By Daniel Ketyer
Team Members:  Jennifer Sekar, Jen Williams, Daniel Ketyer, James Ferguson, Ellis Baehr

Over the course of the year, our team was faced with a number of positive and negative experiences that had an impact on the ultimate success of our project. Looking back, we could have improved the decisiveness of our decision-making and done a better job sustaining momentum over the course of the semester. However, our synergy as a team allowed us to overcome these drawbacks and succeed in establishing the program.

We hope the following five lessons learned throughout this semester can serve as useful advice for future Bass Connections projects.

1. Do your research thoroughly

When doing research it is important to not necessarily take the easiest or most straightforward path. Our group made sure to fully consider our options and understand context when making a decision. A great example is when we made the decision to choose whether to work with local or national partners for the program. We evaluated our options across a number of criteria, we asked difficult questions, and we demanded honest answers. Thorough research allowed us to avoid overlook possible problems.

2. Establish a clear workflow

A second key lesson is to make sure everyone is comfortable with tasks and responsibilities by establishing a clear workflow for the semester. We were lucky in that each member of our team, whether it was a faculty member or undergrad, bought into the mission and was invested in the success of the program. Thus, this allowed us to separate responsibilities and work more efficiently. An example of the importance of this workflow was in the kickoff event, which required planning and coordination over the course of the weeks leading up to the event. I handled the logistics and catering for the event, James and Jennifer were responsible for communication and marketing, and Ellis coordinated with solar installers and delivered our presentation. The result was a kickoff event that attracted more than twice as many people as we expected.

3. Don’t be afraid to adapt

As circumstances change, so too should goals and ambitions. We came into the year expecting to spend the first semester researching the solar market and the second semester producing a program development document. We ended up creating a program rather than a document, delivering a tangible benefit to the University and its employees. By adapting to changing circumstances and additional knowledge, we were able to do more than we initially expected by creating an actual solarize program for employees rather than a simple document.

4. Build synergy as a team

Our chemistry as a team was hugely important to our success, as each of us brought different skills and experiences to the table. For example, even though Jennifer was a biomedical engineering major and hadn’t taken courses related to the topic of our project, she was able to use her experience in project management roles to make superior contributions to the team. Also, the team-building event at Southern Seasons at the beginning of the second semester brought us outside the classroom and helped us connect with our teammates on a personal level. Cooking with the team was one of the definitive highlights of the year.

5. Be decisive in decision-making

While it is important to thoroughly evaluate options, weigh pros and cons, and do everything possible to make an educated decision, we could have been more decisive in moving forward with the program. For example, we were all aware in September/October that the state tax credit was expiring, and it was understood that this was the major incentive that made residential solar affordable in North Carolina. While we did reach out to some potential partners for a solar program, we could have been more decisive in deciding to move forward with the program development, which would have saved time in the spring semester.

In hindsight, we could have done a better job moving quickly as a team to accomplish our shared goals. Ultimately, though, we accomplished more than expected. To date, over 100 people have signed up for free assessments. This is certainly a testament to the work of the team and engagement with the university community. By the end of 2015, we hope many employees in the Duke network will install rooftop solar.