At GSG, we have been able to maintain our momentum in these challenging times by continuing to invest in our people and continuing to cultivate our corporate culture. We’re embracing the values we hold dear to our hearts and minds while serving the needs of our clients and the communities in which we work.
Now as we head into the dog days of summer and brace for the winter ahead, it’s more important than ever to make sure we are prepared to work even harder as our world learns how to live with COVID-19 and move forward.
All of us at GSG believe that the best thing we can do to help ourselves, our clients, our consultants and the world at large is to use our voice to promote optimism, communication and awareness of the realities in front of us to stay focused on moving forward.
Not only are we living in the midst of a global pandemic and the largest contraction of GDP in our lifetimes, we are also striving to keep the conversation of racial inequity going in a meaningful and sustainable way to effect change in our communities, our companies and our institutions.
I wanted to use our platform today to continue to encourage everyone to stay positive and focus on doing the right thing, and then the next right thing by sharing our values and what we’re doing to support them in our daily lives:
- Relationships – In July we started a campaign dedicated to finding ways to stay connected in a tangible way by providing our clients with an opportunity to join us in supporting Seize Every Opportunity – an organization dedicated to matching opportunities in the financial services industry for people of color that have brought depth and talent to the organizations where they work. In exchange for allowing us to send a limited edition GSG notebook to our clients’ home or mailing address, we are donating $20 to the SEO organization, until the notebooks are gone.
- Diversity – As an LTBTQ owned firm, this mantra has evolved over the years for us as an organization and we’re moving forward with programs and initiatives to expand this value to include equity and inclusion to take it to the next level. One of our programs will include the development of mentoring opportunities for our seasoned consultants to be paired with interns and employees just starting their careers to further their progress and ability to be at the table.
- Community – In pre-pandemic times, we focused on volunteer events in the community to give back. Now that our movements are restricted and there is an increased emphasis on safety and protecting others, we have found a way to give back in a meaningful way. We are joining forces with Career Village to provide support to students and workers at all levels with our expertise. We invite you to join in this effort and provide your expertise as well. It’s easy to register and make a difference in someone else’s life that will make your community stronger.
- Consistency – In a world of uncertainty, maintaining consistency and a positive attitude as a part of our daily routine, showing up and performing on a consistent basis is key. Our focus on the positives to energize those around us, has the impact of providing hope and reliability in a world of the unknown and unknowable. Providing a stable and thriving environment to work is a moral and financial imperative for our employees and consultants around the world.
- Quality, Efficiency and Integrity round out our seven core values and you can read more about what these values mean to us by visiting our website.
We may be separated by distance, and isolated by the social distancing protocols and working remotely during this crisis, but we can all take solace in knowing that we are connected by our values. Values transcend differences in politics, gaps in wealth and insufficient education by calling to our basic human beliefs in how we should treat each other and help each other in our daily lives.
Remember: Every moment presents us with the opportunity to do the right thing. What we say, what we do, what we think has an impact on the world around us. Be kind, be gentle, be patient with one another. Take the time to do the right thing, and then the next right thing.
And WEAR A MASK!!!
John Henning is the Chief Client Officer at Granite Solutions Groupe. He has over 35 years of leadership experience in the financial services and technology industries, and currently oversees all client account management, professional services, marketing strategy, business development and sales operations for GSG.