The Power of Peer Networks: An Interview with Katharyn White, Former CMO, T-Systems (Part II of II)

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Katharyn White, Former CMO, T-Systems and now IBM General Manager, Federal Ecosystem about some of the challenges and growth that she experienced in building an advisory network at T-Systems amidst a pandemic. This is Part II of a two-part interview; please click here to read Part I.

Can you share what you value about Farland’s approach?

“One of the things unique about Farland Group is that they ensure value at the individual and systemic level. In other words, there’s value for everybody that participates because they uniquely have an approach and a formula that recognizes that if that isn’t true, then your resulting advice is either going to be short-lived or incomplete.

Whether that advice is peer-to-peer or company-to-company—or, in this case, for the sponsor of the engagement, the person that has reached out to Farland for help—the goal is to get clarity and insight into the problem they are trying to solve.”

How did Farland help you shape the advisory interaction to be most effective?

“One of the things I think is key in the preparation phase is: don’t prepare on the content—prepare on the questions you want to facilitate the discussion around. Farland helped us with this. Of course, you need to know the content, but the execs know their content. What they don’t know with enough clarity is where they are really seeking the advice. Even if the questions are imperfect, the preparation of getting to the questions enables better advice in the moment.

Whether you do this internally or with another company, my nugget of advice on what makes a great engagement compared to a less valuable one is the power of your question. Because Farland Group is external and they may not have domain expertise, they ask questions that experts wouldn’t ask and that often leads to the right discussion.

Getting the content together is a necessary step but that is not the most important step. I think 9 out of 10 people in this world we’re talking about could present without a slide, but they won’t get the question seeking advice right without the preparation.”

“One of the things I think is key in the preparation phase is: don’t prepare on the content—prepare on the questions you want to facilitate the discussion around.”


What are the advantages of partnering with Farland Group?

“It’s always a benefit when our clients tell us ‘that’s not differentiating’ or ‘that is very meaningful.’ The facilitation of Farland Group really helps to enable that.

I would never engage another company or engage in the process without Farland. I believe anybody can have a good meeting or two, but the trick is an ongoing relationship with the members around this point of mutual value, and that’s what Farland has perfected. They truly approach this as a system where each individual and organization are subsets of these nodes and have value in this process, and therefore, the system will continue.

It’s that continuous process that I think is missing in some models, particularly those that organizations do on their own. They don’t have that focus, clarity, or connectedness that enables a successful systems approach to this.

Farland’s model is one of co-creation at each step of the process. They also have experience with more of the steps in the cycle. More of us have been through the startup phase than the ‘keep going’ and ‘phase-out’ dimensions; Farland has perfected each phase and for anybody doing this, that should be highly valuable. It’s particularly valuable in the post-startup phase. I think more people get the startup phase right on average than they do the rest of the process. It’s the rest of the process that creates the lasting value.”

Related Stories

Closing the Loop: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Posted by in Customer Advisory Boards

Members at a recent Client Advisory Council meeting were vocal about the importance of coming back on the advice offered during the meeting and sharing what actions have been taken. When it comes to follow-up after the Advisory  

Continue Reading »

CXO Perspectives: Leading Change Agendas

Posted by in Understanding the C-Suite

We share what we have learned about the state of digital transformation through our in-depth conversations with CXOs, and how the C-suite has moved beyond early debate to take action in five key areas to drive competitive advantage.

Continue Reading »

Set Your Customer Advisory Council Up for Success: Recruit Your Internal Team First

Posted by in Customer Advisory Boards

When launching a Customer Advisory Council significant thought and attention goes into recruiting members – what criteria to use, whom to invite, and ensuring the mix is on target. However, the same care is not always taken when putting together  

Continue Reading »

Customer Advisory Boards: How Difficult Conversations Drive Change

Posted by in Customer Advisory Boards

One of my first jobs out of university was working in the headquarters office of a local business with several locations. In this role, I worked closely with the customer service representatives, and we received feedback, questions, and  

Continue Reading »


Customer Advisory Boards

Customer Advisory Boards are powerful engines of engagement, insight, and business transformation. Make the most of yours.

Meeting Facilitation: Virtual and In-Person Boards » Taking Your Customer Advisory Board Meetings Virtual »

Learn More »

Engagement Strategy

Like any good relationship, customer engagement is a long-term, reciprocal effort. When done well, meaningful engagement leads to better business results, faster.

Engage Your Customers to Help You Stop Pitching » Getting to a Customer Engagement Mindset »

Learn More »

Understanding the C-Suite

Building C-level programs that are meaningful and bring value to you as well as to your c-suite customers is challenging. Veiled sales pitches won’t win the day with this audience. Deliver what executives want: ideas, inspiration, innovation, influence.

Building a C-Suite Client Experience Strategy » Do you Know What Your Customers Value? »

Learn More »