Using Mastermind Principles When You're Crunched for Time

Guest Contributor: Wendy Piersall
Wendy's Posts - Wendy's Blog

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.

Should you pay to join a mastermind group?

Guest Contributor: Wendy Piersall
Wendy's Posts - Wendy's Blog

Even at times when our family income is at an all time high, I'm always on the hunt for great free resources. But when does it make sense to pay to participate in a mastermind group, no matter what your income level?

I've participated in both paid and free mastermind groups. In analyzing these experiences for this article, I was surprised to see the distinct differences in group dynamics that had been affected by whether or not the members paid to be there.

Perceived Value :: Generally speaking, something that is free is inherently valued a bit less than a service that is paid for.

Giving vs. Getting :: When individuals pay for participation, that also signals that they have made a contribution to the group. This may steer participants into focusing more on "What will I get for my money?" vs. "What can I offer this group?"

Investment vs. Reward :: Participants will always get more out of a mastermind group when they put more into a mastermind group. Investments of time, money, emotions and knowledge can all produce the same great results as long as the level of investment is high.

Coaching vs. Masterminding :: True masterminding is when a group of equals get together and offer each other input. Group coaching is when a group is led by an expert. Sometimes, a mastermind group is a cross between the two. It's an important consideration in determining what the group members are getting and giving to each other, compared to what they are expecting to receive from a facilitator with more knowledge than the rest of the group members.

The least successful mastermind group I participated in was in a relatively expensive program with very successful entrepreneurs. We all valued each other's input immensely, but I do believe that the level of monetary investment cancelled out some of the critically needed investment of emotional support and knowledge contribution from the participants.

The most successful mastermind group I participated in was part of a paid series of programs, and the cost of the series was the same if you went to one program or all programs. Thus the participants only joined the group if they had the emotional desire and commitment to growth necessary for the group to flourish, as well as a financial investment which increased their perceived value of the program.

When to Pay :: My own personal criteria for what makes a good financial investment in a mastermind group is whether or not the group will be led by, or have access to, experts in my field. These are people I would consider more "mentors" than "peers". This would be considered a little more of a cross breed between group coaching and a mastermind group - and usually
well worth the price!

When to Not Pay :: When I am with a mastermind group of people who I would consider very successful, but nonetheless my "peers", I feel I am able to contribute more expertise and advice, which is equally important to growth. Yet in this environment, I would prefer not to put myself in a position to pay for giving lots of advice. In this mastermind model, I believe that a financial investment can do more harm than good.

An alternative to the last suggestion would be to have the group members pay funds towards a group bank account, in which the funds could be used for social gatherings, philanthropic work, or as an incentive pool for goal achievement.

Tapping the Power of Leverage in a Mastermind Group

Guest Contributor: Wendy Piersall
Wendy's Posts - Wendy's Blog


Ever since I first seriously started working with a coach back in January of 2004, I've been keenly aware of the power of the pain vs. pleasure principle.

Simply stated, we will always do more to avoid pain than we will to gain pleasure.

In fact, my own coach was masterful in helping his clients to make changes in their lives - changes they hadn't been able to make for years. Indeed, lifetimes.

His approach was simply to get them to see that it was more painful to not change than it was to change. Usually all it took was a bit of the "Dicken's Process" - as in Scrooge. Scrooge would never change simply by looking at the pain in his past or present. It was the pain of the future, of seeing the consequences of holding onto his old ways that was the leverage he needed to make a shift - and it was a big shift indeed.

In the mastermind groups I have both run and participated in, we use leverage as a tool to maximize our success and productivity. But sometimes the suggestions our colleagues have made to help us grow our businesses are a bit painful to implement.

Write a business plan in a week?

Make 500 cold calls?

Send out 50 press releases?

Yet when we put leverage in place, we make it much easier to commit to getting the stuff done - Recent examples include:

"If I fail at meeting my commitments, I will..."

Give each mastermind group member $100 (or $1000 - whatever is painful to you!)

Go without TV for a month

Sign the title of my car over to my mother-in-law

Some members don't like using painful leverage as a tool, but can still benefit from the principle by using the flip side - putting rewards in place for getting stuff done.

Although I've received the most benefit out of utilizing leverage in a true mastermind group setting, I recently started a kick off to the week on eMoms at Home as a benefit to my blog readers (and to myself!). Monday Motivation Day is when we all commit to finishing a task by the end of the day, and put some leverage in place. Its simple community-building fun as we support each other in getting rid of procrastination and getting a great start to the week. Feel free to join us!