Peernovation: What Peer Advisory Groups Can Teach Us About Building High-performing Teams
Leo Bottary
Archway Publishing (October 2020)

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” African proverb

In his earlier book, Power of Peers: How the Company You Keep Drives Leadership, Growth, and Success, Leo Bottary and co-author Leon Shapiro suggest that a peer advisory group “is one of the most powerful, proven, and efficient leadership tools for enhancing the value of your business and your life. A diverse group of your peers will help you identify your blind spots, challenge your assumptions, and provide you with the kind of insights you’ll need to succeed and thrive.” I agree while noting, as indicated, that such a group is not for everyone. Those who read this book with appropriate care will be well-prepared to make that determination.

In his latest book, Bottary offers no head-snapping, dazzling revelations about how to build high-performance teams. As is also true of his two previous books, however, the material in this one consists of solid information, insights, and counsel based on his wide and deep real-world experience with members of peer advisory groups, yes, but also with other executives who have participated in the seminars, workshops, and podcasts he has conducted.

With regard to the book’s title: “Peernovation occurs when a selected group of people, who with a common purpose and shared values, work together to make each other better and create something larger than themselves. Simply put: Peer Advantage + Systems Thinking = Peernovation.”

I agree with the African proverb quoted earlier as well as with H.E. Luccock who suggests that “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” However, it takes a composer such as Mozart or Beethoven to create it. Both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci needed assistance when creating their greatest works but theirs is the singular vision that guided and informed the collaboration.

High-impact performance is not a zero sum game. Genius and teamwork are not mutually-exclusive. On the contrary, at the highest level, they are [begin italics] interdependent [end italics]. This is precisely what Phil Jackson has in mind when observing, “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

The WHAT and WHY of building high-performance teams have been obvious at least since Ulysses led efforts to build a wooden horse that would enable the Greeks to enter and then conquer Troy.

In this book, Leo Bottary explains the HOW. What he suggests is practical and doable, and will be — if done properly — successful. With rare exception, high-performance teams consist of ordinary people who produce extraordinary results. For the leaders and members of these teams, Peernovation is a must-read.