New Program Teaches How to Build Relationships

15 Second Executive Summary:

Ken Cook: The Man Behind The Results

I first met Ken Cook, Managing Director of Peer to Peer Advisors a few years ago through a mutual center-of-influence who had a feeling that, “you two should know one another”.  From the start, Ken was impressive – he’s authored two books for the American Marketing Association, numerous articles, he was a consultant for INC. Magazine, The INC. 500 as well as a consummate networker in his own right.  Shortly after breaking bread together, Ken became a client of mine and I became a true fan of his, too.

About 4 years ago, Ken established Peer to Peer Advisors.  This is a company that’s driven by Ken’s passion for putting people together and his expertise at helping them find their own answers for driving their business and personal success to new heights. Initially formed in the northeast, Peer to Peer Advisors is currently expanding to provide qualified company leaders throughout the US with a forum for learning and a venue where growing one’s relationships leads, inevitably, to growing one’s business and personal success.

“Ken, I’d like you to meet Keith . . .”

As Ken was expanding Peer to Peer Advisors, one of his investors suggested that he knew someone who Ken should meet and vice versa.  That person was Keith Ferazzi.  Keith is the founder of Ferazzi Greenlight, a strategic consulting and professional development firm that specializes in helping companies – mostly in the Fortune 500 – improve relationships with customers, partners and employees.  He’s a graduate of Yale, Harvard Business School and has cultivated a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ network of key people in politics, business, and the arts.  He’s also the author of “Never Eat Alone – and other secrets to success, one relationship at a time” – a wildly successful book that’s been reviewed quite favorably by such publications as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Fast Company magazine – among other equally notable publications.

Ken and Keith found a kindred spirit in one another and Keith granted Peer to Peer Advisors an exclusive license to use Ferazzi Greenlight’s process for building relationships inside the model that Ken developed for Peer to Peer Advisors – an Advisory Board of collegial peers – business owners and executives – that is facilitated by a trained individual whose goal is to keep the group focused on issues and draw out the collective wisdom of the group’s members.

Now there’s a ‘Chocolate and Peanut Butter’ combination if ever there was one!

The Program: The Focused Growth Workshop

Built on the same basic (and, highly effective!) chassis of the regular Peer to Peer Advisors program, each Focused Growth Workshop is limited to no more than 10 business owners who meet with a trained group facilitator to learn the relationship-building philosophy and practices of Keith Ferazzi.  The main difference between the regular Peer to Peer program and the Focused Growth Workshop, besides the focus of the group’s meetings, is that these groups meet six (6) times a year vs. twelve (12) a year for regular Peer to Peer meetings.

In between each meeting, clients are provided with reinforcement in the form of webinars, conference calls and 1-on-1 consulting to create a tailored program of relationship development for each member of the advisory board.

The vision for each group is to learn the principles, gain the skills and exercise the attitude needed to use them in building a network of valuable and valued relationships with people who can help you realize your dreams by achieving your goals.

The program is extremely goal-oriented.  In the first 60 days, the Peer to Peer Advisors facilitator helps each board member focus on identifying and developing relationships with three (3) people who are key to realizing the member’s business and/or personal goals. By

the end of 12 months, the goal is be actively developing relationships with 50 individuals and cultivating relationships with 200 others who can be keys to reaching the member’s goals.

What makes the program unique is the focus on building relationships, not keeping score.  Ferazzi notes that business is all about relationships and relationships are all about people.  Ken wants a client to focus on identifying and cultivating relationships as a foundational strategy for growing business rather than focusing on the ‘fruits’ those relationships can produce.  Says Cook, “If you understand the cause behind the effect, you focus on building relationships and the result – business and personal success – will take care of itself”.

The Future:  Where To From Here? 

Ken’s currently rolling out the first (of many) Focused Growth Workshops in a few select areas – primarily in the northeast and mid-Atlantic region.  In 2007, Ken’s planning on a national rollout of these Focused Growth Workshops throughout the US.

Peer to Peer Advisors is inviting passionate people who see building relationships as a key strategy for building a business to embrace this program either as a client-participant or, as a Peer to Peer Advisors group facilitator or Regional Vice President.

For further information on this new program or Peer to Peer Advisors, call Ken Cook, Managing Director at: (866) 965-4242 or email him at: info@peertopeeradvisors.com
 

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Contact Bill at BillD@TheNationalNetworker.com or via TNNW Blog.