Mastermind Group Task: The 5 Year Vision

Last Thursday I met with my third Mastermind Group, "The Visionaries", and we discussed our 5 year company visions. The purpose was twofold:

1) To help the members create a clear direction of where they wanted to take their businesses as most entrepreneurs do not have an end goal in mind.

2) To share that vision with the other members so that they can be held accountable to achieving their goals.

I shared with them that my 5 year goal was to have the most popular website for entrepreneurs in the world, a position currently held by Entrepreneur.com. It is no small task and will require my site to grow by more than 10 times what it is today.

What surprised me was how many of the members wanted to sell their businesses or take them in a completely different direction. They see what they are currently doing as stepping stones to something greater in the future. Some want to have sold their businesses, some are looking at franchising, some see themselves serving a different client base.

It was a useful exercise for the members to get clarity on their direction as well as for me to better understand my members and what they want to accomplish.

If you have not already done a 3 or 5 year vision session with your Mastermind Group, I would suggest bringing it up as a topic for discussion at your next meeting!

Evan Carmichael

Evaluating New Members - What Are Their Goals?

Before any new member is accepted in one of my Mastermind Groups they must submit a one page overview of their business which will be reviewed by the group. The one pager typically covers the candidate's business experience and shares some personal information their own skills and background.

This overview is submitted to one of the Mastermind Groups who will review it and decide if the candidate should be invited as a guest to the next meeting.

As my groups develop and get more mature, each one takes on its own personality depending on members in the group. They start to decide what characteristics they are ideally looking for when recruiting new members.

On Thursday evening, my third Mastermind Group named itself The Visionaries (instead of PMG-3 which stood for Peer Mentorship Group #3) and we discussed the profile of a new potential member for the group. The group named itself The Visionaries because each member had big visions and dreams for where they wanted to take their companies. They, therefore, also want to bring on new members who share the same philosophy.

A suggestion from one of the group members was to ask new candidates to share with them on their one pager what their 3-5 year vision of their company is. Where does the candidate see herself going? This way the members can decide if the candidate had a big vision and would be a good potential member in the group or not.

I thought it was a fantastic suggestion and will be implementing this rule for all my groups. Any new candidate now who submits a profile to be reviewed by one of our three groups has to include in that profile a 3-5 year vision of where their company is going.

The strength of a Mastermind Group comes down to the people in the group. Anything you can do to improve the chances of getting the right people will make the experience more pleasurable and valuable. I am looking forward to implementing this new tactic and helping my groups attract more ideal members!

Know What You Want From Your Mastermind Group

Guest Contributor: Tony D. Clark
Tony's Posts - Tony's Blog


"What's in it for me?"

That's a question we often ask. It's human nature.

If you're a considerate person, you ask it in your head. If you're rude, it's probably out loud.

But it's not necessarily a bad thing.

There's a difference between being selfish and being self-aware. A selfish person only looks out for himself. A self-aware person takes others into consideration, but not at the expense of their own needs.

When you join a mastermind group, it's important to ask, "what's in it for me?" Knowing what you want to get out of the group is as important as knowing what you can contribute.

The Right Fit

Different groups have different dynamics. Often, a mastermind group may evolve into a something other than a textbook group, or may not follow the guidelines established. This is why it's critical to know what you are looking for when you join the group.

Some groups become support groups or bitch sessions. Members may drop out, others stay on but mostly complain. If you don't have a clear goal for your involvement from the beginning, it can be easy to just go with the flow of the group. Rarely is this kind of group helpful to those looking for the true benefits of a mastermind group.

A group may evolve into a jam session or book group. A jam session is where a group folks of a similar craft get together and spends the time working on something - a project, a song, a program. This isn't a bad thing. It's actually very beneficial. I've been involved with groups like this before.

A group that becomes a meeting to discuss personal development books or other resources can be a natural progression of a mastermind group. I've seen it happen. Again, not a bad thing. But if it's not what you had in mind, these types of groups may not provide you with what you're looking for.

The group I belong to currently does a great job of following the core guidelines of a mastermind group. This is what I was looking for in a group. I wrote down goals and had a clear idea of what I wanted to gain from the group - along with what I felt I could contribute. I know at least some of the members did the same. Knowing "what's in it for me" has helped shape the group dynamic. Making it fit the plans we each had in mind.

When you set out to join a mastermind group, have a clear idea of what you're looking for. Ask the other members to do the same, and allow that to be the foundation for the group.

Remember, a mastermind group with a clear vision is formed by individuals with a clear vision. Knowing what's in it for you will help ensure everyone gets what they need from the group.