The power of working with your peers
We are in the process of concluding the Humber Business Scale Up Development Programme which CDI Alliance has been delivering on behalf of Winning Pitch. Conceived as a programme that would be delivered face to face everything changed when the pandemic hit. The value of face-to-face delivery was reinforced when we returned to delivering two 2-day bootcamps and some 1 to 1 work with Humber based businesses recently.
Learning happens in many ways:
- talk and chalk
- coaching
- mentoring
- facilitation
but possibly the most powerful way to share knowledge is through peer working.
Shared experience – good or bad – is invaluable.
The final Humber bootcamp was attended by eight businesses all of whom were equally keen to share ideas, experience and to offer advice to each other. We worked with them to painstakingly develop a visionary canvas crammed with detail that represents each business as it will be 3-years from now. Profit is critical but the canvas focuses on everything that will make the numbers happen. This includes markets, products and services, competitive processes, capacity, meeting client needs, routes to market, culture, managing performance and much more. By working hard to cover off all the bases, achieving the numbers becomes almost incidental.
September 2021 Bootcamp. Presenters left to right: Guy Lewis, David Regler
But having the ideas – however detailed – and a plan to make them happen is only the start. There are many aspects to change which if addressed ensure you get the result you want – but otherwise deliver unintended consequences. One such is getting everyone to see change as positive, in their interests and worth embracing – getting their buy-in.
There once was a time when stability was a hallmark of the business and economic landscape. Today it’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.
To prosper businesses need:
- a clear vision for the future
- an understanding of what the implications and consequences are going forward
- clarity that all the team share the same goal
- agility to implement the plans
It’s pivotal to helping entrepreneurial teams grow profitably and sustainably, and this is what we do at CDI Alliance.
The combined experience of all eight businesses and four presenters with considerable business experience of their own was priceless. And the level of involvement is summed up by one quote –
“I have never felt as passionate about someone else’s business as I have in the bootcamp!”
