The Solarity Group: who in the world (or out of this world, rather) are they?
by Cole Guthrie, Solarity Project Manager
Solarity was a term coined to describe the qualities of the organization we wished to build.
The word solar is an adjective that can mean determined by, proceeding from, or pertaining to the sun. The sun shines light on things, helps them grow and thrive. The suffix -ity converts the adjective Solar into a noun that means “the condition or quality of being” determined by the sun. So, when we are at our best, we are an organization that shines light, growing and clarifying things, through the power of a greater light.
Enough of the English lesson; on a macro level this is what we do!
A Project Management and Management Training consulting group focused on CLARITY is a concept somewhat nebulous and hard to make, well… CLEAR; can you feel the irony?
The group started in 2003, as an IT company. It was different from many other firms because of its insistence on taking a project-based approach, ensuring that it set clear, shared targets and documented and tracked work throughout, and confirmed client satisfaction at the end. Over time, it became evident that the project management they did was something that a lot of other companies didn’t, so Solarity stopped consulting on pure IT and started focusing on Project Management. Over time, Solarity added practices using an holistic model that helps organizations achieve their desired outcomes: Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, and Organizational Change Management.
Isn’t Project Management just for construction projects?
When I first approached Bud Ratliff, the group’s incredibly humble AND intelligent President (still feel the irony?), he briefly explained what Solarity did to benefit its clients and the community. After this conversation and researching the website, I was still puzzled. Not having come from a background in Project Management, or IT for that matter, I couldn’t see through the lingo as to what the company actually did. It took me fully immersing myself into the culture to break it down.
So here’s my take:
Solarity is efficiency. Its small size and intelligent staff allow for effective and agile decision-making and process analysis that streamlines solutions to everyday business problems for other companies.
It is the change that is implemented from inefficient processes that workers have maintained for years, never questioning, “why do we do it this way” or “how can this be done better”? This is not to say these organizations are incapable, but contracting externally, with groups like Solarity, give fresh perspective and honesty that is difficult to attain from within a traditional organization alone.
Like a construction project, project management requires the orchestration of many people, moving parts, capital and other resources to work in harmony to achieve a common goal. Without this role, projects of all sorts can take on a life of their own and crash or scale beyond the budget and timeframe allotted.
Solarity not only offers unique solutions tailored specifically to each organization but also empowers leaders of these organizations by training them on the skills to improve.
Never have I been exposed to such quality and genuine individuals who share The Solarity Group’s core values of quality, relationship building, continuous improvement and focus.
The Solarity Group will undoubtedly continue to grow through the service it provides to the community by helping other organizations help themselves. It is a great pleasure to have met such an astounding, down to outer space, team who always is willing to help.
Regardless, see you at Area 51!