Testimonials
Here's what some of our Clients and Peer Advisors are saying about the Peer to Peer Collaborative process.
“The Peer to Peer process has been an outstanding success for our business. Meeting with our Peer to Peer team forced us to do both short and long range planning. We were able to re-assess the assumptions we had about our business and the planning we did helped us prepare for financing our new building. We accomplished more in one year than we could have imagined. I would recommend this to any business that thinks they can do better because they will. Working together with the right people makes all the difference.”
Mark Stephenson, President, Vermont Energy & Contracting Supply Corp., Williston
“Peer to Peer made us think long term and bring our problems and opportunities into sharp focus. This enabled us to think and talk about them in a manner that has led to a lot of action. Each of our team members was different in their background and point of view. Each was an extremely valuable contribution to the whole. Each was able to shift their own experience to stand in our shoes. It has become a comfortable back and forth for ideas and thoughts. I think this is a great service for businesses in Vermont. I would recommend any company to take on a ‘Board of Advisors’ such as this to keep them looking forward.”
Paul Van Huis, Vice President, Kalow Technologies, North Clarendon
"All entrepreneurs deal with organizational transitions. Any company after 3 years, 6 years, or 9 years faces different issues than the heady start up days when “failure” isn't even in your vocabulary. Unfortunately, self-confidence isn't the only skill that's needed to keep the company from the brink when there are customers and employees and operational and human resource and financial issues. Before my P2P experience, I saw the problems but wasn't sure which ones to tackle first and where the knowledge to solve some of them was going to come from (human resource management sure wasn't something I learned getting a Ph.D. in Biochemistry). Because the advisors have proven track records, all I really had to do was listen. And they really listened to me as well. They stuck with me during those times I tried to operate in the “old” way. Maybe because we needed so much, the most important change in the company is me: what I do (or should do) and how I do it. And I think that support gave me the confidence that the organization could get through what is, hopefully, the first of many transitions."
Bill Church, CEO, Green Mountain Antibodies, Burlington
“The Peer to Peer Collaborative has been instrumental in getting me back on track with my business. Their team approach brought an array of perspectives to the table while offering specialized experience regarding particular challenges. Though I entered the Peer to Peer process with one challenge in mind, I've come away with new perspectives on the root causes I hadn't even recognized.”
Steve Conant, President & Founder of Conant Custom Brass, Burlington
“Working with the Peer to Peer Collaborative allowed us the time to stop and dig deeply into major issues facing our business with the support and perspective of experienced professionals on our team. They helped us identify and face those issues, while empowering us to solve them.
It was hard to understand what the outcomes would be when we started. At first I had a hard time trusting the process -- though not the members of the team, for whom I had a great deal of trust and respect. As we progressed I began to see the kind of results we were going to effect. We ended having made major strategic decisions for the company, with an outline for the next steps to be taken. ”
Judi Danforth, CEO of Danforth Pewterers, Middlebury
"Peer to Peer exposed me to many tools and techniques that were useful to my growing business. They gave me access to a much broader group of Vermont business contacts and business histories. It was uplifting to meet with smart, caring, and generous individuals who came from top Vermont companies."
Joel Melnick, President, Nathaniel Electronics, Vergennes
"Vermont has great opportunities for workforce training and development, but this is one of the few opportunites for entrepreneurs to seek development for themselves at critical times. Many of us have a natural tendency towards self-sufficiency that does not always best serve our companies' growth needs. The leverage point for Peer to Peer is supporting a cultural shift towards more communication between entrepreneurs along the experience continuum to enhance the entrepreneurial community in Vermont, and through their success, create higher paying job opportunities for more Vermonters."
Lawrence Miller, Peer Advisor
"Being a Peer Advisor has afforded me the opportunity to work with some top notch people from successful Vermont companies to provide high level consulting help to other emerging businesses. After 16 years in a single job, Peer to Peer has thrown me some new challenges, and I feel fresher and more stimulated in my own work life as a result. The fact that Ellen, the Peer Advisors and the client companies all have a commitment to fair treatment of employees and creating fun, rewarding, self-actualizing workplaces makes the Peer to Peer Collaborative exactly the right fit for me."
Linda Markin, Peer Advisor
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