“The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.” Napoleon Hill – Think and Grow Rich
Above is one of the most famous mastermind groups of all time; Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs, The Vagabonds they called themselves. They would arrange camping trips for just the four of them. The goal was to learn from other smart and successful people who are not involved in your business. This gave them broader perspectives.
Mastermind groups can be difficult to find. They are usually very private, and with good reason. For a mastermind group to work you must trust everyone in the mastermind. This group of people are brought together to enlighten, challenge, and share some of your emotional baggage at times. It should provide a safe space for people to connect, collaborate, celebrate, and be held accountable.
The Goal
Each of the participants should write out what they hope to get out of these meetings. Your goal may be to sell your business in 5 years, you may have goals of raising your profit margin and bottom line, it could be your looking to manage people better. Whatever your goal, write it down and use this as your guide in the mastermind.
Remember you are there to give as much to receive. Using the old adage “Two Ears and One Mouth” will always serve you well
The Process
It doesn’t have to be structured, but if it is structured and you develop a process, everyone in the mastermind will get the most benefit out of the meeting. Once everyone has arrived, and I suggest no more than five participants, start with a 5 minute recap from the week. In other words each tells what was good or bad during the week. Decide amongst the mastermind one member to have the whole group focus on solving their issue for the week.
The chosen person for that day should start off by explaining in detail what their issue might be. For instance, one might have an issue with their installers completing their weekly work orders on Friday at 4PM. You know you are not getting accurate information for job cost. One person in the group might mention that there is an app for that that and could definitely help you improve your job costing. Of course running a business with many moving disparate parts can be a daunting task. Your mastermind group is there to help you at many levels and you should be there for them as well for the best results.
Give the mastermind group a try. Who knows you might be the next Edison or Ford.
