Possible Mastermind Exercises - Crazy Eights for Stirring Things Up

Guest Contributor: Julia Wert-Marrocco
Julia's Posts - Julia's Blog


Have you started a Mastermind Group and you don't know how to kick it off? Or maybe you're stuck in a rut and the group is not moving ahead?

Sometimes changing the status quo is a good idea. A departure from old habits might be just what the doctor ordered to give the group new life!

Whether your mastermind meets in person or virtually, here are some possible pattern-breaking ideas to change things a bit:

1. Have everyone read one chapter of "Think and Grow Rich", before each meeting and discuss it with each other, until the entire book is finished. (You can do this with any other great book, too.)

2. Have a "round-robin" style meeting, where you divide up the available time and each person gets an equal portion of time to share their biggest "win" and their biggest "challenge" and have the group contribute ideas within their allotted time.

3. Have one meeting where each person shares their vision, values, and mission statement.

4. Focus on only one person for a whole meeting, let them bring their own agenda (a challenge or idea) and have everyone else contribute positive ideas and thoughts to help move that person ahead. The next meeting will be another's turn. Do that until everyone has had an entire meeting dedicated just to them.

5. Bring in a speaker on a specific topic that would be helpful to everyone. This can be done on some regular recurring basis to keep the group moving forward.

6. Have one fun meeting just for "dream-building", where you all brainstorm big dreams and see how big and outrageous you can make the dreams/ideas. Make a game out of this one. See if you can make the balloon of thought so big it "pops".

7. Have an "appreciation" meeting, where each person gets to share something she appreciates about each of the other members, one by one, and then shares something that she appreciates about herself.

8. Start a (virtual) business together. Discuss the details of what the business would be and how you would get it off the ground. This is another brainstorm exercise that promotes creativity. This can be an ongoing exercise.

Hopefully, these 'crazy eight' ideas spark some ideas of your own. Remember, a MasterMind group should have a singleness of purpose, so if the group is floundering, it could be that you are not completely clear on your purpose. A meeting to discuss your purpose (or re-visit it) is a healthy idea, too.

If a Mastermind Group is not going anywhere, something needs to change. Unless you just enjoy a social get-together.(Not that there's anything wrong with that, just call it what it is!)