Long Term Business Help with TheEdgeCoaching and SCY

On the 11th of July we had an event entitled Business Growing Pains in order introduce a service that we're launching for a select group of our contacts that promises to help growth and development of businesses.

Called Action Learning Sets or Peer Learning, David Taylor of TheEdgeCoaching will mediate this process. David has extensive experience of facilitating Peer Learning and has done so as part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses program as well as 'Accelerate' groups and on the 6x6 Cultural Industries Project.

Peer Learning has previously helped companies to increase profit, restructure to respond to market changes and successfully grow. They can inform decisions on immediate as well as long term strategic issues. Participating will be like having a board made of individuals with different experiences and from different backgrounds. This can be incredibly powerful because of the fresh and varied views and experience. You will be assigned to help someone with their actions and someone will be assigned to help you, this ensures that support is there to follow through on decisions made with the group.

The make up of the group will ideally be six or seven individuals who have the ability to change the organisations or departments they represent. They will be from smaller businesses although if you can make a case for being applicable we'll consider it (for instance, a team for which you have ultimate control). The meetings will be every six weeks or so and will start in September. They usually last three to four hours each time.

To get the best out of this group you need to make a committment to be available for all dates and treat all meetings as strictly confidential. You also agree to provide your assistance between the meetings to the fellow member assigned to you. We will endeavour to select from the applicants to provide a complementary group in both company size and agility as well as to avoid conflicts of interest.

If you think you'd be a good candidate and you have a pressing business issue, want to grow or just want to learn over the course of the year please get in touch. You have to be within SCY's geographical remit (e.g. get or have gotten our newsletter in the past and be located within a reasonable distance of York).

We reserve the right to make the final decision on who will take part in the program. If you'd like to apply or for more information get in touch with SCY and mention Peer Learning!

[Oh yeah, and it's free!]