Finding a Peer Group - Lessons Learned

 Finding a Peer Group

- Lessons Learned, Episode 50

In the early 2000s, lots of independent consultants began to find each other, primarily because of the duel watering holes created by SMB Nation and the Small Business Server product from Microsoft. Many of us (myself included) started local Small Business “user groups.” And as these emerged, so did a worldwide network of group leaders who naturally built networks (the people kind) and facilitation between them all.

And then the next level of professional networking evolved: peer groups. I’m not sure if HTG (Heartland Technology Group) was really the first, but the founder, Arlin Sorensen, was well connected and did a great job of building mindshare as well as great peer groups. Once the first HTG group had proven successful, they began to build more groups.

I was invited to join, and had an amazing group. We met quarterly and gave each other lots of advice and a level of accountability. I made some life-long friends in that group and found the relationships to be at least (maybe more) helpful than the business advice. And my relationship with the larger HTG community was extremely valuable to me and my business.

HTG grew until it was widely recognized as a group of the premier IT consultants in the SMB space. Eventually, however, they decided that getting money from vendors was too tempting to pass up. They made a deal with one vendor to push the vendor’s brand and eventually to require use of their toolset for all HTG members. I used a competing product and I was asked to leave.

Ultimately, this split boiled down to a pissing contest between the leadership of the two vendors that dominated the market. With minor adjustments, this feud continues today with modern versions of those players. Culture – good or bad – flows from the leadership on down.

Ultimately, in my opinion, you have the choice of whether you will contribute to bitterness and divisiveness in the world of business or not. The irony is that, at the MSP level, group members competed with each and helped each other grow at the same time. They were an example that the big vendors never tried to follow.

After being asked to leave the group that I truly enjoyed, I felt a void. I think once you have had a taste of sharing ideas and “masterminding” with a group, you always want that for your life and business. Coincidently, I am a member of a mastermind group of local businesses in Sacramento that has been going on for fifteen year. I talk to them personally and professionally every week.

I started looking around for an alternative peer group to join and found TBG – Taylor Business Group. TBG had two major differences from HTG. First, our group shared our financials at every meeting. This was a quick and easy way to actually see in real numbers whether someone was just talk or actually making progress. It also helped us see how small changes here or there could make a big difference.

The second difference is that the TBG meetings were guided by a business coach with an agenda. The two-day meetings had lots and lots of open discussion, but the guidance added considerably to the value of the gathering. In addition, the coach gave us clear, specific, actionable advice and held us accountable at the next meeting.

In a peer-led peer group, the best advice available is that of the peer who has the most experience on a specific topic. In a coach-let peer group, the coach brings knowledge and experience from dozens, or hundreds of businesses. This really does make a difference.

Since that time, peer groups seem to be everywhere. It’s hard to say which are better or worse, but with the industry being more mature all the time, my guess is that they’re all valuable in some way. And the good news is, there’s a wide variety of styles and prices. So if you haven’t joined a peer group yet, today’s a good day.

A handful of lessons were learned (over about five years). First, things always change, so stop acting as if they won’t. Second, just because you love one thing doesn’t mean you won’t find something you love more. Third, sharing ideas and strategies with so-called competitors is one of the most valuable things I’ve ever done in my personal life and with all the businesses I’ve owned.

Have you peered into peer groups yet? I'd be happy to hear your stories.

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Episode 50

This Episode is part of the ongoing Lessons Learned series. For all the information, and an index of Lessons Learned episodes, go to the Lessons Learned Page. 

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