Looking back over my blog posts I made reference about a year ago to the use of the Kolbe profiling system in our dental mastermind groups.
To recap briefly, the Kolbe profile is way of measuring skills and identifying the unique abilities of individuals and their likely performance and behaviour in given situations.
You can find out all about the product at www.kolbe.com and I want to stress that I'm not an agent for their organisation and haven't negotiated some fancy sales commission or affiliate fee for this mention!
What I can say is that for the second year we have asked our Mastermind Group members to bring their own Kolbe "A" profiles to the meetings - and that was has followed has been a fascinating and detailed conversation about their own strengths and weaknesses - and those of the support team around them.
I am not a certified Kolbe trainer (although a member of our team here at Breathe Business is one of the few in the UK) and I'm personally developing a slow understanding of how the profiles can be interpreted - but I do know that the experience has been liberating for myself and many of our members.
Why?
Because, for me, Kolbe kind of de-bunks much of the personal development industry by explaining that we are the perfect version of ourselves, that we are unlikely to change our profile and that its important to play to strengths and delegate weaknesses.
I don't know about you - but I'm sick and tired of taller, fitter, wealthier and more handsome people telling me that if I will just purchase their book/audio/video course and try harder to be all the things I'm not - that somehow my professional and personal life will miraculously transform.
It never did for me (28 years now) and it hasn't done for any of the clients I have worked with.
The beauty of Kolbe is that I have been encouraged to be "ME"- emotional, grumpy, perfectionist, pithy ME - and I can now coach my clients to become their own selves.
In our Mastermind meetings so far this year, we have seen a principal's wife burst into tears of relief when she was allowed to stop trying to be an entrepreneur and concentrate on being the great clinician that she is.
We have equally seen dentists who have stopped doing dentistry - put down their drills - so as to focus on business-building and entrepreneurship.
The results have been a revelation and we are working with clients who, in the first three months of 2008, have made radical changes to their lives and businesses so as to focus on what they love to do and end sometimes years of silent suffering in unsuitable roles.
So I guess I'm a fan of Kolbe - and it's helping our Mastermind Groups to thrive.
I've now been in each of my Mastermind groups for about 6 months. I find them fascinating and, at the least, useful. And they're very different. I'll call them 4 and 7 to distinguish them.
The 4 group fell into chaos over the holidays. With only four members, when two were out, the other two have developed a wonderful relationship and felt lonely and neglected (boo hoo). Seriously, we had to get serious about showing up on time and we've all messed that up. The camaraderie is still exceptional and we all feel that there's great potential in the group. We're still groping at how to realize it. The talent level is extraordinary as is our mutual commitment to make a difference in the world.
The 7 group has been running along well with a solid structure. So, naturally, we decided to relook at it. We devoted a session plus to looking at what we would do to improve it. Interestingly, given the state of workability, we felt free to suggest personalized variations. So we suggested that people could vary their time allotment if they asked to. We also looked at each person specifying the context of their requests for coaching, reasoning that how we would listen depended on that. Each of us is living, based on a commitment to making a specific difference. For example, one way of saying mine is that we're inspired and empowered to be fulfilled, living in harmony with Earth. Two of the interesting changes are 1) We finally agreed on a stable meeting time - Imagine how great we've been showing up on time when each meeting we had to create a new time for the next one! And 2) We agreed not to call anyone who was late - This is the we're all adults rule.
Surprisingly, the level of commitment is greater in the 7 group and the feeling of love is stronger in the 4s. Obviously, evolution is constant. See you in 3 weeks.
My small business owner Master Mind group was such a huge help to me this week. While creating some marketing materials, the collective genius of the group reminded me of the importance in distinguishing Benefits from Features of my services.Identifying the customer's needs and showing how my services will meet them is of utmost importance.So back to the drawing board I went...
This exercise made me think about the Benefits and Features of a masterminding. It's not the frequency and location of meetings, number of members, or agenda that matter so much.Most important are the answers to this question:What do members get by participating in this type of business or personal development group?
Here are the most important Benefits to me:
Feeling supported by people who have similar goals
Having a sounding board of several sets of ears to listen and offer productive feedback and constructive criticism
Enjoying a closeness with each other stat stems from shared confidences about our businesses
Developing new ideas about products and services faster and better because of the expert advice of members' experiences
Setting of goals being held accountable by each other
You can probably add to this list with more Benefits you’ve received from participating in your own group.I encourage you to think this way when looking for new members and retaining current ones.They want to know what all of us ultimately need to know:
"What's in it for me?"Share the Benefits of masterminding today!
When you go to the doctor for a regular physical, there is a list of things she checks, such as your blood pressure, your temperature, and how you are feeling currently. She might have you do some blood profiles,and she will review what medications you are currently taking. She will listen to your breathing and your heart with her stethoscope, and probably check your ears, nose and throat. (say "AAAAAH"!)
When is the last time your MasterMind Group had a checkup? Here are the three major items to check to make sure your MasterMind group is healthy:
1. Chemistry. (Esprit de corps) Does your group have a common understanding and is it acting as a "mass mind"? If not, you could have conflicting ambitions, or your purpose may not be clear. Each participant in the group must know the purpose of the group. It is worth reviewing on a regular basis. What are some of the things you can do to have better chemistry in your group? This would be a wonderful topic for your MasterMind Group to discuss at your next meeting.
2. Organized knowledge. In Napoleon Hill's book "Magic Ladder to Success" he says "Power is organized knowledge, expressed through intelligent action!" Without a doubt, each of our biggest asset is our own brain. The brainpower we have must be gathered together in an organized manner. You already know your group has brainpower. The question is, how is it being organized? Honing this one facet can really take your gorup to the next level. This is a great topic to address in one of your meetings: How can you organize your knowledge better to have more success?
3. Perfect Harmony. Harmony, Dr. Hill says, "is the nucleus around which the MasterMind must be developed". Think of a small Chamber orchestra or a Barbershop quartet. The harmony comes from practice, blending individual sounds together, and using collective listening as much as using vocals or instruments. The groups who are the best have been together the longest. A group can have chemistry and organized knowledge without being in harmony. How can you listen more carefully to each other, and blend together as one mind? There's another topic for a future meeting!
Above are the three items you need to have in your checkup. As with the doctor's checkup, these items can show signs of deterioration, yet with attention and treatment, can be repaired and revived. All this is dependent on your commitment to the group, just like your commitment to your health. The doctor can say "quit smoking" and you may choose not to, and you may die from it. Your MasterMind Group is no different. It is a living, breathing organism, a collective mass of power that, cared for, will thrive and serve you. Uncared for, it can slowly wither and die.
Give your group a checkup on these three items. You may be amazed at what comes out of this exercise. And remember, you are an important member of the group, so give yourself your own individual "checkup from the neck up", as the oldtimers say. Are you contributing? Are you actively listening? Are you bringing your most valuable asset (your brain) to the meeting and using it to serve the greater good? Are you in harmony? Are you moving in the same direction as the rest of the group toward your collective purpose?
I wish you great health, both in body, in your brain, and in your collective mind.
If you've joined a mastermind you've already made the commitment to pursue your own personal development. The other members of the group understand what you want to accomplish. They're there to support, encourage and help you learn and grow. Not everyone in your life will understand that decision.
Some people will listen to your goals, say that's nice but not truly understand what you're doing and that's ok. Others will think it's a waste of time because they don't believe your goals are attainable or that masterminding has any real value and that's ok too. Your job isn't to convince them that masterminding is important or that they should work on themselves too.
Many people are comfortable with their lives even if they aren't really where they want to be or truly happy with their situation. Change can be frightening and very challenging. Remember you can't make anyone change you can only change yourself. So what can you do in between your mastermind meetings? Whether you have your own business or work for someone else the key to reaching those goals specific to your mastermind requires ongoing personal development.
Do you feel the need to stay informed by keeping up with the news? That's fine but don't spend your day watching the news and reading the paper and participating in conversations about how badly things are going in the world or in your corner of it. Bad things happen but you don't need to focus on them. I don't watch the news at all. If something happens that I absolutely need to know about I'll hear about it.
You should also spend some time everyday doing some kind of personal development. Read 10 pages of a good book. When I say a good I mean personal developments books, books that teach you skills, autobiographies of successful people. If you're not a big reader listen to audios. Instead of turning on the radio while your driving put in a personal development cd.
Keep your mind active. Learn a new language, start a new hobby. It doesn't matter if its sky diving or knitting just learn a new skill. You need to build a mental barrier to all the negative things that bombard you on a daily basis. Stay focused on the end goal. Do your part everyday. Remember it's the seemingly simple actions that you take everyday, done consistently over time that make the biggest and longest lasting change in life.
I went to a couple of introductory talks this weekend on property investment and both made the point about leveraging OPM - Other People's Money - to raise the finance for property investment. It led me to thinking about how through the medium of the mastermind group, we can also leverage OPR - Other People's Resources to develop our enterprises.
The idea of using other people can seem a little exploitative and unethical to some people. However consider this in the context of a group of people who mutually exist to help each other become success and are willing to commit their time, energy and available resources to doing so.
Then its much more a win-win situation for all concerned to exploit the collective talent, mindfulness, contacts and other resources available within the group. In this way the individuals within the group gain far more than they could just using their own resources.
Of course its been done since time immemorial in a number of different ways. Consider the Co-operatives, the Masons, Boys Own clubs, and so on to name but a very few. And then, there is the Mastermind Group.
In a financial sense, when you leverage OPM, you are borrowing someone else's money that you can invest in a way that you intend to bring a far higher rate of return than you could do from the cost of paying the interest.
Within the context of the mastermind group, its connecting with others who want to share their ideas and information to help you solve the problems of your business and to grow. So everybody gets to accomplish more with less energy than they would if they were trying to move that boulder all by themselves
There are some groups you wouldn't want to or couldn't become involved in but the mastermind group is within the capacity of everyone to share in. If we look at a classic often held-up model of success such as Henry Ford, we have here someone who exceeded his personal capacity from impoverished beginnings, to become one of the richest Americans of his time.
Here's the thing though, he achieved most outstandingly during the time when he formed a mastermind alliance with other like minded business acquaintances, enabling him to leverage the combined knowledge, experience, intelligence and resourcefulness of the group to grow his business. And for ordinary people like you and me, wanting to raise the levels of success in our lives, the same principles can apply.
To quote Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich
"No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third intangible force which may be likened to a third mind."
"A group of brains coordinated (or connected) in a spirit of harmony will provide more thought-energy than a single brain, just as a group of electric batteries will provide more energy than a single battery."
There are of course lots of other ways to leverage Other People's Resources. The power of the Mastermind group is but one. However, almost all successful people use leverage and a good mastermind group can make that happen. There is simply not enough of our own time, energy and other resources to achieve the success we require in the time we need it. And success isn't about extracting every last ounce of your own energy and resources to get there, for that carries a huge personal cost which may not sustain your success.
A Mastermind group can make your business profitable in more ways than one. Since Brad and I were recently invited to belong to a second Mastermind group, it has really hit home with me how being part of this exclusive group compared to many others in a particular program who don't have a Mastermind group can be a huge advantage.
Why? Well, when you think about it, at least in the home based industry most people have failure to launch. Most times it's because they just don't have anyone around them to say, "Get to work", "Make that happen by this deadline", or "If it's not done by the end of the day your fired."
When people, especially ones who have never been their own bosses, suddenly have that freedom, they tend to take advantage of it to the fullest, until they are completely broke and going to work for someone else again.
The fantastic part about being part of an exclusive group of people who are masterminding, sharing ideas, training and keeping each on task is they remind each other that they are in business for themselves but not by themselves. They have someone to motivate them and someone to bend their ear about the ups and downs of the business. Otherwise, working from home can be sometimes lonely especially when starting from scratch and no contacts or business partners to work with. These factors alone can be often overwhelming for many. Hence, the failure to launch.
Word is, about 98% fail in the home based networking industry and most claim it's bad product, bad company, bad comp plan, blah blah blah. But my experience through the years is that if you are completely surrounding yourself by other motivated and success-minded people the only way is up. And to be able to offer to others when marketing a training program the option of also being part of a Mastermind group if they make a good fit as business partners can make a huge difference from someone who doesn't offer the same kind of support.
So, if you're one of those people who believe a mastermind group is just for mindset. Remember, it can also put more profit into your business as well, so think twice before you dismiss the thought.
One thing that my Master Mind partners and I created early in our meetings was a Vision Board. Do you have one? If not, take an hour or so and do this for your career. It may not seem like a money-maker, but it is something that will inspire you to believe in yourself so that others may believe also.
A vision board is a bulletin board with pieces of items cut from magazines and other printed material that reflect your vision for you and your career. I put mine on a piece of foam board so it would stand firmly and last longer.
Cut out phrases and headlines from magazines that are positive and paste them on the vision board. Here are some of my vision board sayings: "Learn from the Best" (today I'm learning, but I'm also teaching others so this works both ways); "I did it!"; "The joy of investing in you"; "Where are you going? The adventure begins today"; "Oh I wish to watch them say 'Yes!'" (I'm thinking of editors here); "Let your creative juices flow".
At the very top: "Vision - Where vision becomes reality"
Hint: Many of these sayings were found in travel magazines. They seem to emphasize dreaming more than other publications.
My vision board also has pics of places I’d like to visit again - Venice and London, Mexico, the Southwest, the beach.
I figure if I look at my vision board long enough, it will come true.
I've not made anything like this since grade school. It was fun and exciting because it was all about me and my dreams.
My husband is helping me live my current dream of freelancing full-time. Thanks, John. You're my biggest dream come true.
Have you ever joined a mastermind group and found yourself experiencing lack-luster results? Or maybe you know someone who complains about the group they are in and how it doesn't meet their expectations.
A few years ago I was in a similar situation where I was in a six figure mastermind group. One of the members, who happened to be my buddy, started to drift off and not engage. I could tell he wasn't really too involved with our calls and his energy was totally off. When I would ask him what he wanted that wasn't happening I could never get a straight answer.
What I finally realized is that on some level, he had inappropriate expectations about how the group should support him.
Just in case you find yourself in a similar situation, here is an overview of what a mastermind IS NOT meant to be.
1. A replacement for your own coach or mentor. Expecting your mastermind group to take the place of your own success coach is like asking a sibling to be your parent. They can often give you great input but it's not their job to help you align all your strategies, habits and mindsets with your desired outcome.
2. Your therapist. If you are expecting your mastermind group to dig into all the nooks and crannies of your lack of motivation or help you overcome the demons in your head, then you will quickly burn out your partners.
3. Your best friends. Now friendships may occur naturally over time. A true mastermind group has a purpose to challenge you and inspire you to grow. You may not necessarily "do lunch" or take family vacations together but your mastermind will have a huge impact on your life.
4. A substitute for your spiritual practice. Many masterminds have a spiritual experience around it but it's not meant to take the place of your meditation or prayer (or however you connect spiritually.) Continuing your regular practice will allow you to deepen your results in all areas of your life.
5. A way to make you do things. If you have a need for your mastermind to get you back on track or challenge you to change your bad habits, you may be in for a disappointment. A healthy group wants you to show up as their equal and someone who will play at their level. Expecting the group to transform you puts everyone in a bad "setup".
There is a saying, "How you do anything is how you do everything." If you come to the mastermind with inappropriate expectations it is an opportunity to reflect on how you are showing up. Be willing to look into what you could do differently (or who you need to be) in order to create those results within yourself. The truest form of a mastermind is to co-create a powerful energy of new thinking and higher possibilities. If one member is bringing their "stuff" to the table, the whole group can be affected.
Here at Breathe Business we have recently created 6 new mastermind groups of UK dental principals and their business managers- the meetings are spread regionally around the UK and readers of my previous posts will know a little about the invitations, background and format of the quarterly sessions.
Whilst we arrived at our first meetings in January 2008 with a pretty good idea of what we wanted to cover, we were also alive and aware of the clients' needs and adapted our material quickly as we co-facilitated from the front of the room.
After our first tranche of meetings we have "nailed" the agenda (isn't it sometime like that - you have to facilitate a meeting in order to figure out how to do it?) - and I thought you might benefit from seeing the finished result:
Monday:
1.00pm - arrive and enjoy a light lunch - exchange informal greetings between group members
2.00pm formal proceedings begin with "house rules" on mastermind group etiquette and expectations for the year ahead
2.30pm - group members formally introduce themselves with brief personal and practice history and expectations from the year of coaching ahead
3.30pm - "Imagineering" session - each group member is given 90 minutes in which to create a vision of how they would like their personal and professional lives to look at the "finish line" - definition of finish line is the point at which they feel that the latest "phase" of their evolution is complete (can be three years or 20 years)
5.00pm - break for personal time
7.30pm - informal dinner
9.30pm - informal after-dinner discussion on their "Imagineering" results
10.30pm close.
Tuesday:
9.00am - roadblocks - what's likely to get in the way of the "Imagineering"
10.30am - Kolbe analysis - (members are asked to create a Kolbe profile - www.kolbe.com - and bring it with them) - analysis of how they are likely to perform and behave as they create the vision and deal with the roadblocks
11.30am - solutions - detailed work begins on "what has to happen" for each member to move towards their vision - open forum discussion by facilitators and members on each "Imagineering" project
3.30pm - actions - action plan created for each member
4.30pm - reflections and feedback on the meeting
5.00pm close.
The emphasis throughout is on "conversation" and not "presentation" - although my business partner Simon ad I do lead and guide from the front of the room, although we do steer and introduce concepts that we have developed - we allow a conversation - there is no PowerPoint - just lots of flip chart sheets which we pin to the wall.
At the conclusion of the meeting we photograph the flip chart sheets and distribute to all members as digital photos.
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
