spreading success ppn_wp_ed1

W H I T E P A P E R

Spreading Success: The Power Of A Professional Peer Network

How leveraging an industry-wide network of top

colleagues helps you raise performance and reduce risk.

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CCNG Magnet Program 719.505.8389 www.ccng.com © 2013 All rights reserved.

Connectivity continues to shrink our world, and in the process transform businesses

and industries. The potential benefit from collaborative problem solving, distributed

innovation, and cross industry learning is more compelling than ever. And so forward-

leaning leaders in many industries are participating in Professional Peer Networks

(PPN) as an effective way to harness an ever-expanding body of knowledge and

resources.

The PPN is a formal community of colleagues with synergistic roles in their individual

organizations. Members of an active PPN connect to share knowledge, support each

other, and contribute to the advancement of a common industry. Through their partici-

pation they leverage an industry-wide network of top colleagues to help them raise

performance and reduce risk across both strategic and operational disciplines.

The most successful companies commit to stay abreast of new

developments and best practice concepts beyond their core markets.

Now more than ever, leaders need to be aware of the dangers of

dependence on entrenched beliefs and past strategies. A strong PPN

provides members a virtual “personal advisory board” and a living

knowledgebase of best practice experience. By sharing insights and

perspectives with a group of committed peers from other regions,

markets, and industries leaders can stay advised of innovations and

combat complacency.

This white paper discusses how an effective PPN helps you harness

the power of an industry-wide network of colleagues to support you and your organiza-

tion. Five fundamental elements of an effective PPN help you raise performance and

reduce risk. Through the strength of the PPN you are able to:

1. Build and expand your network of valuable professional relationships

2. Tap into personal insight and experience

3. Leverage a continuing infrastructure to increase and sustain value

4. Build industry recognition for people, programs and performance

5. Contribute to the industry and spread success

Forward-leaning

leaders leverage

Professional Peer

Networks (PPN) to

harness an ever-

expanding body of

knowledge and re-

sources.

C O L L E A G U E S

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Expand your network of high-value relationships

A key value of participating in the PPN is expanding your professional connections with

colleagues who offer synergy in terms of depth of experience and scope of responsibili-

ties. There is great power in the network. It can connect you with peers who willingly

provide their support and candidly share their extensive insight and experience. Through

the PPN you can build personal and professional relationships that will enhance your

knowledge and abilities throughout your career.

A strong PPN gives you a professional ecosystem of unmatched

knowledge, insight and experience. It embraces a spectrum of

resources that spans colleagues, consultants, thought leaders, service

providers, analysts, associations and peer groups. The network gives

you the ability to make quicker, more accurate decisions based on

the real-world experience and field-proven strategies.

The PPN enables its members to build and leverage high-value rela-

tionships both within its membership and throughout the broader

industry. PPN membership establishes a core of accomplished peers

who have made a commitment to supporting other members. In addition, each member

brings valuable resources to the network through their individual professional networks,

contacts and affiliations.

In this way the PPN ensures you can connect, share, and learn with professionals

throughout the industry. The cross-industry network gives you access to a diverse set of

perspectives and insights, and colleagues who can offer new strategies and new ideas.

CONSIDERATIONS: What issues and initiatives are most important to you right now?

How valuable would it be to reach into a network of respected peers from throughout

the industry and apply their insight and experience to your initiatives?

Share personal insight and experience

It’s likely the value of a active peer network is greater now than ever before. Often the

best practitioners know more than they can put succinctly into presentations and papers.

They rely less on formulas learned in graduate school than on tacit knowledge and in-

C O N N E C T

CCNG Magnet Program 719.505.8389 www.ccng.com

The PPN is an active

professional eco-

system containing

unmatched knowl-

edge, insight and

experience.

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sights learned through personal experience.

PPN members seem to understand that peer-to-peer discussion and sharing can often

provide a more effective and less expensive way to improve performance and reduce the

risk associated with new initiatives. They actively work to identify opportunities for

improvement and solve common problems based on their personal experience and the

collective knowledge of the group.

Industry benchmarks, trend analysis, and best practices all help shape your strategic

decisions. Understanding how these data are effectively applied in your unique business

context is a complex issue. It requires a combination of broad industry perspective and

enterprise-specific knowledge that is best achieved through candid dialogue among

peers. Such shared experiences and professional relationships are the foundation of the

PPN.

The PPN provides numerous ways for you to give and get both knowledge and support.

Members have the opportunity to participate in:

• Collaborative problem solving

• Cross-industry learning

• Individual and collective benchmarking

• Open discussion and deep-dive dialogue

The network gives you the ability to make quicker, more accurate

decisions based on real-world experience and the candid insight of

colleagues.

CONSIDERATIONS: What would be the impact of you and your

teams sharing insights, ideas, and best practices with peers and top

industry professionals? How would that help accelerate programs and mitigate risk on

important initiatives?

Lean on the infrastructure to increase and sustain value

In almost all instances successful professionals have some form of network they can

access for advice. No one operates in a vacuum. What they lack, in most cases, is a

sustainable way to maintain and grow an industry-wide network of like-minded peers

and ever-evolving resources. The PPN provides infrastructure, tools, and oversight to


Candid peer-to-peer

discussion and shar-

ing can often provide

a more effective and

less expensive way to

improve per-

formance.

S H A R E

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help all members build and sustain valuable connections, share information, and spread

success.

Most industries generate a challenging flow of information and a constant shuffling of

professional contacts. It’s not realistic for any one individual to effectively manage and

maintain these resources over time. A PPN provides the means. Through an effective

PPN individual initiative is now supported with process, programs, focused resources

and tools. The PPN provides structure and ongoing oversight to insure the value of the

network does not erode from neglect, but expands and grows to benefit all members.

Through facilitated programs and sustainable infrastructure the PPN helps members

save significant time and deliver better results by insuring continued access to valuable

resources. It can also provide an unbiased filter through which marketing messages and

industry communications are reviewed. In addition, it sift through enormous amounts of

material and “vet” information and sources.

A strong PPN provides programs, resources and tools to support:

• Proactive personal services

• Updated and accurate contact directories

• Opportunities for face-to-face discussion and events

• Facilitated programs to acquire, build and share knowledge

• Resource library of vetted material and connections

• An industry-wide experts database

• Virtual discussion forums and online communication channels

The program infrastructure provides each member with

uninterrupted access to the collective wisdom of the network … and all members with

the specific knowledge and unique contributions of each.

CONSIDERATIONS: How are you staying on top of industry advancements? Are you

able to effectively nurture your professional network and contacts from the last

conference you attended?

Build industry recognition for people, programs and performance

It’s important in every industry to shine a light on the people and organizations who’s

performance has produced significant positive impact. Recognizing outstanding

performance is motivational to the individual, his/her peers, and colleagues.

S T R U C T U R E


PPN programs and

infrastructure give

each member and all

members the ability

to efficiently share

knowledge and

spread success.

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Top organizations effectively shine a light on successful programs and initiatives. They

raise the bar and advance our understanding of what excellence means in our industry.

Their effort strengthens the organization’s bond to top performers and serves to raise

awareness of successful programs internally and externally. When you broaden the

recognition for industry awareness you extend its value significantly .

A strong PPN will provide programs and opportunities to showcase your organization

and the people who drive its performance. The PPN works directly with members to

take advantage of opportunities for industry recognition and market

exposure through industry programs and forums, including:

• Internal and industry-sponsored awards programs

• Member webcasts and conference calls

• Presentations at professional meetings and events

• Operational profiles and articles

• Publicity programs

• Conference presentations and panels

• And more

An effective PPN knows the reputation, reach, and impact of industry

media vehicles and channels, and can help steer members toward

productive exposure and away from irrelevant, or detrimental activity.

CONSIDERATIONS: What forms of industry recognition do you support for your teams,

programs and initiatives? Are you known as a Magnet employer? How would it benefit

the organization to establish a reputation for excellence at an industry level?

Give back and contribute to advancing the industry

Finally, active participation is the key ingredient for any successful PPN. The value de-

rived from your involvement increases through active participation. And the more you

participate the greater the value received. Network participants often follow a common

path that leads them to greater participation, contribution, and ultimately greater value:

• Observation: Often the initial, passive form of participation. There is minimum

investment of personal time and energy.

• Questioning: You’re engaged. You actively pose questions to advance discussions

and initiatives.


Top companies

and organizations

shine a light high-

performing people

and programs to

reward success

and advance the

industry.

R E C O G N I Z E

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• Exchange: You proactively contribute to the discussion. You frequently expand the

conversation and offer personal insight.

• Dialogue: You’re involved in deeper exploration of specific issues and special

interests with peers.

• Lead: You’re driving exchange. You initiate exploration of key issues where your

contribution and experience have high value.

In a productive PPN there is a strong common desire among members to give back and

contribute to the collective knowledge of the network. The PPN gives them a simple and

effective channel through which they can share their knowledge and experience.

Finally, a successful PPN establishes and enforces clear expectations

on “how” members engage and interact. Expectations vary, but are

universally based on consistent concepts:

• Participate! Be an active participant in programs and activities.

• Be responsive. When colleagues reach out to you, make your

response a priority.

• Be candid. Candor and professionalism deliver the right tone.

• Provide feedback on PPN programs and initiatives to enhance

continuous improvement efforts.

• Help other members make connections and expand their profes-

sional networks.

• Contribute to the knowledge and success of the broader contact

center community. Your insight and experience has great value—remember to

share.

CONSIDERATIONS: Your goal should not be to join a PPN, but to participate in one!

The greater your involvement and contribution the more you will receive back in the

form of valuable connections and candid knowledge share from peers.

continued ...

C O N T R I B U T E


Participation is a

muscle that gets

stronger the more

you use it. Active

participation is the

key that unlocks

the value.

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Conclusion

Participating in a strong Professional Peer Network (PPN) that actively shares knowl-

edge and experience is a powerful way to explore new ideas, build more effective pro-

grams, and raise performance. It offers faster, cheaper, more effective ways to improve

performance throughout your entire organization. Through the PPN the people who lead

forward-leaning organizations have the ability to share insights, ideas, and best practices

between peers and top professionals. PPN members know that by participating in the

network their companies and organizations can develop more effective ways to improve

performance, reduce risk, and spread success.

How would it impact your organization to be able to leverage an industry-wide network

of top colleagues and deep contact center knowledge? Perhaps it’s time to find out.

The CCNG Magnet Program

The CCNG Magnet Program is an exclusive Professional Peer Network (PPN) for con-

tact center executives and leaders. It’s a unique extension of the CCNG mission to con-

nect colleagues throughout the industry and spread success. Through the Magnet Pro-

gram you’re part of an executive network that shares best practice insights and experi-

ence with peers from top contact center organizations throughout the industry.

• Build and expand your network of valuable professional relationships with contact

center leaders and award-winning organizations throughout the industry.

• Leverage the knowledge of an industry-wide network of experts and peers.

• Showcase top performing people and programs to build industry recognition and

support operational excellence within your organization.

• Explore new ideas. Build more effective programs, raise performance, and reduce

risk throughout your organization.

This is how good contact center organizations continue to get better.

For information on how to participate please contact Lon Hendrickson, Executive

Director, CCNG Magnet Program, [email protected], 719-505-8389.

S U M M A R Y


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Resources and Additional Reading

• Etienne Wenger, Communities of Practice: a brief introduction, http://

www.ewenger.com/theory/, accessed January 1, 2013

• Mike Richardson, The Power of a Peer Group: How come something so proven is

not more pervasive, and what are we willing to do about it?, Management Innova-

tion eXchange blog, posted October 17, 2012, http://

www.managementexchange.com/story/power-peer-group-how-come-something-so-

proven-not-more-pervasive-and-what-are-we-willing-do-ab

• Stoyan V. Sgourev and Ezra W. Zuckerman, Improving Capabilities Through In-

dustry Peer Networks, MIT Sloan Management Review, Winter 2006, Vol. 47, No.

2, pages 33-38

• Ross Dawson, Living Networks - Anniversary Edition: Leading Your Company,

Customers, and Partners in the Hyper-Connected Economy, 2007

• Bruce J. Neubauer, Albany State University, et.al., Using Personal Learning Net-

works to Leverage Communities of Practice in Public Affairs Education, Journal of

Public Affairs Education, Winter 2011, Vol. 17, No. 1, pages 9-27

• Jeffrey Gitomer, The Little Black Book of Connections, (Bard Press, Austin, 2006)

• Alchemy of Change, Trust and Networks, accessed January 1, 2013, http://

www.alchemyofchange.net/trust-and-networks/

S U M M A R Y

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