Okay, I admit it, I have had very few good ideas that were truly original. Embracing the fact that I’m just not that smart has been critical to the success of Smart Dolphins.

Business people who believe they can figure everything out on their own are making their lives more difficult than necessary. Building a sustainable organization in a dynamic world is a complex undertaking. Thankfully, there are so many best practices that have already been established in the business world, business people do not have to reinvent the wheel.

I gained a lot of insights from these groups during the foundational years of my business and I received a good volume of general life and business lessons that continue to serve me today.

As we migrated to our managed services model, I found that these general, local peer groups were missing a depth of understanding, specific to Smart Dolphins. At the time, my peers in these groups struggled to give me advice and perspective, so, I sought out an industry-specific peer group and that was the best business decision that I have ever made.

Since 2011, I have met 3-4 times a year with peers that are running the exact same business model as I do. We all speak the same language and collectively we share a greater depth of industry knowledge. Our various experiments and experiences are shared liberally amongst these non-competing peers.

Every trip to meet with them has me returning to Smart Dolphins with a pot of gold in the form of great ideas, perspective and inspiration.

Every business is different, and a peer group might not be right for all, but I do encourage almost all business people to at least explore the idea.

If you compete in a limited geographic area, I recommend that you seek out and engage an industry-specific peer group or form your own!

There are others who are fighting the same battles in different parts of the world. Join forces! You don’t need to figure everything out by yourself. You can make your life and business a lot easier through the Power of Peer.