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A conversation with a business associate offers more helpful information than anything you can read in a book, says Angela Santiago, managing director of the Little Potato Company, based in Edmonton.
“You get the benefit of people’s experience, as well as a chance to share confidential information about various issues, such as sales and human resources,” she says. “And, you can bounce ideas off each other.”
For the past five years, Santiago has been attending two peer network groups that regularly meet in Edmonton: Entrepreneurs’ Organization; and Agri-CEO.
“It’s great because you can learn different techniques on leadership, relating to staff,” she adds.
On March 1, Santiago was in Leduc, to speak openly about her experience and success with peer networks. She presented at the launch of a the Peer Networks Project, a pilot program through the Agriculture and Food Council that is partially supported and enabled, under the Renewal Chapter of the Agricultural Policy Framework.
“At Ag Summit 2000, agricultural experts confirmed that human resource issues exist within the agricultural industry,” says Rebecca Wurm, manager of the Peer Networks Project. “We’re positioned to take a leading role in addressing those issues, as well as those relating to management development.
“We want Alberta to be known by its professional farmers, who are highly skilled and who continuously develop new opportunities and find new ways to re-define success.”
The Peer Networks Project is meant to include the leaders and the future leaders of the Alberta agri-food industry.
“We also want to work with interested participants to establish groups in the Alberta Agri-Business Network and Production Network,” says Wurm. “Through the successes of established groups, we hope to be able to create further interest in the project and peer networking.”
“This will lead to the development of more peer networks in the Alberta Agri-Food Industry.”
An Ideal Candidate for Peer Networks:
• A technological innovator and early adopter of new technology;
• A strategic thinker who thinks ‘outside the box;’
• A life-long learner who believes in the process of continual learning and uses opportunities to improve skills and knowledge. Also, is open-minded to new ideas and concepts;
• Politically and economically aware. Understands how current public policy affects their operation;
• Producers/managers of agribusiness who are aware of critical success factors that affect their operations and are looking for information/education on the management of these.
Source: Rebecca Wurm, Manager,
Peer Networks Project
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