The Chinese word for crisis is composed of two Chinese characters signifying danger and opportunity.
TRUTHS, TOOLS, + TRIUMPHS in 2020
The crisis moments of 2020 have been challenging in all areas of our lives: work, education, community, and relationships. As we reviewed this article on what crisis teaches us about innovation - we began to reflect on the two pandemics this year. Both COVID-19 and racial injustice have impacted how we show up as an organization in 2020 and will certainly impact how we listen, learn, and lead in the years to come. 

In our final e-letter of 2020, we are sharing some of our top Truths, Tools, and Triumphs from this year and hope they inspire you and your team to do even more to create a better world for all.
TRUTH 1: Live Your Values
We launched Setser Group this year because we wanted to live our values. When you step into your purpose to help people, leaders, teams, and organizations - good things happen.


We’ve used the Liberatory Design Thinking process and set of tools with Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) this year to design our Project Phoenix work and to help build a new set of initiatives to close the brown and black wealth gap.

Triumph: We are proud of our partners at Winston-Salem State University as they announced this week a transformative gift and the largest donation in the University’s 128-year history. The gift of $30 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is also the largest gift from a single donor. The gift will be strategically invested to meet the University’s highest priorities. Learn more here.
TRUTH 2: Seek Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Knowledge, Skillsets, and Dispositions in 2021
We’ve had the great fortune this year to learn at the feet of the 228 Accelerator Team, experience Deck Leadership, and engage with Kelly Education’s Equity@Work initiative. All of these experiences have helped shape our approach with our team, how we invest our dollars, the people we hire, and the clients we serve to create better versions of humanity.

Tool: Enroll in a 228 Course today, your team will be stronger throughout the process. Buy the Deck Leadership book and apply the lessons to your practices. Spend some time on Kelly Education’s website and learn more about what you can do to ensure equity at work.

Triumph: Earn a badge in Designing at the Margins with 228 Accelerator. Reach out to Setser Group to help you take your DEI training digital. 
TRUTH 3: Servant Leadership is the Way Forward
The people on our team and the people that we serve deserve good leadership. We coach each other on being effective leaders, eliminating micromanagement, and empowering each other to succeed. 

Tool: Complete a self-audit on your management style. Hint: You want to serve others on the left side of this graphic. What will you change in 2021 to become a servant leader and better manager of people?

Triumph:  Speaking of people centric leaders and managers, we’ve been so blessed this year to work with Brailsford and Dunlavey as a Senior Consultant on two university efforts to improve digital workflows, project management, change management, and customer experiences. B&D’s Better is Better approach is all about putting people first and ensuring success for all. What a privilege it has been to be a part of diverse and inclusive teams who seek to manage innovation, risk, and outcomes in compelling ways to help raise all tides for the university communities they serve. Together we can be so much more than continuing to reside in small corners of the world or on small-minded teams with only a single or few voices leading others. B&D is truly a remarkable organization with outstanding leadership and team members.
TRUTH 4: Innovation is a Verb
Being innovative will always be a tenet of our work at Setser Group. We strive to look at each opportunity with a client with a unique lens to bring the value of research and data to the untapped potential of a project. 

Tool: We’ve helped several organizations this year assess their readiness for digital innovation. We've provided SWOT analysis, strategic planning, online training, and k-12 e-learning design to our clients. Gallaudet University, Brevard County Schools, Pamlico County Schools, and the North Carolina Retired Government Employees’ Association all have leaders who are able to take a step back and look at their readiness for innovation, change, and strategic planning. Understanding that it takes strategic partners to accentuate the work you're trying to do is a key ingredient in top-level leadership. Central to this work is assessing an organization’s readiness for innovation. Learn more about how we use tools like this one that Bryan Setser, our CEO and Founder, and Holly Morris, Senior Consultant at Setser Group developed to empower teams towards results.

"Part of learning to be more empathetic is seeking to understand before being understood." -Covey

Triumph: Watch Deaf U, a Netflix reality show executive-produced by DiMarco, which follows several Gallaudet students, all deaf or hard of hearing, as they navigate cliques, shifting relationships, social media, and their relationship to the deaf community during a semester of college. Gallaudet University is a remarkable place and this movie provides a lens into how you learn more about what you can do to serve all populations in different ways.
TRUTH 5: As the Landscape Changes, We Must Adapt and Evolve
One of the challenges of managing innovation and change is that many of the systems we work within are not agile. We work with organizations that are finding ways to innovate from within the system to make significant advancements. And we are challenging the status quo to create non-profits, b-corps, and organizations that operate outside the mothership of the k-12 district, community college, university, or workforce.

Tools: This year we’ve used tools such as Cleverism, Lean Business Model Canvases, Go to Market Plans, Integrated Communications Agendas, Pro Formas and Resource Roadmaps to empower our clients to tell new stories in order to create more impact and revenue for the projects that matter to them and their communities.

Triumphs:  We’ve worked with Western Governors University, the University of South Carolina, Center for Teaching Quality, New Tech Network, and GreatHearts Online this year. The key elements among leadership in all of those projects have been an insatiable curiosity to serve more students and create stronger communities of learning, leadership capacity, and outcomes for a better society. Stay tuned for more on our journey in 2021. 
We’ve learned so much in 2020, and we are just getting started. Step into the opportunities of 2021. Do more to unpack this year’s two pandemics, and use this moment to be more than you ever thought you could as an organization. If we can ever be helpful to you, don’t hesitate to hop on a quick call or Zoom. Enjoy the downtime over the holidays, and we’ll be back with you in 2021 with our new website launch and a purpose for capturing and creating value for people, leaders, teams, and organizations. Together, we can build back better the future of learning and work.
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What are the top truths, tools, and triumphs of 2020? @SetserGroup is sharing them in this week's Truths, Tools, and Triumphs e-letter.

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