How To Run A Mastermind Group Meeting

In a recent blog post, David Finkel laid out how he suggests running a mastermind group:

1. Give a 2-3 minute recap of the activities and results for the week. This should be in bullet points that were put down in writing BEFORE the meeting.

2. Share the three things that went best about the week.

3. Share one specific thing that you will do different next week that will have the greatest positive impact on your investing.

4. For the final 5-10 minutes, get feedback from the group. This feedback can be in the form of questions or direct input.

He suggests holding meetings on weekly or bi-weekly basis.

I've found that a monthly meeting works well with members being paired up and taking on the responsibility of calling each other every week at a designated time to ensure they are following through on the goals that were set out in the meeting.

Our sessions are run as follows:

- Sessions begin with a 15-20 minute brainstorming session for one group member or expert guest on a lesson learned

-• Each member will then have 15-20 minutes of their own time to share their challenges and get feedback and suggestions from the rest of the group. This is your time to bring up your important business issues and get valuable advice to help you move forward

-• At the end of the session members set goals for the next month and are paired with another member. A weekly time is set between pairs for a quick phone call to follow up and make sure you follow through on your goals

The Five Laws For Forming Your Mastermind Group

I came across a blog by David Finkel that is a promotional tool for a real estate cash flow business. His post caught my interest because it talked about five laws for forming a mastermind group.

They include:

1. BE SELECTIVE -- Character is contagious. Be careful whose character you catch!

2. EACH MEMBER BENEFITS -- No one will give their full-hearted cooperation over time without getting some tangible benefit in return. Make sure you work to benefit each member of your mastermind group on a consistent basis.

3. MAINTAIN HARMONY -- This is a tall order. A mastermind group with tension or conflict is degraded to a simple committee. The single most important rule to maintaining harmony in the group is that while you can question ideas and input, never question INTENT. If you do, you will destroy the relationship.

4. COMPELLING AND DEFINITE CHIEF AIM -- Collectively create a compelling outcome for the group towards which all of you are fully in agreement on. This direction will focus your collective power and allow you to harness it to awesome effect.

5. MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY -- People will be much more open and cooperative if they feel they can let their guard down and authentically and safely share.

It's a good list to include when considering setting up a Mastermind Group. The most important of all is being selective. In our Mastermind Groups, each candidate is interviewed and screened to make sure they share the same philosophies on business as the rest of the members. From there they will be invited to one meeting as a trial run to make sure they gel well with the other members. If even one member doesn't fit well in the group the whole project can collapse.

Ideal Number Of People For a Mastermind Group

A reader emailed me recently asking how many people form my Matermind Groups. I've found that 8 makes a good number.

With every member getting 15-20 minutes to bring up their challenges as well as having our opening brainstorming session to take one person's problems and go deep to find a solution, having more than 8 people will make the evening go far too long.

Also, 8 people provides a good balance between having an intimate group and having enough opinions and experiences to make the discussions valuable.

Finally, we have an even number of members in the groups because they are partnered up with each other during the month and every week have a call with each other to make sure they follow through on the goals they set for themselves. You need an even number to make the partnership system work.

Big changes from small peer groups

The Chicago Tribune had a story recently on how a peer-to-peer business advisory group can give entrepreneurs the nudge to step back from the nitty-gritty in favor of the big picture.

The entrepreneur profiled spends one day a month meeting with five other small-business owners, who share experiences and give one another feedback. All the members share is a philosophy that business owners can learn from one another's experiences.

This particular group has monthly meeting that last eight hours and the group spends about one hour on each member's business each month. In comparison, the groups that we run last around 3 hours and meet once per month. We've found that the after work scheduling is much easier for entrepreneurs to make it out to on a regular basis and the members have set times to call each other every week to make sure they are following through on the goals that were set out.

The article also highlights a typical downfall of many self-started groups:

"Oftentimes the members have conflicting goals. Some want networking opportunities. Others want leadership development. Because they're out of alignment they pull the group in opposite directions," he said. They end up being a waste of time.

It's important for everyone to be on the same page. I personally screen all the candidates in my group and explain that the focus is not on selling or networking but sharing ideas and helping each other out. It doesn't fit with everyone but it makes sure we get the people we're looking for.

Whatever the focus is of your Mastermind Group, make sure that everyone buys into the concept or you will be torn apart.

You can read the full article here.

Welcome to the Mastermind Group Resources Blog!

The concept of Mastermind Groups was first discussed by Napoleon Hill in his famous book, "Think And Grow Rich." In his research of the most successful people of his time, Hill found that a key difference that made people successful was being involved in Mastermind Groups. Masterminding involves bringing people together with different experiences and ideas to collaborate, brainstorm, and provide support to help the participants achieve their goals. For business owners Masterminding can help you model other successful entrepreneurs, make you accountable for achieving your goals, and provide you with your own personal experienced board of directors.

In "Think and Grow Rich", Napoleon Hill talks about Henry Ford's Mastermind Group:

"Men take on the nature and the habits and the power of thought of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy and harmony. Through his association with Edison, Burbank, Burroughs, and Firestone, Mr. Ford added to his own brain power the sum and substance of the intelligence, experience, knowledge, and spiritual forces of these four men. Moreover, he appropriated and made use of the Master Mind principle."

The purpose of this blog is to share resources, tips, strategies, and ideas on how to build a Mastermind Group and make it more effective.

I hope you enjoy!