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I thought it would be easy. After all, I had a multiple degrees from a reputable university, I had a passion for growing my business and I was a damn fine consultant (at least that what my clients keep telling me). Yet the reality is being an entrepreneur can be pretty lonely, even when you have staff and personal assistants for all intents and purposes you are on your own. As your business grows there is an ever increasing barrage of challenges that present themselves and unlike a multi-national firm there is no board of directors to turn to. Then I discovered a peer advisory forum and what an incredible difference that made. At first all the members were just feeling their way; getting to know each other and testing the amount of trust in the group and each other. However, once established the discussions become more open and the value from these grew.

“Problem with a senior executive?” Take it to the forum. “Wondering whether to merge or go ahead with that acquisition?” Take it to the forum. “Have a challenge with your teenage daughter?” Take it to the forum. In a relatively short time my forum meeting become the most vital and most looked forward to time of the month. A moment where I could reflect, contribute and feel part of a group of individuals that cared about my business, my personal life and me. And I cared about their’s too.

Being part of a peer advisory group is nothing new; people throughout the ages have recognised the supportive power of peers. It has been said if you want to see what your net-worth is going to be take a look around at the people you associate with. Is there a group of people around you that can:

Be a confidant

Be trusted with your business secrets

offer sound advice from an experiential knowledge base

contribute meaningfully to your business

challenge you

intellectually stimulate you

assist you with your goals

hold you accountable

be there for you when you need them

A powerful peer advisory group can do all this and more. Being part of a forum has been the most important aspect of my ongoing business and personal development. So much so that I want others to experience its leveraging power. Along with a friend and colleague we are launching The Emerson Project; A project that encompasses all the promise of a peer advisory forum and more. My partner Steve Mitchinson and I recognised that there were elements something missing, elements that could make the group even more powerful. Together we’ve designed a project where you have the power of the group and the support of one of us to accelerate your growth to the next level and then ensure its sustainability. We’ve added a mentoring component and an educational component where we bring some of the leading experts in areas of interest to the members. This is destined to become an incredible model for individuals seeking significant development. The journey is about to begin. If you think this is something you are interested call me personally and we’ll discuss the opportunity.

Tags: , Leadership, leverage

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 4:07 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.