After almost a year into my tenure with my first Mastermind Group, the members suggested that it would be fun to get together outside of the meetings in a more social setting to get to know each other better and hang out. Sometimes it is fun just to be with other entrepreneurs and have a good night out.
We decided to have a pool night at the establishment of a friend of one of our members and I invited the members from the other two Mastermind Groups to join as well. It was a successful event and we have since gone back.
We are also putting on a special event in June for all three Mastermind Groups to meet with and listen to the advice of the CEO and founder of one of the fastest growing companies in the country. He is sharing his success story and will help the members deepen their business knowledge. The goal of any Mastermind Group should be not only to pull from each other but also from the people who have accomplished more than they have.
I am anticipating a great event and it will be another opportunity for the members to meet and socialize outside of the Mastermind meetings.
If you do not already have some kind of social outing with your group I would suggest doing something fun. It does not have to be too elaborate or expensive. As long as it provides the opportunity for the members to deepen their relationships with each other it will make the group stronger, more committed and have everyone focused on moving forward together.
Napoleon Hill, in Think and Grow Rich, taught us that a mastermind can cause you to think bigger and challenge yourself to play on a whole new level. Having a mastermind group is becoming more and more common place for business owners. So why does it work? Here are five ways a Mastermind can help you grow your business.
1. See your opportunities from a different perspective. We often get blocked in our own way of thinking. A mastermind can help you see opportunities from a fresh point of view.
2. Get challenged to play bigger. When you see other people creating big business success, something gets triggered that makes us want to kick our game up a notch.
3. Be accountable. Often we can let ourselves down but to let a group of peers down is unacceptable. A mastermind group is a great forum for knowing that someone will notice if you don't complete your action steps.
4. Access to your peer's resources and referrals. What is a proven resource worth to a business owner? It's priceless. Referrals to tried-and-true resources save time, sanity and money. A mastermind group forms a very tight connection. The commitment to each other's success becomes the bond. You will get access to referrals you won't get any other way.
5. Feel connected to people who "get you." Entrepreneurs just want to feel understood. When you are in a group of your peers who "get you", your confidence increases and so do your results.
Starting or participating in a Master Mind Group without conditioning your mind is like deciding to run a marathon without conditioning your body.
We were all born to be great, but unfortunately we spend our days from the womb to where ever we find our selves today conditioned to fail miserably. Our cultural information sources are full of messages of defeat, sickness, failure, humiliation - our journalists only report the bad, the sensationally bad news - because bad news captures our attention. Our movies are murder and mayhem, with "out of control, loveless sex." We have legalized abortion and put the elderly in "retirement homes."
Politics and religion aside - the message is very clearly hopeless with diminished value for the amazing creations that we are.
In this day, and in our current culture - not just in America, but globally also, we must absolutely embrace mental conditioning to maximize our experience as we take on the commitment of a Master Mind Group.
In Napoleon Hill's book, "Think and Grow Rich" he defines the Master Mind as: "Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony between two or more people for the attainment of a definite purpose."
The "coordination of knowledge and effort" is key to the master mind group. Sounds obvious, but let's examine further the concept of knowledge as it relates to the success of the individuals and master mind group. Napoleon Hill's chapter on the Master Mind Group highlights three major sources of knowledge:
1.Infinite Intelligence
2.Accumulated Experience
3.Experiment and Research
Each of these knowledge sources must be formed on sound principles for success or the basic building blocks of the master mind group is undermined. Hill further states that knowledge is converted to power by organizing it - the above listed knowledge sources -- combined from the group into definite plans expressed in action.
As one enters into or participates in a Master Mind group it makes sense to condition the mind with the basic principles of success. Mental conditioning occurs through all that enters through our eyes and ears from outside of ourselves as well as the inner noise that we create with our own thoughts and self talk.
Mental Conditioning must provoke desire and inspire faith cultivated by auto-suggestions or affirmations. This conditioning produces a fruitful imagination brimming with ideas. Clarity results as organized planning is applied to specialized knowledge; decisively acted on persistently, driving ones goals and plans deep into the subconscious mind.
An individual mind that is so conditioned is prepared to substantially contribute to the collective mind of the group.
If you're not getting all you can from your Master Mind Group, infuse the minds of the participating individuals with some strategic mental conditioning.
Without focus achieving any goal would be impossible. Your mastermind group is a way to focus or re-focus your personal goals. Everyone in the group has similar goals but not everyone has the same challenges. That's where teamwork comes into play. Everyone has different challenges during different times in their business or life. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a beginner in your field someone else will understand your challenges.
Never assume you are the only one that's ever faced a particular problem. However, what if you have a challenge that doesn't quite fit with your mastermind? Can you join a second mastermind group? Will that split your focus? Well, that's a question only you can answer but it can be answered. The second mastermind would have to blend into the first, one working in sync with the other. Let me give you an example.
I have a challenge many people face. It doesn't matter if you have a brick and mortar business or a network marketing business both entail speaking to people. Whether it's a group of a few people or a few hundred people, this is the one skill that many people find quite challenging. Support from your group and personal development are important keys to overcoming this fear but not always enough.
I was faced with the dilemma "How do I build the skills to be a confident and effective speaker?" I joined the local Toastmasters group. If you've never heard of Toastmasters they're an international organization which helps people become confident and skilled public speakers in a safe and comfortable environment. They are a Mastermind Group! Everyone in the group has a common goal, a system of support and a sharing of expertise.
You can be in more than one mastermind as long as they fit in the big picture. Ask yourself if your decision will help your focus or take away from it. Remember I'm not talking about being in a marketing mastermind and a gardening mastermind, that's another thing altogether. Related masterminds need to blend together not conflict with each other. If you're interested in developing your speaking skills visit http://www.Toastmasters.org and find a group in your area. Attend a couple of meetings as a guest and see what it's all about.
The other day, I was invited by an experienced coach & friend to attend a coaches' gathering at her house. She invited about 8 coaches who all graduated from the same professional coaching school iPEC Coaching. Some of us hadn't seen each other for months, and some of us had never met. The purpose of the meeting was for us to catch up, meet new colleagues (some coaches just finished their training), and to determine if there was any desire for us to meet on a regular basis.
It's always wonderful to meet other professional coaches, whether from the same school or not, to compare notes and possibly make new friends. I'm always curious about their business experience, coaching niche and personal stories. I believe I can always learn something from everyone I meet.
Making new friends and having fun is important. On the other hand, if we were to meet on a regular basis, I'd like to make the most of our time together and really learn something valuable from the group. After all, we are a group of professional coaches who can offer a lot for one another.
There were 6 of us there, and everyone showed interest in meeting on a regular basis. So, when we discussed what we would like to get out of this group, and the directions we would like to focus on, I suggested that we made our group a coaches mastermind group.
After a lively discussion, we agreed to establish a coaches mastermind group for:
mutual support
mutual accountability
interpersonal contact
We would like to use our meetings to focus on our roles as coaches through:
coaching skills practice
coaching case studies
business how to's
presentation skills
shared resources
networking & referrals
We also envisioned that we could collaborate to create coaching-related programs & events in the future, and create "energy dominoes" (ripple effects) to the society at large through our mastermind group.
We've agreed to commit ourselves to this group process, and we would send out invitations to the other two coaches who couldn't make it that day. The group decided that we would plan to meet once a month, and test out the group meeting format & frequency for the first couple of months. At that point, we will re-evaluate the effectiveness of our mastermind group. Depending on whether everyone would accept the invitation to form this mastermind group, we may or may not invite more members to join our group.
I hope for great success from our new mastermind group.
I currently run three Toronto based Mastermind Groups and while it could be a lucrative opportunity for someone to turn into a full time business, for me it is more about having fun and helping out other entrepreneurs. One of the useful tactics I have used to help the groups succeed is to automate many of the processes around them.
Automation through technology helps give a better experience for the members, reduces my workload, removes me as the bottleneck for many of the processes needed, and allows the meetings to run smoothly.
Here are 3 of the things that we do to automate the process:
1) Goal entry system At the end of each of our meetings the members are required to set goals for the next 30-90 days. Goal setting is an important part of almost every Mastermind Group that I have seen but ours take it a step further and requires the members to enter their goals into a computer program that we built. The members are forced to come up with their goals for the meeting and are held accountable by committing to the other members. On top of the goal setting feature we require members to partner up and call each other every week at a certain time to follow up with each other on the goals they set and help each other move forward. They have to put into the computer program who is calling who, at what time, and at what number. Again, this creates accountability to a specific person and in front of the rest of the group to follow through on their goals.
2) PayPal meal subscription Our groups meet once per month on a set Thursday with a starting time of 6:30pm. We have found this to be the most convenient time for everyone to come out. As a result everyone gets hungry and we have the meal catered by a local entrepreneur. The cost is $15 per person for the meal which usually includes a main dish, salad, and dessert. I used to collect cash from the members and pay the caterer but we ran into issues such as people canceling last minute for an emergency and not having exact change on hand. To fix these problems and automate the process we have all the members sign up for a $15 per month charge to their PayPal account or credit card.
3) Goal reminder system You can have all the goals in the world but you need to follow through on them to create results for your business. As a follow up on the goals that the members set in point number 1, the members are required to call each other at a specific time every week. The day before the scheduled call our program automatically emails the partnered members a reminder to call including who is calling who, what number to call and a list of both members' goals. It is an automated process that removes the excuses members can make such as "I forgot that we had a call scheduled" or "I was not sure what your telephone number was" or "I forgot what my goals were and what my partner's goals were." By eliminating excuses and automating the process we have made a more powerful and effective system for our members.
Do you have any additional ways to automate some of your Mastermind Group processes?
Today is a call-in day for my Mastermind Group members.
What I mean by that is that part of the service we offer (as well as a quarterly Mastermind meeting) is unlimited email access to myself and my business partner, Simon Hocken, as the coaches - "just ask as many questions on whatever subjects whenever you like" and also, once a month, a full day that we set aside to attend 30-minute phone calls with each MMG member.
We use an on-line appointment scheduler at http://www.appointmentquest.com/ and each month the 18 MMG members receive a personal email from my business manager (10 days notice), asking them to get on-line and book their call with me.
So this morning I rise early, check the scheduler - and there are 3 calls booked for me - just 3 - and 1 for Simon.
Suppressing a feeling of glee that there will be loads of time today to catch up with business development work, I think about what's happening here and write to them all as follows:
Morning all
I'm not at all moaning BUT...
If you look at the attached spreadsheet you will see the call-in day schedule for today - and it's not really much of challenge for Simon and I is it?
Don't get me wrong:
1. The chance to catch up on my work between the 3 calls I have today will be very welcome - there is always loads to do and 2. The three people I speak to today (and I'm sure that the people that Simon speak to) will get 100% attention and coaching; 3. And I DON'T want anybody to try and book a call today - because I will not be looking at the appointment scheduler again.
I suppose I would like some feedback.
Is it because we are allocating what, for you, is surgery time? We could discuss alternatives, such as some evening calls or...
Is it because there is not such a desperate need for calls so I can just rest assured that you are all happy with the coaching?
I know I spoke to some MMG members yesterday in the main call-in day.
A bit of constructive feedback would be welcome.
I know my darling dentists can be a bit hard to tie down sometimes - we asked over 70 people to attend the 6.00pm bridge call last night (for our core programme clients) - 2 turned up at 6 and a third at 6.30pm - we actually had a darn good conversation about web site design, calculating average daily rate and dealing with procrastination.
Don't forget we have a call tonight at 6.00pm- just for you MMG'ers - maybe we can discuss this then.
Speak later. I love you all!
Cb
What happens as a result is that 2 more clients call before 9.00am with an "OMG - I forgot to book my call - can I speak with you later?"
And, so far (it's 11.00am) I have one email that reads:
"Hi Chris, I thought I had booked a slot but had put in my diary to do it but didn't action it. Can't make tonight's group callas my wife is out and making a conference call with a 1 year old crying at my ankles isn't a good idea, will be in touch soon. We have recently employed a bookkeeper and have found a business development manager who is starting in September ( will be bringing him to the workshop 2 in Belfast in June) so I have not been idle."
So I suppose that gives me some hope that they are enjoying the coaching.
More importantly, it reminds me that the clients take what the clients want from the overall service I provide.
Most of them just want to attend the quarterly meeting and get the benefit of the community, the golf on Sunday, the bar on Sunday night and the conversation all day Monday.
Some of them (a minority) put posts on the Forum we have created.
Some of them (a minority) want to send me emails.
Some of them (a minority) want to attend the call-in days and conference calls.
All of them seem to be happy - they are paying!
So I need to let go of the need for 100% attendances.
I was in a group meeting lately when the leader said, "When luck strikes, you better be ready!"
As a result of the reading I've done in the past year on preparing one's self for goals and dreams, I realized that what he had said was not true and I quickly spoke up. "Ready for what?" I asked. "What does luck have to do with the good things that happen to us in life? I believe luck has nothing to do with them. Instead, luck is something that occurs with little or no effort on the part of the person to whom it happens."
My viewpoint may differ from other people in that I would not count winning the lottery as one of the "luckier" things that would happen to me in life (I have never bought lottery tickets as I consider it a waste of money and never will). Rather, it has been the blessing of having a supportive husband and family, spending time with close family and friends and knowing my purpose in life as a Christian that I count as the best things that have ever happened to me. But those things occurred because I was willing to better myself by learning to get along with people and study to improve myself and discover Truth in life.
I believe a person who has taken the time to prepare herself for opportunities to promote her skills, such as by joining Toastmasters and Master Mind groups, will be ready for nearly every "surprise" that should happen.
However, those of us who think positively and feel capable of taking on new experiences because we've prepared ourselves will not be too surprised, after all, when the experiences come our way. It is usually when we are asked to be on a TV guest panel, help write a book, or get hired for a job, that someone has recommended us. Or our own efforts at self-promotion have paid off.
Just today, I passed on a freelance travel writing assignment to a friend, Cathy Shouse (www.cathyshouse.com). She has time in her schedule now and will do a fine job for the editor. I would not have risked my own reputation with the editor with whom I have already been published and have more assignments in the hopper by giving her a recommendation of someone I did not believe would do as good as a job as I would.
So based on Cathy's past performance as a writer and her friendship with me, I gave her the details for a paying job.
On Cathy's end, she recently asked for ideas for an article she was writing about how to get teens involved with volunteering. I gave her some ideas and she quoted me in this prestigious parenting magazine article. I've never been quoted before, having always been on the other end of the interview!
My Master Mind group is the same way. When we get together, I always come away with more ideas and encouragement than I started out the meeting with. But if I was not willing to put forth the effort to get together and work at self-improvement, it would not happen.
Master Mind groups are all about working together to come up with ideas to better ourselves and our society. Luck can just take a hike.
I was reading an article today in BlackEnterprise by Bill Lynott on ways to avoid trouble - Six common and costly management mistakes -- and advice to help you avoid each one. They included:
Don't do it all yourself.
Address problems with unsatisfactory employees immediately.
Don't introduce your business as minority-owned.
Be cautious about hiring friends or family.
Focus on customer service.
And my favorite:
Don't be too proud to ask for outside help. Entrepreneurs tend to be independent thinkers, observes Bailey. "That's why they are often reluctant to reach out to others for help in areas where their own experience is lacking." Forming a peer group of five to seven successful business owners (Bailey likes to call it a mastermind group) is an excellent way for a business owner to benefit from a no-cost advisory board.
You should see a group of people who are optimistic and have positive "can-do" attitudes.
When participating in a a mastermind group, each member shares information with the others.
Mastermind works best when members have different backgrounds, occupations, hobbies, etc.
With every mastermind group, you have a leader or a facilitator, who directs the meeting, keeps the group focused and makes sure everything, runs smoothly.
Meeting on a regular basis helps keep the lines of communication open.
Those who do belong to a mastermind group and use it regularly recognize the true value that comes from developing such a marvelous support group.
Actively participating in a mastermind group can make your life even better and more enjoyable for you.
With the right people on your team, you can reach your dream. As Walt Disney put it so well: "You can have the most beautiful dream in the world, but it takes people to build it."
Most people who are big fans of Mastermind Groups find that it is easy to make the time to meet with their group on a regular basis. The benefits on our level of productivity more than make up for the hour or two of meeting time.
Yet not everyone is sold on the idea that taking this time away from their business will be worth it. Yet there are still ways to put Mastermind principles into action no matter how busy you are.
Establish Co-Mentoring Relationships
Many people have great resources right at their fingertips in their own network. Single out the people in your network that you want to learn from, and who you can provide help to. Then send out a simple request to establish a co-mentoring relationship. Let these people know that you are open to helping them out with advice from time to time and ask if they would be willing to do the same. Having a few experts willing to help at any given moment can sometimes make or break a project.
Start an Email Advisory Group
Both Google and Yahoo offer free email groups, and both can even help you recruit members. These groups work best when they are focused on a small niche topic and clear etiquette rules are established. Members can help each other informally via email as time permits, and the group can develop into quite a close-knit and successful community if the members choose to do so.
Make Learning a Priority
Whether it be through books, seminars, conferences, or classes, set time aside monthly or quarterly to grow your skills and knowledge. This is the simplest of Mastermind principles - to learn from and model those who know more than you do. Those who continue to invest in their success are the ones who continue to reap the rewards of their endeavors.
A while back my Master Mind Group decided to expand our number.We had been stable for quite some time.Aperson we met at a networking event found out that we had a group.He indicated that he was interested exploring the benefits.We were open to exploring his joining the group. We hadn't been for a while.
We had previously established a protocol on how to integrate new members.We had brainstormed and discussed the options that we arrived at as a group.We decided the following:The potential member is invited to attend from 2 to 4 meeting while we get acquainted.We each determine if there is a good fit.
Both of us is on probation for these first few meetings.At the first meeting we explain and discuss the expectations and agreements.The potential new member can say that s/he has no interest and we can do the same.Hopefully there are no hard feelings.
The existing members are looking for intellect and clarity of thinking from the new members .We have challenges to solve, opportunities to explore, projects to move forward and we, like all people, need an additional perspective or point of view that we don't already have.We can offer the same things to a new member.
The first potential member began attending meetings.After a minimum of meetings we extended an offer to join the group permanently.It was accepted.We have a great fit.He was bright, thoughtful and brought a new, interesting point of view that we had not experienced before.
Subsequently, a past member referred a friend to us.I did an initial phone interview and invited her to the initial series of meetings as outlined above.The new member attended her first several meetings.She asked great questions.We taught a lot.
No contribution from her.No value added.No clarity of thinking.No perspective that we did not have from an existing member.Not a good fit.Our view is that these meetings contain both problem solving for each person and contributions, too.
This person needed a less sophisticated group or a mentor/coach. We are not set up to do this.Lots of learning needed to take place.We were not in a place to deliver the required teaching.
The person was called and a very gently uninvited.We were very specific about what we thought would be a better course of action for her.
I hope she finds what she needs.I believe she will.
One of the things that I like to do with my Mastermind Groups is create a group identity. Each of the groups that I form end up having a name that characterizes the members in the group and what they want to accomplish. For example, the first group I have is called Prophets 2 Profits. It is a group of smart business owners who are helping each other generate more profits for their companies. Most of the members in this group are also young an tech savvy so the name is a play on the popular P2P (Peer to Peer) networks.
My second group is called The Focus Group as the members see the meetings as an opportunity to bounce ideas off of each other and brainstorm ideas to make their companies better. My third group is newly formed and we have not created an identity yet, but we will.
I find that creating a group identity is important to make the members feel like they belong to a special group. It also generates more buy-in and gets the group members more involved in the process.
In reading Michael Roby's blog, I found out that he also named his Mastermind Group. He calls it a "BDB Meeting" - short for Boys Doing Business.
And my favorite was: Join or Start a Mastermind Group.
Did you know that Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone were all members of a Mastermind Group? This group of Leaders knew something many of us do not know. They knew that the key to their success was in their ability to rely on each other for feedback, ideas, accountability, and above all...support! These men controlled much of the industry of the United States during the height of their careers. Innovation and expansion in human thought often result from teams that mentally capitalize on the principle of collaborative thinking. With spontaneous expression and interchange of thoughts with folks who are up to big things in life, a mastermind group can shift your awareness, expand your thinking, and can take you to unprecedented levels of inspiration.
Prior to my weekly small business Master Mind group this week, I was struggling with what to ask for support with. Each week, every member has 10 minutes to talk about current challenges and how specifically the group can support them. So, as I drove to the meeting, I thought, "Things are going really well - training programs and workshops are underway, individual clients are showing up, contracting opportunities are coming together. What do I really need help with?" Then it occurred to me - now that these things I've pined after are actually here, I need Master Mind support more than ever with managing myself!
So that's what my valued group of advisors helped me with - finding answers on how to stay clear and focused with all the excitement that's coming my way. They offered some great ideas - time management tips, taking time off to clear my head, prioritizing and planning, and keeping the funnel full with a prospecting strategy that's always working in the background. And I love the one question our facilitator asks when things seem muddled: "What's important about that for you?" That cuts to the core and gets me back on track every time, keeping me focused on my goals.
As entrepreneurs, we wear so many hats, it can overwhelm us and feel like constantly trying to keep plates spinning on poles up in the air. Plus, it's easy to put off the day-to-day necessities while business is booming. Bookkeeping details still have to be entered, business cards have to be scanned, reading needs to be kept up with, and so on. Once you've secured the business, use your Master Mind support to help keep all the plates up in the air. Just when you think you don't need it, you need it more than ever!
I was traveling during the appointment time for my regular weekly mastermind meeting last week.It wasn't practical for me to join in via cell phone on our weekly teleconference.Good things were happening last week in my business and I was disappointed that I'd have to miss out on the conversation and report on my positive progress.
It was then that it hit me that a mastermind group meeting becomes a habit.
And it's a good habit.
Failure reports are offset by success reports and business balance is maintained with depressing thoughts being replaced with enthusiastic thoughts.It's easy for the self employed, especially solopreneurs, to become blind about direction and mired in negativity without some outside opinion and contact.Mastermind groups help solve the problem especially when they meet regularly out of good habit.
In 1901, Andrew Carnegie sold his business in what was, at that time, the largest corporate takeover ever. Carnegie received almost $230,000,000 worth of bonds in the sale, and had a special vault built to house them in New Jersey.
John Dealey wrote a new article that caught my attention recently called Life Lessons from a Billionaire. It profiles Andrew Carnegie and his secrets to success. Among the strategies discussed is that of Masterminding:
Carnegie believed that being a member of a MasterMind group was essential for success. A man named Charles M. Schwab worked for him and Carnegie claimed he was one of the smartest men he had ever known. They frequently brainstormed together to become even more successful. Each credited much of their success to the power of the MasterMind sessions they developed in the steel industry.
If it worked for one of the wealthiest people to ever live, it can work for you. Winning is not an individual sport, it is a team sport and the sooner you get the right people on your team, the sooner you will achieve the success you want and deserve.
EvanCarmichael.com is the world's #1 website for small business motivation and strategies. Evan also runs a series of successful Mastermind Groups in Toronto for entrepreneurs.
