Blog Post

The Fellowship of Peers

Jakka Pranav Swaroop Naidu • January 14, 2025

Someone welcomed me once to the fellowship of peers. I was this insecure and lonely newly christened executive that someone noticed and embraced. This act of kindness changed me. For the last 20 years I am that annoying neighbor who still brings fresh baked cookies to your door and brings otherwise busy and hurried executives together. The Fellowship of Peers.


I have practiced this in every city where I served as CIO. Cleveland, Dallas and NYC. Since I served twice in Cleveland, I blend former and newer colleagues. I took this same philosophy and leveraged the last several years as a way to connect others and frankly, get help to write some of my collaborative books known as "Voices of Innovation". This is where the majority of Voices come from! I now visit at least one city per week. There is no pay to play, purely iron sharpening iron. No awkward sales angle.

Cleveland I served Twice so Multi-Generations

Last week we had a pre-Diwali meet-up to celebrate two new Manhattan CIOs. The ice breaker included one sentence word of advice. Even though the new CIOs were experienced, it helps everyone to hear advice from other leaders. Previously stated, iron sharpens iron. Here is the wisdom. Much of it obvious but hard to practice.


  • Relationships matter. Meet at their office, never your own. Shows humility & respect.
  • Know the culture but trust your gut. Do not ignore the gut.
  • Teach us what you learn. We are sharing with you but you will have fresh insights as well. 
  • Keep meeting together, the fellowship of peers.
  • Build relationships with your c-suite peers to foster teamwork.
  • Watch for all the technologists across the organization, not just in IT. Learn.
  • Solve the problem first. Monday morning quarterback later. Fix before blame.
  • Always create a sense of purpose.
  • Listen at all levels of organization - best ideas come from those experiencing the challenge.
  • Leadership is not just top down. Listen to all voices.
  • As a leader your job is to make work easy for your team and everyone.

The relationships you develop while breaking bread are incomparable

Life is busy. Work is intense. We would all prefer to get home after a long day and spend precious time with family. When dinner opportunities arise it is easy to bail. I have been there and bailed a time or two. I get it. When you do take initiative and bring peers together, be wise. Pick a place convenient for most, or trade different sides of town. Pick a restaurant with diverse foods. Private rooms are ideal for the sake of quality of conversation. Another hack I learned hosting numerous dinners and events is end early. This gives every one adequate time to get home and be with family. A late night out may be fun in the moment but overwhelming long term. If your dinners are short but impactful, everyone will want to come back again. The Fellowship of Peers.

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