The very notion of peer diversity may feel like a number of successful industry-specific peer groups out there. \u00a0 While industry-specific peer groups can be valuable, people typically join them because they assume they will learn more and receive the best advice from people who already understand the nuances of their business.\u00a0 This is where I would suggest that there\u2019s additional value to be gained from a peer group with greater diversity \u2013 one whose members operate outside your everyday world.<\/p>\n By broadening your definition of peer, it allows you to consider working with people who may be from very different industries and backgrounds, but who share common challenges and similar aspirations.\u00a0\u00a0 In this type of group, you become exposed to strategies and practices that are everyday occurrences in some sectors yet completely foreign to your own. \u00a0 You\u2019ll find yourself leveraging the diversity of expertise in disciplines common to your organizations (HR, communication, finance, etc.) and sharing similar experiences from your respective work environments.<\/p>\n To illustrate the point in a different context, let me offer a brief anecdote:\u00a0 Years ago, I founded my own PR firm in Florida; I had a terrific team and a healthy list of great clients including McDonald\u2019s, Sprint PCS, CSX Transportation, etc.\u00a0 Turns out Wal-Mart needed an agency in North Florida to assist with opening a new store.\u00a0 I believed that with all our team retail experience, we were the perfect fit for this assignment.\u00a0 In making our case to Wal-Mart, I touted our retail experience, great list of clients, blah, blah, blah.\u00a0 We lost the opportunity to work with Wal-Mart because they didn\u2019t care about our retail experience.\u00a0 (They have some of that already as you might have guessed!)\u00a0 What they needed was a firm that really understood all the other issues involving the local community \u2013 areas where Wal-Mart lacked the requisite expertise.<\/p>\n The point is: You don\u2019t need to surround yourself with people who know what you know; you need to engage people who know things you\u00a0don\u2019t know. When you think of it this way, it\u2019s easy to see how much additional value you can glean from people outside your industry.\u00a0 If nothing else, a peer advisory group that offers greater diversity can serve to augment the advice you\u2019re receiving from your industry colleagues.<\/p>\n Peer diversity is not an oxymoron.\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re a member of an industry peer group or not part of a group at all,\u00a0 consider joining a peer advisory group comprised of members outside your industry.\u00a0\u00a0 Give it six months and you\u2019ll be astonished at what you will learn and how much you will contribute to others.\u00a0\u00a0 If you\u2019re not convinced, consider this quote about curiosity from\u00a0Seth Godin<\/a>: \u201cA fundamentalist considers whether a fact is acceptable to their faith before they explore it. A curious person explores first and then considers whether they want to accept the ramifications.\u201d\u00a0 Be curious!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thanks to Leo Bottary at Vistage International for Permission to Reproduce His Content. Let me start by saying I don\u2019t mean \u201cpeer\u201d the verb. I\u2019m not asking about the creepy type of peer which is defined by dictionary.com as 1) … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ceotucson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/visual-300x292.jpg\" "\\"Peer")
<\/a>So what we know about the word \u201cpeer\u201d is that it\u2019s rooted in nobility and common status.\u00a0 We also know that while words have definitions, they also carry connotations that evolve over time and influence the very meaning of words and how they are interpreted.\u00a0 So if you asked someone to define the word peer, or to describe a peer, they might respond by saying, \u201cSomeone like me.\u201d\u00a0 While that\u2019s partly true, it doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t have peers who are very different from you as well.\u00a0 When you think of the word peer in this way, you can start to consider the implicit value of peer diversity.<\/p>\n