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Chapter 10 is entitled, The 20/20 Vision Advantage.

We’ve rounded the final quarter pole of the book, THE POWER OF PEERS by Leon Shapiro and Leo Bottary. By now we’ve come to understand how powerfully true the subtitle of the book is, “How the company you keep drives leadership, growth and success.” The authors have provided numerous examples proving the validity of that statement. You’d think more CEOs and business owners would avail themselves of the opportunity to surround themselves with their peers so they could experience THE PEER ADVANTAGE. But as Keith Ferrazzi and others have noted, these relationships don’t just come about naturally. They’re formed with intention and purpose. I suppose that’s one reason they can be rare, mostly finding their way into the lives of the very best of the best. Just another reason why you should give serious thought to joining their ranks.

And it’s a chief reason why Bula Network is now forming the first two charter groups of THE PEER ADVANTAGE, exclusively for U.S. based small business owners. THE PEER ADVANTAGE is an online peer advisory group comprised of 7 small business owners from around America who come together twice a month for 2 hours each time – that’s a total of just 4 hours monthly – expressly to grow their businesses and their lives as business owners. This isn’t kumbaya kind of stuff. It’s real-life, real-time business building where we can come together to discuss our biggest issues and opportunities. Quite simply, it’s about us joining forces to put in the work to take your business to new heights of achievement and success.

Chapter 10 begins with a quotation from former MIT Engineering School dean Gordon Brown. “To be a teacher is to be a prophet. We are not preparing children for the world we have lived in, but for a future we can barely imagine.” The same could be said of CEOs and business owners as we try to build and prepare our companies for the future.

Broadening your view and expanding your perspective can be accomplished when your peers bring it into a view unlike anybody else in your life. When we exchange experiences and ideas from peers who occupy different spaces, different industries – we can more easily make application to our own circumstances. Your peers can help you more easily evaluate your challenges, take advantage of your opportunities and chart a course for your future. That’s how peer advantage provides a vision advantage. It helps you not only prepare for the future, but shape it.

In 2008 the recession had a serious impact on many businesses. The authors talk about one CEO of a jewelry designer and consultant with jewelry in more than 2000 stores nationwide. Luxury and accessories were hard hit by the downturn. The CEO responded quickly by focusing her designs on a fashion-forward appeal. She was part of a CEO peer advisory group. They encouraged her to travel and maintain a trade show presence in spite of the investment. That steady persistence secured Macy’s as a new client in Q3 of 2011. In 2012 she increased her business 40%.

During this troubling time her CEO group worked as a functioning council ready and able to help her steer her company successfully. She not only met the challenges, but she created opportunities. All at the urging of her CEO group who were seeking her best interests. She was able to see more clearly with the help of other CEOs in her group. It prevented her from being blind-sided or short-sighted.

Looking back, we can see what happened to the economy in 2008, but there were business owners and CEOs who saw it coming. They didn’t know exactly what was coming or how deeply it would impact business, but they could see a storm coming. So they responded and prepared, thanks to the foresight provided by their peer advantage group.

In 2006 there were a number of CEOs in Atlanta who were part of a group. Part of their collective work involved following an economist with a solid reputation for tracking the global economy. Signs of a banking crisis began to appear on the horizon and one of the CEOs in the group, a banker himself, agreed that it was just a matter of time when people would be scrambling. The group knew a correction was coming and figured it might come by late 2008 or early 2009. Other members of the group were seeing signs in their own industries. All this resulted in the group sticking together to prepare and help each other.

The banker in the group led them through a series of exercises to prepare. Each company was credit line dependent so they were all able to keep their current financing or get new financing thanks to these exercises.

The group members also knew that when the crunch hit members might be tempted to cut the investment of being in the group. They all agreed it would not be a good time to leave the group, simply to save a few bucks a month. They agreed they’d stick together no matter what. Today, every CEO is in place in the group and in their company. Each member is thriving.

Planning and preparation are important. As the German military saying goes, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” There are always unknowns. Dwight Eisenhower said, “In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” You may not be able to predict, but you can – and must – plan.

Sailboat racers will tell you that no two races are the same. Too many variables are in place – like wind, weather, equipment, competitors and more. Sailboat racers say that to win, you have to get your head out of the boat. It helps to pay attention to the instruments, but it only matters relative to the other boats in the race. Working with a diverse group of CEOs or business owners is a way to get your head out of the boat, to stop working in the weeds of your business — and to start working seriously on growing your business.

Business owners and CEOs are challenged to future-proof their businesses. Agility is the advantage. Peer advantage provides that.

CEOs and owners are advised to consider factors from the customer’s perspective rather than thinking in terms of macro trends, income, sales and profit ratios. How do customers see their own situation? How are they making their decisions? The more we can become acquainted with customers in other spaces, the more objective we can be and the more likely we’ll be to spot trends that can guide us in our own decision-making.

That distance from our own situation allows us to be more objective. We’ll be better able to see trends we may not have otherwise seen. Working with peers outside our industry provides us that vision.

The authors liken looking at macro data to driving our car forward while looking in the rearview mirror. The past is the past. It may not provide much guidance on the present or the future. Gone are the days of undisrupted industry. So now we all must think like a futurist.

Sheryl Connelly is the corporate futurist for Ford Motor Company. “Blue jeans have been around for roughly 150 years,” she says. “In the early 1900’s if I tried to walk into a fine hotel wearing blue jeans, I wouldn’t get past the front door. Jeans were worn by laborers. They were low cost and highly utilitarian. Today, they are high fashion. They are common in many office environments, and I could wear them at just about any fine restaurant. What changed in the last 100 years were our values, attitudes and behaviors. This is what CEOs need to pay attention to.”

She suggests that the SWOT analysis remains valuable today. The problem is that the SWOT tool is extremely limiting. Connelly suggest the problem is you don’t own your strengths, your customers do. They’re the ones who determine where you’re strong. And they’re fickle. Another way the SWOT is limiting is CEOs can be blindsided by competition. Often unlikely competition. Think Blockbuster and Kodak. Their failure to respond didn’t end well.

Rather than a SWOT analysis, look inward, broaden your view and focus on what you can’t control that could impact your business. Stay on top of trends, technology advances, economic drivers, environmental concerns and political dynamics. Then consider what Ms. Connelly describes as wild card events, such as 9/11 or the 2013 earthquake in Japan. Those events have an immediate impact and have to be considered in real-time.

One approach is to exhaust the “what if?” questions. Take a look at your business from 10,000 feet. Ask all the questions about things beyond your control. And employ scenario planning. Look at your assumptions and question them. CEOs and owners who have the peer advantage are surrounded by others who will help them do that. They can uncover each other’s blind spots and help each other see things more clearly.

The chapter then dives into a number of examples where CEOs and owners were able to seize opportunities. It’s not just about dealing with problems. Improved vision helps us spot opportunities, too. There are solid stories of groups that helped each other see and examine opportunities that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.

The final part of the chapter shows how peer advantage can improve vision to allow members to see things more globally. We’re all prone to silo ourselves. We occupy our space, our industry. We run with folks who also operate in our space. It can restrict our point of view and narrow our field of vision. But through peer advantage we can truly see and understand how all the different sectors of industry interface with one another and how connected we all really are.

The chapter’s summary reminds us of how our parents hoisted us up on their shoulders to give us a better view when we were too small to see clearly. That elevated height enabled us to see. In a peer advisory group we stand on the shoulders of our peers who help us see better than we ever could by ourselves. They lift us up so we can get a better view.

The trust and mutual respect you share in such a group give you permission to challenge one another’s assumptions, see opportunities where others may just see problems, exchange ideas that may be common place in one industry, but unheard of in another.

A peer group meeting is a place where you can think like a futurist and plan for the best or worst with agility. The peer advantage can help you work on the right things. The chapter ends with this sentence, “Now you just have to find the right peers with whom you can share your aspirations.”

I hope THE PEER ADVANTAGE by Bula Network can provide that experience for you. Find out more by visiting ThePeerAdvantage.com.

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Full disclosure: I produce the podcast for Leo Bottary, co-author of the book THE POWER OF PEERS. Maybe it produces a bias. Mostly it produces insights and enthusiasm around the topic as indicated by the subtitle, “How the company you keep drives leadership, growth and success.”

Chapter 1

“CEOs are faced with a singular reality: there are very few people they can reply upon for impartial advice.”

According to a study conducted by the Center For Leadership Development And Research at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance and The Miles Group, many CEOs struggle with isolation and a sense of loneliness. Almost two thirds of CEOs don’t receive any outside leadership advice. 100% of the respondents said they’d be open to making changes based on feedback.

Sir Richard Branson, “Many people think that an entrepreneur is someone who operates alone, overcoming challenges and bringing his idea to market through sheer force of personality. This is completely inaccurate. Few entrepreneurs — scratch that: almost no one — ever achieved anything worthwhile without help.”

CEOs can teach one another. A CEO can question the validity of joining a peer advisory group comprised of diverse leaders, “How will CEOs who know nothing about my specific business or my industry help me?” And some may wonder, “How much time are we really going to spend on issues that impact my company?”

By coming together CEOs help each other realize their individual goals. Instead of learning through reading case studies, they work in real-time on actual business issues. It provides a broader range of perspectives and business issues. Far more than a CEO would be exposed to from people at their own company.

But there’s something else…another benefit. CEOs in such groups begin to view their companies vertically and horizontally. They pay closer attention to the power of peers within their own organizations.

The power of peers is partly found in not getting answers, but in being questioned. That benefit is sparked because of a few fundamental elements found in an effective peer advisory group.

One, impartiality. Fellow CEOs aren’t bothered with the considerations of employees, board members, suppliers or customers. They have no agenda other than helping one another grow their business.

Two, shared challenges. CEOs in these groups serve completely different customers perhaps, but they share common challenges about employees, growth, profitability, executive development, technology, and a host of other things. Their diversity results in enhanced learning. The more they talk, the more they realize they have a lot in common.

Three, learning. Shared ideas across different industries, at different stages of growth…makes for rich conversations where deep learning happens. Sharing wins and losses builds trust, further deepening the conversation and learning.

Four, empathy. It takes one to know one. People who have never been a CEO can’t relate, but fellow CEOs can. The empathy of people walking in the same shoes is vital to creating an environment where shared experiences enrich everybody’s life.

Five, owning the solution. Peer advisory groups aren’t consulting firms. Instead of offering solutions they help members arrive at their own. And each member decides for themselves what actions they’ll take.

In 1991 Etienne Wenger-Traynor and Jean Lave coined the term communities of practice. It’s been described as “groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.” That’s exactly what happens inside a peer advisory group of CEOs or business owners.

In ancient Greece craftsmen formed communities where members trained one another and shared innovations. During the Middle Ages guilds offered a similar experience for artisans.

Ben Franklin, in early American history, organized a group of 12 friends to provide an ongoing forum for structured discussion. That original group was diverse. There were printers, surveyors, a cabinet maker, a cobbler, a clerk and a merchant. They met on Friday evenings to talk politics, morals and philosophy. “Our debates were to be under the direction of a president, and to be conducted in the sincere spirit of inquiry after truth, without fondness for dispute or desire of victory,” said Franklin.

In 1793 the group originally known as the Junto became the American Philosophical Society, created “to promote useful knowledge in the colonies.” It still operates today!

Most people first heard of this idea in Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich. He described the advent of the mastermind group and how Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford credited their mastermind groups for much of their success. Hill regarded these groups as the secret to success of all great men at the time.

As of 2015 Millennials represented 45% of the workforce. 28% of them serve in management roles. It’s a generation that relishes connection with colleagues. Digital and face-to-face connections are highly sought and valued.

The communities of practice found in a business peer advisory group – such as The Peer Advantage – gives business owners the ability to work on their current issues and challenges in real time. No case studies. No fictional scenarios. Real-time learning that happens from their own individual and collective experiences.

Peer influence isn’t the same as peer advantage.

We connect online or in person. Mostly we connect with acquaintances, even if they’re people we’ve never met before. We network online or at conferences and seminars. Maybe at local events. It’s likely more selective and with a purpose of advancing personal and professional interests.

There’s a difference between peer influence and peer advantage. In the first one we experience when we connect and network. In the later, we optimize and accelerate, two terms that are the focus of the book.

We optimize when we work together in teams to perform at high levels of excellence. Think Blue Angels or Special Forces. Accelerate is the ultimate means for gaining peer advantage. The objective is to grow, meet tough challenges, achieve lofty goals and grow as leaders.

Peer advantage is peer influence of the higher order. Peer advisory groups employ 5 factors essential to the group experience and to achieving desired outcomes.

1. Select the right peers – find true peers who share your commitment to excellence.
2. Create a safe environment – cultivate an atmosphere that is judgment-free, inspiring open dialogue and deep learning.
3. Utilize a smart guide – someone who can effectively facilitate the conversation.
4. Foster valuable interaction – establish a process that encourages rich and meaningful conversations.
5. Be accountable – honor a shared expectation that you will do what you say you’ll do.

No CEO or business owner should have to go it alone. So ends chapter 1.

Buy the book here.

That way you’ll be able to follow along with greater detail. I hope to give you an overall sense of the book’s content, but would encourage further reading and study.

Peer groups are quite natural. We’ve experienced them whenever we’ve been part of a team or organization that works together toward a common purpose. As business owners and leaders most of us have NOT experienced them. Instead, we’re surrounded by our employees, including our executive team. And these are good, maybe even great people. After all, we had a hand in bringing them into our organization either directly or indirectly. We’ve also got vendors and suppliers. Some of them are close to us. We even socialize with a few of them because we like them. And we’ve got professional people helping us at every turn. Our CPA or accountant, our attorney and other professionals who help us navigate a variety of specific challenges. All good people. Some great. But they all need something or require something from us. It’s fine. It’s just how it is.

Through the years I’ve sat down with countless CEOs and business owners to discuss their challenges. In every instance, they’ve admitted there are many things in their lives that they feel must be endured alone. From the CEO who is having secret meetings to have preliminary discussions about an acquisition who confesses he can’t even take that to his CFO to the business owner whose wife has just been diagnosed with a serious ailment. Professional issues. Personal issues.

Every human being yearns for connection. It doesn’t matter how tough you are, or how smart you may be, or how resilient you’ve been (and still are). You need other people. There’s no such thing as the “self-made” man or woman. We’ve all had help. We all need help.

SMB owners are accustomed to going their own way. Maybe you’ve prided yourself in being unemployable because you just can’t work for anybody else. Maybe you’ve just been driven to do your own thing. Whatever your drives and motivators…you’re at the helm of your own business. It all rests on you and you wouldn’t have it any other way. That doesn’t make you immune from loneliness and the desire to have input from others.

There’s a trite proverb, but many would argue that doesn’t make it any less true. I argue that it’s completely false.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.  -African proverb

Instead, I know that business owners can go fast and far together. Growth is accelerated when we have the help and support of others. We can reach higher faster when we go together. That’s what The Peer Advantage is all about. For more details just visit THE PEER ADVANTAGE.

P.S. Check out Leo’s podcast – YEAR OF THE PEER.

Subscribe to the podcast

To subscribe, please use the links below:

• Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
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If you have a chance, please leave me an honest rating and review on iTunes by clicking Review on iTunes. It’ll help the show rank better in iTunes.

Thank you!