We recently wrapped up the last meeting of our 2007 Dental Mastermind Group and, at the conclusion of the day, revealed the plans for our new business in 2008 - a merger between the individual coaching practices of Chris Barrow (The Dental Business School) and Simon Hocken (Jump Coaching).
Inviting feedback from the delegates on their "shopping list" for 2008, we were surprised not by the subject matter but by the order in which it was presented:
They want:
1. Content - ideas and market intelligence, plus the "how to" of successful business practice (toolkits, templates, systems, standards, models); 2. Community - a business club of like-minded practice owners who are committed to a bigger future, and 3. Confidence - an attitude focused on success, inspiration and authenticity in current and future market conditions
Our surprise was the emphasis on content - we thought that community would be the most important - after all they play golf the afternoon before the meeting and seem to keep the hotel bar open until the early hours!
But no - it's mainly about content - about cutting edge ideas that will keep them ahead of the competition.
So we have carefully (and quickly) revised our 2008 offer to read as follows:
For Principals - The Breathe Business Club(TM)
The Breathe Business Club(TM) will be an elite group of practice owners (just 15 at each of our core locations) who are at any stage in their career, but recognise the benefit of meeting together in a peer-group environment to focus and accelerate their progress.
As well as coaching and conference calls, email reporting, and an on-line forum, the focus of the Club will be quarterly meetings, which will take place over 2 days and will be facilitated jointly by Chris Barrow and Simon Hocken. This is a forum for sharing contemporary ideas and solutions to meet the demands of running a successful business, concentrating on 4 key areas of advanced business planning:
1. The Profit Accelerator(TM) - how to maximise the productivity and profitability of your practice using 21st Century business models
2. The Sales Accelerator(TM) - how to increase and maintain the flow of qualified new patients and high-value treatment plan sales
3. The Team Accelerator(TM) - how to build the ultimate ability team around yourself - freeing you to develop your best skills
4. The Systems Accelerator(TM) - a turn-key package of operational systems and brand standards that have been proven in the marketplace
Breathe Core Locations:
• Edinburgh • Leeds • Manchester • Birmingham • Bristol • London
And our intention is to massively increase the scope of our offer - from just one to 6 groups around the UK.
In fact, even as I write we are hearing representations from a group in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that they would like us to create a Breathe Business Club(TM) chapter for them.
So we have been reminded of a n important lesson - that branding isn't about how we see our services - it's about how our customers see our services.
Has your Master Mind Group ever hit a dry spell? Has your Master Mind Group lost or changed energy? You know how sometimes you might have a group that seems to really resonate and then things just seem to go stale?
There's a number of reasons why this might have happened but the most common being that the group or certain individuals have lost their "focus" in some aspect of their lives. Even if just one member loses focus - and maybe not even master mind related, such as a personal event - this lack of focus can change the energy of the group.
To keep your group fresh and fully energized I recommend scheduled "mental conditioning events."
My mentor Bob Proctor recommends this very thing to the Master Mind Groups that I lead as a LifeSuccess Consultant. Following is an example of the kind of mental conditioning that I might bring or recommend to a master mind group.
Would you be interested in understanding how a person can move themselves from simply setting goals with random achievement, to ACHIEVING goals with predictable success?
It is in understanding that our mind is a "Human Goal Achieving Mechanism" that works with the precision of a well programmed computer, that will deliver to us consistently produced results in goal setting. Let me illustrate this for you using a graphic for our mind that was developed by Dr. Thurman Fleet, a chiropractor in San Antonio, Texas in the 1930's. This simple graphic will give you a visual aid to help you understand how your mind works.
As this illustration shows we have a mind and a body. Our mind is divided into two parts - our conscious mind and our subconscious mind.
Our conscious mind is our thinking mind. It's where our thoughts originate. This portion of our mind chooses to accept or reject any new thought or idea presented to it. It is the portion of our mind where we reason. It's where our awareness lies.
Our subconscious mind is our emotional or feeling mind. It's a warehouse of our memories, habits and conditioning. It is where our belief systems lie. Dr. Maxwell Maltz in his book, Psycho-Cybernetics, states that this part of our being is our self-image, that causes us to feel, interpret, and perceive the world through our own ego.
In our conscious mind, our intellectual mind we can choose our thoughts - any thought we want. We can choose look at the world around us and pick out the things that are out of place or that make us uncomfortable, or we can be in difficult circumstances and choose to seek out what is good and best about that circumstance.
Ultimately we have responsibility for what we choose to think. And what we choose to think about determines our feelings. Our feelings are expressed as action - and it is our actions that produce our results. So it follows, that if we desire to change our results, we must change the thoughts that we are choosing. It is necessary to become consciously aware of what we are thinking about.
It's important to realize that the results we are getting are in no way a reflection of our potential. The results we are getting in our lives are a reflection of our thinking up to this point in our lives. Our potential is infinite and all we have to do is increase our level of awareness.
We have a mind - conscious and subconscious, and a body. We have five senses that we use to communicate with the world around us - we see, smell, taste, touch and hear. We begin to use these senses immediately when we are born and develop our thinking from the outside in. We have learned to allow our environment to determine our thinking vs. allowing our thinking to determine our environment. I'm here to tell you there is a much better way.
Our problem is that we have been conditioned to think and relate to our world with our senses and we've never been trained or encouraged to develop the higher side of our personality. It is the development of our intellectual faculties that allow us to control the way we think. These intellectual faculties are like "mental muscles," that when properly developed we can control our thinking and get the results we desire in our life.
The very first of our our intellectual faculties is PERCEPTION. Our perception is our ability to look at the world and see circumstances different than from what they may at first appear to be. Wayne Dyer says, "When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change..." When we look at obstacles as opportunities to grow we no longer get emotionally involved in that which we think we cannot do and we look for possibilities.
The next intellectual faculties is our WILL Our WILL is our ability to concentrate or to remain focused to the exclusion of all outside distractions, not allowing our own negative thoughts or comments from unaware people detour us from our intended course.
IMAGINATION is the intellectual faculty that allows us to mentally create big beautiful pictures. Albert Einstein had carved into his desk that imagination is more important that knowledge. Look around you, everything in this world started out as an idea in the mind of an individual. That's how we're able to fly around the world, fly to the moon, light our world, communicate globally without wires in seconds, save lives with miraculous achievements in medicine. Prior to these great ideas and discoveries, the perception was that none of these things were possible, but what these great individuals did was introduce us to their ideas and developing their imagination to overcome obstacles of precedent so they could discover the unknown that was there all the time. Our imagination is our key to seeing what we want, believing we can do it and achieving our dream.
You've probably heard people say they have a bad memory, and they repeat this over and over and when they try to remember things - they can't. The truth is that we have a perfect MEMORY. We have the ability to pull up the memories of past successes, how we felt when we won, achieved or accomplished something. We have the ability to inspire ourselves to action when we face opposition to our Great Big Creative Idea by recalling our best memories to remind us that we can succeed.
One of my most favorite of our intellectual faculties is our INTUITION. Wayne Dyer describes this perfectly when he says, "If prayer is our communication with God, Intuition is when he communicates with us." Unfortunately most of us aren't aware of how to use our intuition to it's fullest advantage. We get an idea and compare it with our current circumstances and make the conclusion that if our new idea and our current circumstances are not in harmony then the idea must be impossible. The truth is that we would never have gotten the idea if we were not capable of bringing it to pass. If you are gifted by God with the idea, don't ask yourself if it's a good idea or a bad idea, rather ask yourself "If I act on this idea, will it move me in the direction of my dream. If yes, then just step out and do it.
The last of our intellectual faculties is our ability to REASON, the God-like ability to think and choose.
Each of us are created in God's image,
1.We have the responsibility to be grateful - to look at the amazing world around us and give thanks.
2.As god-like creations we have the ability to forgive and release others to their higher good.
3.We have the ability to love, be loved and express love.
4.And, we have the ability to create things with our thoughts.
In this realization of our divine nature, created in the image of God , we can do all things - we can create the life we desire.
This is a good reminder of how our mind works. As a follow up to this session it might be a good idea at the next meeting to discuss ways to develop the intellectual faculties further specifically relating it to the needs of the group.
One of the intentions of our Coaches Mastermind Group is to share resources that could enhance our coaching and/or business-building skills. At last month's meeting, we decided to add business skills presentations to our regular meeting agenda, in addition to the coaching skills & foundation principles that we take turns to present each month. We would like to invite speakers to talk to us about various business skills such as marketing, PR, sales, networking, public speaking, website design & optimization, etc. We couldn't find a speaker for this month, so, in the interim, Lois and I were asked to talk about what we have learned from Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid. Michael Port was interviewed by iPEC Coaching founder Bruce Schneider last week on his E-Factor show, and that's why I started reading his book again. Lois decided to talk about identifying your ideal client and niche. I decided to talk about the Super Simple Selling System.
I met Michael Port 2 years ago at the ICF (International Coach Federation) NYC-chapter annual conference, where he was one of the speakers. At that time I was a regular participant on his Think Big Revolution weekly calls, and I like his upbeat and empowering attitude on the calls. He strikes me as very warm, sincere and authentic, and very likable. I also likes that he honors his integrity. So I made a point to attend his breakout workshop at the conference and bought his Book Yourself Solid CD set afterwards (his book was not published yet).
In the 3-CD set, he talked about the Simple Selling Process, and it includes an extensive version and a condensed version of the process. That's what I presented to the group. However, I just looked at his hardcover book tonight, and found that he kept the condensed version and called it Super Simple Selling System.
Anyway, if you're like most people, you probably hate selling with a passion. Nobody likes a typical sleazy used car salesman, or the fear-based advertisement. But, as an entrepreneur, especially as a service professional, you obviously need to master, or at least get comfortable, at the selling process.
What I learned from his book changed my perspective about selling and greatly surprised my mastermind group members. First of all, he said, "You are not selling your products or services. You are not even selling yourself. You are selling a solution." That point alone shifted my perspective about selling. The focus is no longer on "proving" how good my products are, or how good I am. The focus is on offering a solution to the prospect's challenges.
The Super Simple Selling System that's outlined in the book sounds more like a coaching session than a sales session. He stressed the importance of keeping the conversation positive and empowering for the prospects, and keeping self-criticism out of it. He also asked us to "stop selling and start helping". When you are in the "helping mode", just as in any coaching sessions, you listen deeply and ask powerful questions to help the prospects zoom in on their goals and vision. More importantly, you help them visualize achieving their goals, really feel it, and come up with action steps to achieve their goals. This is exactly like a coaching session, where I ask empowering questions to help my clients clarify their goals, make them concrete, visualize their success, and create a step-by-step action plan.
You are providing a solution to the prospects, instead of trying to push a product on them. When you look at the selling process this way, you are in the "helping mode" and you are their partner in the problem-solving process. So, it only seems natural to ask the next questions:
"Would you like to have a partner to help you achieve your goals?
And, would you like that partner to be me?"
When I finished my presentation, I could see that everyone seemed so relieved to hear this information. None of us like selling (the traditional way), but, with Michael's new selling concept & process, we get to do what we love to do the most -- coaching and helping others!
Getting into one of our Mastermind Groups is a process. First everyone meets with me face to face. Then you have to prepare a one page bio which gets submitted to the group for review. Finally you are invited to the next meeting as a guest to participate and see how you get along with the other group members.
From there everyone decides if the new candidate would make a good member or not. Both the candidate and 100% of the existing members need to say yes for it to be a go. The entire process usually takes two to three months.
Typically we bring one new candidate in at a time to allow everyone to get to know each other. This past week was an exception.
We had two potential candidates for one of groups and the members decided to take the unconventional approach to bringing them both in at the same time. I was curious to see how it would work out and I was pleased to see that it went extremely well.
Here's what we did to ensure a smooth transition:
- Both new members were asked to introduce themselves at the beginning and give a quick overview of their businesses
- We then proceeded as usual and we went around the table discussing the challenges we were facing. The members all went first so that the new potential members could get an understanding of how our process worked. Each member also quickly introduced themselves before talking about challenges so the candidates knew who they were listening to
- The candidates were encouraged to provide feedback and help the members as they worked through their business problems. We were fortunate that both members were experienced and had valuable opinions to offer
- The two candidates were then asked to share their challenges after they had seen how the other members presented. It was a smooth transition and we gave both members a few additional minutes of time to allow everyone to get to know them better.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the process and I will be following up during the week to see if the new members will be invited to stay with the group. Regardless of the outcome, it was a positive experience that I believe benefited everyone and I would not hesitate to bring two members in at a time again if the group decided to invite them.
I've just begun to use Mastermind groups - I'm in two of them. Now it seems that friendship is inevitable (and I like that) and that trust is essential. But what builds that?
Well, let's look at what I want from the group. I want useful suggestions on what I'm looking for (which may well change from meeting to meeting.)
Last time I brought up an idea I've had for a new product (to me a mega-idea) And my group put it down and gave their reasons for putting it down (as well as suggesting some work I could do that would validate their input). I was crushed. But do I trust their input - I mean do I trust the validity of their input, the viability of my idea? Would I trust them more if they were orgasmic about the idea?
Will I use disappointment to invalidate trust? On the contrary, I will use that to increase trust. It takes something to give that feedback.
In fact, that's what I want; that's why I joined this group - to get honest feedback from other points of view. If they shared my point of view, I would only be getting echoes of my point of view. It means I can trust their positive input also - and it reinforces my ability to give honest feedback to them.
One of my Master Mind Group disbanded and then disappeared a few months ago.I didn't think much of it at the time, just that we all had gone different directions and our schedules no longer permitted us to coordinate across time zones for meetings.Besides, I had another group to tend to.I didn't think I'd miss it.Then a few weeks ago, I realized... I'd been missing it.
This group was comprised of fellow Career Coaches who had all gone through the same training program and had similar work backgrounds and now, career coaching goals.As I started making some plans for 2008, I found myself thinking "hmm, I wonder how so-and-so would approach this"; "hmm, I wonder if so-and-so would consider partnering with me on this."Hmm indeed.As if hearing my hmm's, one of the members started an email conversation asking for updates on everyone and checking in on interest in getting back together as a group.As everyone begin weighing in on the topic, it became clear that we'd all risen to higher levels in our businesses and had many more experiences to share and additionally, need support with.
Remembering what caused us to break up, we carefully tiptoed back in to determining what kind of scheduling was needed in order to get us back together.After a few days of emails, looks like we'll be meeting once per month, early on Monday mornings to help get the work week started off right.
The bond our group had when it started 2 years ago was still strong and had just been sitting dormant until we discovered the need to reconnect.If you've lost touch with your group, think back to the power and support that came from those members.It may be time to send a note or place a call to see what can be done to revive or rebuild it.Never underestimate the power of like minds coming together for the purpose of helping each other succeed!
Have you ever explained the concept of a mastermind group to one of your friends? Did they get it? If you're talking to an entrepreneur or someone with a position as a decision maker or high authority in a company chances are they'll understand or may have a mastermind and didn't know that's what it was called.
What about a fellow co-worker? A waitress, carpenter or retail worker? They may or may not get it. Now I'm not saying a person with a 9 to 5 job can't understand. I've been a waitress a retail employee and few other things. If someone approached me 10 years ago about a mastermind group I probably wouldn't completely understand the concept.
Here's the thing: it had nothing to do with what I did for a living, it had everything to do with my mindset. A mastermind is about learning and growing. Not everyone is in the right state of mind to benefit from a mastermind group. Change can be extremely frightening. Looking inward to understand why you're not where you want to be can be challenging.
A mastermind group is about sharing-teaching, learning and trust. The question of how to determine who should be in your mastermind group doesn't have any guidelines written in stone, although some people think they do. Pre-judging someone can mean losing out on an extraordinary person.
The potential for growth is unlimited and everyone grows at their own pace. The journey doesn't always run smoothly either. Patience and understanding can go a long way. When you're talking to someone who doesn't have the right mindset it's just means the timing isn't right for them.
We all change as time goes by. Timing is everything. You can only help those who are ready to be helped. If they're not ready it's ok. Let them know when the time comes you and your mastermind group are there to help.
In recent posts, I mentioned I have been in a small Mastermind group for about four years. We're all good friends and come together once a month for about 4 hours. I admit our structure is a bit loose in some strategic ways and, over the years, we have made changes to include stronger accountability and motivation. Overall, I have still found the group to lack a degree of consistency and focus in fulfilling our monthly intentions. We all realize how we contribute to a degree of laxness and avoidance that exists in the group.
So, I have found myself evaluating the effectiveness of this group several times over the last 18 months to gain clarity. I began to think about leaving. After all, it has been 4 years!
1. What was working in the group? What wasn't?
2. What was really bugging me about the group?
3. Had I communicated my concerns to the group so that possible changes could be made?
4. Was I looking forward to the group meetings? If not, why not?
5. Were we still a good fit as a mastermind team?
6. Were my needs getting met in the group?
7. Was I showing up for others in a way that held them to their best?
8. What was my contribution to the lack of effectiveness?
9. In thinking about leaving, what were my true motivations? Avoidance of accountability? Fear of success or failure? It just wasn't working for me anymore?
10. Was it time to move on?
My final decision was to leave the group and form a new one. I realized that if I stayed it would be out of loyalty to my friends and at the expense of my commitment to my personal and business success. Additionally, how would I be serving my friends by staying for the wrong reasons in my desire to support their own success?
So often we hold onto things because we fear change and it's comfortable to stay with the status quo. What might be the cost be to hold on when letting go opens more doors of opportunities and possibilities?
I suspect with my departure my friends will invite some new folks to join. I see this decision as a good stretch for us all to experience fresh viewpoints and make some new connections
Bringing balance to your life and your business. Wow, this can be a real tough one for most people including myself. I am a mom first to my two toddlers, then comes writer and marketer, home maker, and teacher. But how does someone find a balance between home and business? I have a passion for all of these aspects of my life and I find there are times when one part of my life is sacrificed for another. So, what's the answer?
I am sure you have heard this by now, but I will say it again, the mind is key to achieving everything and being part of a mastermind group can be an incredible source to help you develop and keep that mindset.
Don't forget, there is a also a spiritual side of your life that helps you develop the winning mindset. I am not telling you all of this to overwhelm you but to show you the difference between letting the balance slide along with your goals or achieving the balance while reaching the goals you have set out for your life.
Many of us have goals or expectations written down or in our heads of where we want to be in our business in 6 months or a year, but do you have goals of where you want to be in your relationships with your children? Your spouse? Yourself? It's important to discuss and break down barriers that may be holding you back from your success. You may surprised to find out how one aspect of your life no matter how unrelated it may seem, may affect other areas. That is why so many trainers tell people to focus on their Why. Your Why may be to have more money to travel. My Why is to be able to give my children whatever they need. Many try and give a general answer such as "I want more money," but there is ultimately a much deeper reason such as what will that money enable me to do in my life?
This is where a mastermind group can be really useful because they are a group of people who understand mindset is everything and to achieve the proper mindset you must have both feet firmly on the ground.
A mastermind group can help you stay grounded and focused on what is a priority at the time and what's ultimately the most important. Our group uses the Universal Laws as the basis for everything by studying the Master Key System, a book written in the 1900s. Some groups focus specifically on the Law of Attraction, other groups are more religion based but the theory is the same. A mastermind is usually a group of people using a way to keep their mindset focused and achieving a balance in all areas of life.
That's the great part of belonging to a mastermind group as opposed to groups which focus on only one area of your life because the balance is needed. Think about it for a moment. Have you ever experienced a traumatic event or been physically ill? Think back to how it affected you mentally which in turn affected your work productivity or even your attitude towards life. You probably felt tired or even depressed.
Now, think about any seminars you may have been to or having an 'aha' moment during a mastermind session. Did your productivity shoot up and did you feel motivated to achieve your goals? It probably also affected how you treated others around you because you were feeling so good you wanted to share it.
A mastermind group can be an important part of the process of balance which can lead to wealth in the truest sense, not just money, but success in every area of your life. With balance come freedom and greatness and what could be better than that?
Recently I was talking with a friend who meets with her Master Mind group via the phone. She and two friends in another state use 3-way calling to "meet" weekly to discuss their goals, situations, challenges, decisions to make, and personal issues.
They begin at 8am and talk for perhaps 1 hour. Each person has 20 minutes to bring up anything she is dealing with, including any ones she needs help with. They take turns placing the calls so one person doesn’t incur all of the expense.
They originally met at a networking meeting in another state and realized they shared the same goals, passions for their lives. After my friend arrived home from the meeting, one of the women called her and asked if she’d like to join their networking group over the phone. My friend agreed and says it has been a profitable two years. "We bounce ideas off of each other and keep each other enthused about our projects when spirits lag."
This sounds like a do-able approach to me. Last week, Jack Canfield said during his monthly teleconference (www.askJackCanfield.com) that he makes a daily 5-minute phone call with a friend who keeps him accountable for his daily tasks. They each share what they want to accomplish that day and then check in with each other the next day. It is strictly 5 minutes so it does not infringe on work time.
Thinking I needed an accountability partner I contacted a couple of writing friends to ask them if they would do this with me. Both agreed. Some people may not think it necessary to have 2 partners, but my friends are in different parts of the country so that is an advantage to my networking scope. The further distances I have friends in, the more chances of finding book stores for signings in the future, etc. I will do the same type of networking for them in my area.
Plus both friends are working on different projects. One is an author hoping to find a new agent and start a new book. The other is a specialist in the medical field. I'm already learning much from them about writing in these areas which are new to me.
So even though this is a different format from my traditional Master Mind group which meets in person usually once a month, it is still a valuable way to share thoughts and ideas with like-minded people who want to see their lives/careers improve.
Have you thought about trying a different format of Master Mind meeting for added impact? Maybe you've had trouble finding people in your area for a Master Mind. This meeting by phone is an ideal way to combat that problem.
Or if you meet in person maybe you've gone stale in your meetings. Perhaps you could switch to a different restaurant for meeting place or have a speaker come in or have the members participate in a fundraiser.
It's like looking at a picture from a different angle. There’s always something to be gained from a new perspective.
I discovered a hidden benefit of being a member of a four person mastermind group last week.It happened outside of our regular mastermind meeting.The hidden benefit is-
Fast Forward
Let me explain that I'm not talking about a time travel machine.Mastermind group member Paul and I traveled together to listen to business consultant Alan Weiss, author of "Million Dollar Consulting" give a presentation to a group of 40 in Syracuse, NY. If you are in the consulting business and you don't know of Weiss, you should.His books are great value about pricing consulting services based on the economic value delivered to the client rather than priced as a commodity or calculated with a clock.
The two hour drive to the meeting and the return trip gave each us plenty of talk time for our businesses.As mastermind group members, both of us know a fair amount about the goals of the other's business, the business structure and the business history.
The drive home after the meeting was a discussion of how Alan Weiss's concepts could be adapted to our businesses.Having a mastermind group history with each other, we were able to "fast forward" and focus our discussion quickly.
Had we been traveling with others not as well acquainted with our businesses, much of our time would have been spent (wasted) on individual business history and explanation of the present position.Just like an instructional tape or CD recording, without our mastermind background, we would have been immersed in a chronological step by step discovery process:Track 1, Track 2, Track 3... yawn.
We mentally pressed the fast forward button to get right to the present in our discussion of the 3.5 hour talk delivered by Weiss.With the freshness of the information, both of us found fantastic value from our follow up discussion and instant gratification from our investment of time and money to travel to the talk.
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.
Guest Contributor: Chris Barrow
