Truths
As we reflect on the year that was, Setser Group is hard at work on our first book with a companion website and digital resources. Barriers for Breakfast: How to Embrace Obstacles and Create Opportunities is a blueprint for launching a new idea, team, organization, or start-up. Here is an excerpt followed by action steps you can take to build habits instead of resolutions in the new year.  

Some of you, no doubt, are stuck. You’ve managed up. You’ve presented data and evidence. You are questioning whether it is time to lead differently or leave. What is stopping you from jumping? Will you get your knees skinned? Sure. Will you be seen as a troublemaker? Will you be asked to stay in your lane? The short answer is yes.
Tools
Creating Connections

A stoplight schedule is a great way to organize your current and potential contacts and determine your actions toward success. Working the stoplight each week in 2022 develops the accountability habits you'll need for success. Here’s how it works. 
Mining LinkedIn

How else can you find 25 contacts per week to connect with? Short answer: LinkedIn.

Start with your professional hashtag. What is it? Have you ever thought about your brand? At Setser Group, ours is #FutureOfWork and #FutureOfLearning. Use LinkedIn’s search feature to search for your hashtag. See who is posting with that hashtag. Respond to their content. 

Now, it’s time to connect. If you have no connections to the person, you may “follow” them to begin with, but you want to grow that into a connection. Tap “Add a note” when you send the connect invite. Personalize your invite, but don’t oversell yourself. It comes off as “salesy.” Instead, focus on your interest in the hashtag, the topic they posted about. Write a sentence about yourself and a sentence or two about why the topic is important to you and that you would like to connect with them.

Start building that team of meaningful connections now. Red becomes yellow, yellow becomes green, green becomes family. 
Triumphs
How does an organization effectively use LinkedIn? Check out the work at Florida International University. FIU Online’s programs are highly specialized, so the school needed a tailored approach for reaching pre-qualified prospects with job experience in each vertical market. They found that on LinkedIn. 

There’s much more to mine on LinkedIn. We follow Adam GrantMark Milliron, Charlene Li, and Michelle Wiese, and for daily inspiration. Adam hosts the WorkLife podcast, and Mark is Senior Vice President and Executive Dean of the Teachers College at Western Governors University. Charlene is the Founder of Altimeter. Michelle is the Vice Chancellor for Strategy and Innovation at National University. Give them all a follow and get smarter instantly.
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Have you assembled the right team around your next project or career move? Follow Setser Group to see how to grow your network and build toward success. Learn more at www.setsergroup.com.

#SetserGroup #FutureOfLearning #FutureOfWork #Barriers4Breakfast #Network #Contacts #LinkedIn