by Scott Keefer, President, Cobra Leadership Development, Inc.
How often have you been sitting in traffic and asked yourself, “What should I do about………?” or found yourself staring out your office window thinking “Who can I talk to about this?” In his often cited business classic, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill introduced the business use of something called a Mastermind Group. Hill’s book recounts how many successful business people rely on a small, tight-knit group of advisors to help them build their businesses. Although the concept of the "mastermind alliance" was formally introduced by Napoleon Hill in his timeless classic, mastermind groups have been around since the beginning of time; Benjamin Franklin belonged to such a group, which he called a Junto. I suspect you may have belonged to something similar and either called it something else or didn’t have a name for it.
A Mastermind Group IS:
- A collection of 5-8 creative and committed individuals who meet on a regular basis to offer a combination of brainstorming, education, peer accountability and support in a group setting to sharpen your business and personal skills.
- Helps you and your mastermind group members achieve success. The members challenge each other to set important goals, and more importantly, to accomplish them. It is expected that all members of the group are commitment, exercise confidentiality, display a willingness to be creative and brainstorm ideas/solutions, and support each other with total honesty, respect and compassion.
- Catalyst for growth, devil’s advocates and supportive colleagues.
How Does a Mastermind Work:
- A group of smart people meet on a regular basis to tackle challenges and problems together.
- They lean on each other, give advice, share connections and do business with each other when appropriate.
- Members prepared for meetings depending on agreed upon format. Some groups use an agenda before the meeting to ensure group members have time to think about discussion points. Others have a more informal approach, allotting everyone 15 or 20 minutes to report on progress and discuss issues or challenges.
- Establish a set ground rules related to attendance, meeting format, confidentiality, making decisions, and settling conflicts. These ground rules my include reasons for dismissal from the group, as well, such as being disinvited after missing a certain number of meetings or who violate confidentiality.
What’s In It For You:
- Accountability – Stating your goals and objectives to a group that holds you accountable for your stated result can have the kind of pull that keeps you focused on meeting your goals in both your professional and personal life
- Growth – Exposure to new ideas that bring additional revenue streams and growth opportunities
- Increased knowledge – Tap into the experience and skills of others, members from different backgrounds and industries can help you fill gaps in your own knowledge and provide very specific help
- Different perspectives – Trusted advisors from outside your industry to question your long held beliefs or suggest innovations from a new point of view can prove very helpful
- Support –A great place to go for support when you have a troubling business issue. Increased confidence that you have made the right decision
- Energy – Having someone who understands your objectives and helps you celebrate your wins can be very energizing and provide a boast to your everyday positive attitude
A mastermind group is designed to help you navigate through challenges using the collective intelligence of others. Deep down, we all want to be pushed. We want someone to challenge us to put our best work forward. We want to be understood, supported, listened to, encouraged, called out, and held accountable by people that care about us. We want these things, and yet so many of us lack the right people in our lives to make it happen, a Mastermind Group puts those people in your life. So, if the concept has been proven to help millionaires make their fortunes and it’s been around for nearly 100 years, why are you still going it alone?
How often have you been sitting in traffic and asked yourself, “What should I do about………?” or found yourself staring out your office window thinking “Who can I talk to about this?” In his often cited business classic, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill introduced the business use of something called a Mastermind Group. Hill’s book recounts how many successful business people rely on a small, tight-knit group of advisors to help them build their businesses. Although the concept of the "mastermind alliance" was formally introduced by Napoleon Hill in his timeless classic, mastermind groups have been around since the beginning of time; Benjamin Franklin belonged to such a group, which he called a Junto. I suspect you may have belonged to something similar and either called it something else or didn’t have a name for it.
A Mastermind Group IS:
- A collection of 5-8 creative and committed individuals who meet on a regular basis to offer a combination of brainstorming, education, peer accountability and support in a group setting to sharpen your business and personal skills.
- Helps you and your mastermind group members achieve success. The members challenge each other to set important goals, and more importantly, to accomplish them. It is expected that all members of the group are commitment, exercise confidentiality, display a willingness to be creative and brainstorm ideas/solutions, and support each other with total honesty, respect and compassion.
- Catalyst for growth, devil’s advocates and supportive colleagues.
How Does a Mastermind Work:
- A group of smart people meet on a regular basis to tackle challenges and problems together.
- They lean on each other, give advice, share connections and do business with each other when appropriate.
- Members prepared for meetings depending on agreed upon format. Some groups use an agenda before the meeting to ensure group members have time to think about discussion points. Others have a more informal approach, allotting everyone 15 or 20 minutes to report on progress and discuss issues or challenges.
- Establish a set ground rules related to attendance, meeting format, confidentiality, making decisions, and settling conflicts. These ground rules my include reasons for dismissal from the group, as well, such as being disinvited after missing a certain number of meetings or who violate confidentiality.
What’s In It For You:
- Accountability – Stating your goals and objectives to a group that holds you accountable for your stated result can have the kind of pull that keeps you focused on meeting your goals in both your professional and personal life
- Growth – Exposure to new ideas that bring additional revenue streams and growth opportunities
- Increased knowledge – Tap into the experience and skills of others, members from different backgrounds and industries can help you fill gaps in your own knowledge and provide very specific help
- Different perspectives – Trusted advisors from outside your industry to question your long held beliefs or suggest innovations from a new point of view can prove very helpful
- Support –A great place to go for support when you have a troubling business issue. Increased confidence that you have made the right decision
- Energy – Having someone who understands your objectives and helps you celebrate your wins can be very energizing and provide a boast to your everyday positive attitude
A mastermind group is designed to help you navigate through challenges using the collective intelligence of others. Deep down, we all want to be pushed. We want someone to challenge us to put our best work forward. We want to be understood, supported, listened to, encouraged, called out, and held accountable by people that care about us. We want these things, and yet so many of us lack the right people in our lives to make it happen, a Mastermind Group puts those people in your life. So, if the concept has been proven to help millionaires make their fortunes and it’s been around for nearly 100 years, why are you still going it alone?
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