect

it and bring it, with kindness and love. We

must always remember to treat each other

with kindness and love, especially when

engaging in conflict. If you struggle with

conflict then we recommend you read Crucial

Conversations. It will help, but it never gets

easy. Conflict is hard.

BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS & BEHAVIORS

We believe that successful organizations

are essentially a collection of great

habits and behaviors. Here are some we

encourage you to embrace. Plan your week

in advance. Seek mentorship, internally

and externally. Clean up after yourself. Do

what you say you are going to do, every

time. Don’t limit yourself to title, experience

or responsibilities. Explore and grow at

all times. Work from a default of seeking

forgiveness not permission, balanced by

not being an insensitive jerk. If you step on

someone’s toes, apologize for the pain but

not for the initiative. Also, learn when to get

some distance. Take a walk or grab a Nicey

Treat and get some perspective before

re-attacking your work with fresh vigor. Your

mind is a muscle that needs rest.

24

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

FA

CT

OR

Y W

EE

K

Eve

ry o

rga

niz

ati

on

ha

s st

uff

th

at

do

esn

’t g

et

do

ne

, id

ea

s th

at

are

n’t

re

aliz

ed

,

skill

s th

at

ne

ed

sh

arp

en

ing

an

d r

uts

th

at

ne

ed

to

be

bro

ke

n. S

om

eti

me

s w

e t

hin

k

of

this

as

org

an

iza

tio

na

l co

nst

ipa

tio

n. S

o w

ha

t’s t

he

so

luti

on?

On

e o

f th

e w

ays

we

’ve

fo

un

d t

o...

wa

it f

or

it...

relie

ve t

his

co

nst

ipa

tio

n is

to

ta

ke

a w

ee

k o

ff e

very

six

mo

nth

s, t

ake

th

e e

nti

re c

om

pa

ny

off

sit

e a

nd

ge

t st

uff

do

ne

.

Th

is q

ua

ran

tin

ed

dis

rup

tio

n is

no

t w

ith

ou

t co

sts.

We

lose

mo

ne

y w

he

n w

e d

on

’t

do

bill

ab

le w

ork

, we

lose

tim

e a

nd

ha

ve t

o p

lan

de

ad

line

s a

rou

nd

th

ese

we

eks

off

. Bu

t it

’s w

ort

h it

, to

tally

wo

rth

it. W

e h

ad

ou

r firs

t F

act

ory

We

ek in

20

11 a

nd

ha

ve k

ep

t u

p t

he

bi-

an

nu

al p

ace

eve

ry s

um

me

r a

nd

win

ter

sin

ce t

he

n. I

t h

as

cha

ng

ed

wh

o w

e a

re. W

e’v

e a

lso

be

en

exc

ite

d t

o s

ee

oth

er

com

pa

nie

s fo

llow

in

ou

r fo

ots

tep

s. S

om

ed

ay

we

ma

y m

ake

an

en

tire

pla

ybo

ok f

or

Fa

cto

ry W

ee

k.

Mo

re in

fo a

t fa

cto

ryw

ee

k.c

om

O U R I N S T I T U T I O N SA

n in

stit

uti

on

is n

ot

just

an

y e

ven

t. S

ure

we

ha

ve lo

ts o

f th

ing

s th

at

cre

ate

a

rhyt

hm

to

ou

r ca

len

dar.

Mo

nd

ay

Lun

ch. B

ee

r F

rid

ay.

Ga

me

Nig

ht. A

n in

stitu

tion

is s

om

eth

ing

big

ge

r. S

om

eti

me

s w

e li

ke

to

th

ink o

f th

em

as

ou

r h

olid

ays

–

spe

cia

l occ

asi

on

s w

hic

h h

ap

pe

n o

nly

on

ce o

r tw

ice

pe

r ye

ar.

Ea

ch s

ho

wca

ses

ou

r co

re v

alu

es

of

curi

osi

ty, c

olla

bo

rati

on

, co

ura

ge

an

d p

ers

iste

nce

. Mo

re

tha

n t

ha

t, o

ur

inst

itu

tio

ns

ha

ve c

om

e t

o e

xem

plif

y w

ho

we

are

an

d h

ow

we

see

th

e w

orl

d.

Ou

r in

stitu

tion

s e

xist

fo

r m

an

y re

aso

ns

– t

o t

ake

us

ou

t o

f o

ur

no

rma

l ro

utin

e, t

o b

uild

ne

w m

usc

les,

to

giv

e b

ack

to o

the

rs a

nd

to

bu

ild c

om

mu

nity

. Oft

en

all

of

the

se a

ttri

bu

tes

are

pre

sen

t. B

elo

w a

re o

ur

fou

r m

ain

inst

itutio

ns:

INV

OLV

EM

EN

T

25

NIC

E G

RA

NT

S

In la

te 2

012

ou

r te

am

ea

rne

d a

$5

,00

0 b

on

us

to u

se h

ow

eve

r w

e s

aw

fit,

an

d

we

de

cid

ed

to

aw

ard

five

$1,

00

0 g

ran

ts t

o lo

cal p

eo

ple

wit

h g

rea

t id

ea

s. W

e d

id

this

in M

arc

h o

f 2

013

. An

gie

’s L

ist

wa

s in

spir

ed

by

this

an

d jo

ine

d o

ur

eff

ort

s,

do

ub

ling

th

e g

ran

ts t

o 1

0. W

e c

on

tin

ue

d t

his

inst

itu

tio

n in

20

14 w

ith

ou

t A

ng

ie’s

List

(n

o h

ard

fe

elin

gs)

an

d k

ep

t it

at

$10

k/1

0 p

rize

s. W

e a

re e

xcit

ed

to

co

nti

nu

e

this

ne

w-i

sh in

stit

uti

on

fo

r ye

ars

to

co

me

.

Mo

re in

fo a

t n

ice

gra

nts

.org

24

HO

UR

WE

B P

RO

JE

CT

Th

e 2

4 H

ou

r W

eb

Pro

ject

wa

s co

nce

ive

d b

y S

ma

llBo

x’s

De

sig

n D

ire

cto

r Ly

dia

Wh

ite

he

ad

in 2

00

9, i

nsp

ire

d b

y a

sim

ilar

eve

nt

ha

pp

en

ing

ha

lfw

ay

acr

oss

th

e

wo

rld

at

Fu

ll C

od

e P

ress

. T

he

id

ea

fo

r th

is p

roje

ct

is s

imp

le: fi

nd

a lo

ca

l

no

np

rofit,

pu

t o

ur

tea

ms

tog

eth

er

for

24

ho

urs

, an

d d

esi

gn

an

d b

uild

a b

ran

d

ne

w, su

pe

r a

we

som

e w

eb

site

. In

th

e p

roce

ss, w

e a

lso

ra

ise

co

mm

un

ity

aw

are

ne

ss a

nd

ge

t so

me

do

na

tio

ns.

Mo

re in

fo a

t 2

4h

ou

rwe

bp

roje

ct.c

om

TH

INK

KIT

Th

ink K

it w

as

lau

nch

ed

in 2

011

by

Lyd

ia W

hit

eh

ea

d a

nd

Sa

ra M

cGu

yer

as

a

yea

r-e

nd

ide

a k

it t

o in

spir

e d

aily

wri

tin

g. W

e w

an

ted

to

fle

x o

ur

bra

in m

usc

les,

to

refle

ct o

n t

he

pa

st y

ea

r a

nd

se

t b

ett

er

blo

gg

ing

ha

bit

s fo

r th

e 3

65

da

ys a

he

ad

ea

ch

De

ce

mb

er.

We

de

cid

ed

to

cre

ate

an

d s

ha

re a

se

rie

s o

f w

riti

ng

pro

mp

ts,

invi

tin

g a

nyo

ne

to

pa

rtic

ipa

te. W

e’v

e b

ee

n h

on

ore

d t

o w

atc

h t

his

co

mm

un

ity

gro

w, w

ith

so

me

pe

op

le b

log

gin

g f

or

the

firs

t ti

me

wit

h t

his

pro

ject

.

Mo

re in

fo a

t th

inkkit

.org

O U R I N S T I T U T I O N S

HR Stuff

COMMONSENSE PRACTICES

ADVICE FOR NEW HIRES

BENEFITS AND PERKS

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

WHO IS MY BOSS?

HOW TO GET A RAISE

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CONFERENCES AND CERTIFICATIONS

EMPLOYEE GRADUATION

BASICS

26

27

e know, even the term “HR” (Human Resources)

can feel yucky and a little un-SmallBox-y, but the

function is necessary to run a healthy business. So here

are some items that need to be categorized as such.

OUR CODE OF CONDUCT: BE NICE.

W

28

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1 COMMONSENSE PRACTICES

Don’t harass people or make them feel uncomfortable. Don’t say racist, sexist or generally

offensive things. If you hurt someone’s feelings or offend them in some way, which

happens from time to time, make it your business to get things right as quickly as

possible. We cannot have an intimidating work environment. Anyone that engages in

negative behavior is on the road to being let go.

ADVICE FOR NEW HIRES

Be curious and don’t worry about stepping on someone’s turf or toes. We encourage you

to be adventurous and explore the company. People that may seem unapproachable

aren’t really, they are just focused on doing great work. Throw something at them and

say “Hey, what’s up?” In time, we hope you’ll feel more and more at home.

BENEFITS AND PERKS

Here’s all the good stuff coming your way when you work at SmallBox. We want you to

be set up for success and we hope this stuff helps.

• Insurance: All full-time SmallBox employees are eligible for health, dental and

vision insurance. We cover 75% of your individual premiums and 50% of the

premiums for your dependents. We also provide long-term disability coverage.

• Phone and Internet: We cover your monthly cell phone bill and a portion of your

home Internet bill.

• IRA matching plan: We offer a simple IRA matching plan. We match up to 3% of

salary or $12,000 per year max.

• Speak Easy membership: Our work home away from home. The Speak Easy was

co-founded by Jeb in 2011. It’s a great space to escape to, hold an off site meeting

or grab an after-work beer.

• Professional development: We support membership in professional groups,

attendance at events and conferences and other learning opportunities. If an

opportunity aligns with your career path, we’ll find a way to make it work.

• Wellness perks: We cover the cost of one monthly massage, acupuncture or

chiropractic session at Jansen Chiropractic.

• Quarterly profit sharing: Employees benefit from SmallBox’s quarterly profit

sharing program. If we’re successful, we want to share it across the team. You

start with one point, and for each additional six months of being a ‘Boxer, you earn

another point. Profit is divided up across the team.

• Freedom: That’s right, no more counting days off for you. We don’t set a limit to

sick or vacation time.

• Monday team lunch: We buy lunch for the whole team every Monday and talk

important business and usually laugh together a little too. Sometimes there’s

dancing or song-singing. You never know what can happen.

• Surprises: You may be surprised with ice cream, cake, or pie on your birthday. THIS

IS IMPORTANT! What’s your favorite? Seriously. We need to know.

29

PERFORMANCE REVIEWS

All SmallBox employees have monthly reviews with their respective team leads, and quarterly

lunch meetings/reviews with our CEO, Jeb Banner. Our Chief Culture Officer Sara McGuyer

will conduct a career path session with you that will inform your individual goals as well as

your monthly check-ins.

These reviews provide the opportunity to highlight areas where you are excelling and areas

where you could use some work. Keep in mind that these meetings go both ways – not

only will you learn what you need to do to improve your performance, you will also have

the chance to voice your own concerns. We want our employees to excel – if that means

requesting the opportunity to develop a new skill or seeking assistance in identifying areas

that need improvement, just let us know!

WHO IS MY BOSS?

No one, everyone, your fellow employee, the client, the community. If you need help

figuring out what to do you can talk to your team lead. They’re your accountability partner.

HOW TO GET A RAISE

Be exceptional, consistently. Bring and build transformative ideas, consistently. Make others

better, consistently. We offer up to 10% raises annually. Your team lead will work with you

on this in your monthly one-on-one during your anniversary month.

DISRUPTYOURSELF.

no.18

30

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

BUILD AND BRING TRANSFORMATIVE IDEAS

31

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

As a group of curious, life-long learners, we’re serious about professional development.

Soon after you start at SmallBox, we’ll have a conversation about your career path and

where you want to be in ten years. You will choose smaller goals that point you toward your

path. It won’t stop there.

CONFERENCES AND CERTIFICATIONS

At least twice per year, we offer group training opportunities around core skills. Topics may

include communication or creative concepting that will be beneficial to all (or most) team

members – things like the Myers-Briggs assessment plus workshop, or the training to be a

better facilitator.

For out of town and larger investment conferences or certifications (more than $300):

We generally send at least a few people per year to major conferences or training

opportunities. You’re encouraged to research and find opportunities for these. Work with

your team lead to determine if the opportunity is the right fit.

The criteria for selecting these should include:

• Is this opportunity aligned with your career path and current goals?

• Will you learn something new or more advanced than your current skill set?

These opportunities are subject to budget and timing. Just let Sara know, and she’ll work to

find a way to get you set up.

Smaller stuff:

• We cover the cost of one art class per year at Indianapolis Art Center. See Abby for

instructions on how to sign up!

• Local events and trainings under $300 can be purchased with your AmEx – just do it!

You don’t need permission.

• Your AmEx can also be used to purchase books or supplies.

EMPLOYEE GRADUATION

It is unlikely that you will retire from SmallBox. If some of us do, then yippee! But most likely

this will not be your last job. That’s ok. So when you feel like you are starting to level out,

or if the role you are in isn’t the right fit or if there is a killer opportunity you just can’t say

no to… don’t worry. Turnover and change is a good thing for individuals and organizations.

Graduation is how we think of someone leaving SmallBox, and if you “graduate” then we

want you leave on positive terms. Once you resettle, come by and visit, stop in for a Beer

Friday, let us know how we can help promote things you’re doing, etc. Once a ’Boxer always

a ’Boxer. We love our alumni. Also, we have been known to help SmallBoxers start their own

businesses. Something to think about if you feel the entrepreneurial itch coming on.

Money Stuff

HOW TO USE YOUR COMPANY CREDIT CARD

COMPANY STRUCTURE

HOW PROFIT SHARE WORKS

FINANCE

32

ou know what? We make and use money to do stuff!

So it’s good to have an understanding of what role

money plays in our company. This is why we send out

a weekly “Monday Money” report that shows our bank

balances, receivables, payables, etc. We figure the more

you know the better. Really the only thing we don’t

share is individual salaries.

USE IT WHEN YOU NEED IT.

Y

33

34

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1 HOW TO USE YOUR COMPANY CREDIT CARD

Upon arriving at SmallBox you were issued

an AmEx card. Sweet! Ok, how should you

use this thing? First off, and this is obvious

but we want to mention it – this isn’t for

personal stuff. If you need a short term loan

or to buy a new record player, that’s great,

but it’s not what this card is for. So what is

it for? It’s for buying things you need to do

your job, for taking a teammate or peer out

to lunch, to take a client out to eat, to use

for travel expenses when visiting a client or

going to a conference, for buying a book

relevant to your professional development

and yes, for Beer Friday.

COMPANY STRUCTURE

In case you are interested, here are

some facts about how we are structured

business-wise. We are an S-Corp (feel free

to google that later). Basically, all profits

“pass through” to the owners. Who are

those owners? Jeb Banner and Joe Downey

each own 50% of the company. So any

company profits that aren’t distributed to

employees then flow through to Jeb and

Joe’s personal tax returns. Sometimes

this can be confusing since a company

can show X dollars profit but not have X

dollars in the bank. Often Jeb and Joe

have to pay taxes on “profit” they never

received. This is because some of the

things we spend money on might not be

considered an expense by the government

– building improvements, investments in

other companies and other stuff like that.

When this happens the company covers

the tax bill. Keep this in mind when reading

the next section. Keeping cash on hand for

taxes and growth is a healthy practice.

HOW PROFIT SHARE WORKS

When we do have profit, we do an employee

profit share on a quarterly basis. If we have

a first quarter profit, we would distribute that

sometime in the second quarter (probably

late April or early May).

How does it work? Every employee gets

one share for every 6 months they have

worked at SmallBox with a minimum of

one share – meaning once you are hired

you have a share and then a second after

12 months, etc. So if you have been at

SmallBox 3 years you have 6 shares. We

tend to round up when in doubt. 2 years

and 5 months? 5 shares. We then decide

what percentage of our profit to share. This

is a decision made by the owners and the

leadership team. For instance, we might

do a $10k distribution on $40k in profit. If

there are 200 total shares (meaning all our

individual shares add up to 200 total) then

each share would be $50. If you had 10

shares you would get $500 added to your

payroll. Not too shabby, but also no reason

to go buy a yacht.

35

Your AmEx is for buying things you need to do

your job, for taking a teammate or peer out to

lunch, to take a client out to eat, to use for travel

expenses when visiting a client, for buying a

book relevant to your professional development,

and yes, for Beer Friday.

Questions, Questions

HOW SHOULD WE TREAT CLIENTS?

WHAT DOES OUR IDEAL CLIENT LOOK LIKE?

WHAT IS “OUR CULTURE?”

CAN I DO FREELANCE WORK?

WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THESE MEETINGS?

WHAT IS OUR ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY?

WHAT’S MY ROLE IN SMALLBOX CULTURE?

DO WE HAVE A DRESS CODE?

FAQ

36

37

ou may have some questions from time to time about

SmallBox and how we engage in the community,

work with clients, etc. Here’s an FAQ section of sorts to

help answer some of those questions.

GO AHEAD, ASK AWAY.

Y

38

HOW SHOULD WE TREAT CLIENTS?

We must treat our clients with great respect. We must strive

to speak no differently of them when they are present

or absent. If we have an issue with a client we must feel

comfortable addressing it with them quickly. An honest,

timely conversation can do a world of good, and avoid a

good deal of pain for all involved. Our job is to understand

and then lead the client. We must always return to a place

of understanding when we fall out of sync with our clients.

It will happen: catch it quickly and get things back on track.

WHO IS OUR IDEAL CLIENT?

Often our clients are larger non-profits, service businesses,

foundations, universities, associations, etc. But we have

been known to work well with many different types of

organizations. This is driven by our mission statement

to “collaborate with authentic organizations to create

meaningful experiences.”

What does it mean to be an “authentic organization?” We

see it as an organization that is walking toward transparency

and accountability. In time you will learn to sniff out an

ideal client through their language, culture and reputation.

Are they secretive or open? Do they trust each other or tear

each other down? Is their office vibe positive or negative?

WHAT IS OUR “CULTURE?”

We sometimes talk about culture being the “umami” of an

organization. What the heck is that? Well, umami is a

Japanese word to describe the fifth flavor. After salty, sweet,

bitter and sour you have savory, or umami, which is more

fun to say. Culture is something that always happens. There

is no organization without a culture. It may be bad, good,

boring, weird, exciting, etc, but it always exists. So our

thinking is, why not make it awesome? Also, there are very

real benefits to having a healthy, awesome culture. It makes

SmallBox attractive to potential employees and clients. It

helps keeps them around. But culture, for us, is more than

just fun and games. It’s about how we behave, it’s about our

values – curiosity, courage, collaboration and persistence.

We must live our values at all times to maintain a healthy

culture. If we compromise on our values we undermine the

foundation of our culture. Trust begins to erode and then all

hell breaks loose. Well, not literally, but you get the idea.

39

CAN I DO FREELANCE WORK?

Yes! We believe that having outside perspective and

influences is very healthy. Every business, no matter how

great it might be, can become something of a fish bowl.

Doing some freelance work, especially when it helps build

new muscles, is an effective way to stay on top of your

craft and bring new ideas back into the fold. We do want to

mention that we always expect you to put SmallBox work

first. If you aren’t hitting your deadlines and doing great

work then we will start to wonder about your priorities.

WHAT’S UP WITH ALL THESE MEETINGS?

Some people think meetings are a waste of time and they

certainly can be. But we think meetings can and should be

compelling experiences. We look to the Patrick Lencioni

book Death By Meeting as our model. A great read if you

want to check it out, 2-3 hours tops. We have adapted the

meeting structure from Death By Meeting and have been

tweaking it over the last couple years. You will quickly

learn our meeting cadence and if you have ideas on how

to improve it we are very open to ideas. Also, if you find

yourself in a boring or unnecessary meeting, feel free to do

something about it!

WHAT’S OUR COMMUNITY ROLE?

It’s no secret that we are actively involved in the community.

This isn’t by accident. There are several reasons: First, we

care. Second, it makes stuff better. Third, it connects us with

great people. Fourth, it creates opportunities (for personal

growth, for sales). When considering a community opportunity

for us, we suggest you use this as a filter, in that order.

WHAT’S MY ROLE IN OUR CULTURE?

We expect everyone to engage in our team culture in their

own way. Some ’Boxers like to lead, some like to follow.

Some want to engage in the community, some want to

engage more internally. Our only request is that you find a

way to get involved that is personally meaningful to you –

whether it’s blogging, presenting at a ‘Box Lunch, starting

a new cultural institution or pulling together a random

“Nicing.” If you think of this as just a job then you are in the

wrong place.

DO WE HAVE A DRESS CODE?

Not really, but we do encourage you to dress for your

calendar. If you have a presentation in front of a more

conservative client and you think it would be best to

dress up a little, then go for it! If you feel like you are more

comfortable and confident dressing in jeans and a T-shirt

then go for it as well. Or maybe you feel like wearing a tux

on Tuesdays. That’s good with us. Just be conscious of the

experience you are creating. We suggest looking at your

calendar before getting dressed for the day. If you get too

far out of whack one way or another, we’ll tell you.

Misc. Stuff

RECOMMENDED READING

APPENDICES

EXTRAS

40

41

his playbook just scratches the surface of getting to

know the SmallBox way. Read on for a few more

resources to help you better understand our philosophy

and ways of working.

CHECK OUT THE ODDS AND ENDS.

T

42

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

Although there is a wealth of knowledge and experience within the walls of SmallBox, we

don’t want you to get stuck in a bubble. Here are some great books that we have found

helpful in our growth (individually and collectively). We suggest you consider these and

we also encourage you to recommend some of your own.

(you are welcome to buy these with your company credit card or grab one from Jeb’s bookshelf)

• Good to Great by Jim Collins

• 5 Dysfunctions Of Team, Death By Meeting, Advantage or literally anything by

Patrick Lencioni

• Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al

Switzler

• Rework by 37 Signals

• Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan and others

• Give and Take by Adam Grant

• Power Cues by Nick Morgan

• Traction or Get A Grip by Gino Wickman

• The Starfish and The Spider by Ori Brafman

• A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

RECOMMENDED READING

43

APPENDIX ITEM 1 – SALES PROCESS

44

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

APPENDIX ITEM 2 – SMALLBOX METHODOLOGY

DISCOVER PLAN CREATE

45

PROMOTE MEASURE ADAPT

46

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

CREATE BELIEVERS.

47

no. 3

CREATE BELIEVERS.

48

TH

E P

LA

YB

OO

K E

DIT

ION

1

xlix

THE PLAYBOOK

EDITION1