Stuart’s Philosophies

I was reminded about this masterminding series I intended to write about.

I still feel that too many people aren’t able to understand the core of mastermind groups. They think they join a group for exclusivity. I’d rather talk about mastermind groups in the context of sharing and bridging people, not to create some kind of ‘elitist’ membership group.

Sure, from a marketing perspective I know it’s smart business to create an exclusive club for members to meet members. The prices of such clubs range from several thousand to several tens of thousands of dollars. I mean, you can do that, but you’ll run into trouble.

There are a number of things you should avoid when getting together in a group.

#1 - Grabbing Tom, Dick AND Harry

I think you know what I mean. The point is you can’t just drag everyone into your group. The worst thing you can do is to make people pay of the membership. If you happen to have an ass in your mastermind group, it will be worse than a passing on the bird flu. It’s going to kill enthusiasm and you’ll then have to create another mastermind group to figure out how to get him out of your current one.

My advice is simple: if you want to get people, make sure you have known them for at least 6 months, have good vibes about them, and have personal details about them. Here’s a good list you might want to consider (yep, it’s like PI work - and PUH-LEZE don’t use this in front of your mastermind group members. It’s just a tool to keep your memory in check)

• Family
• Age
• religion and religious outlook
• political outlook
• food, allergies and related things
• hobbies, sport, and at least 5 details about them (if golf, what is their handicap, where they golf most, when, what club they use, how long they’ve been at it, etc)
• personal values (what’s important)
• observed behavior (esp things that bug them)
• personal gripes (people, situations… hot buttons)
• 5 people in their network
• competences and skills

#2  - Ulterior Motive

Now, I want to make this very clear. If you are joining a group to network for a specific reason, you must make that reason clear, out of respect for your network. The simple reason is this. Just like you do not want to have your trust betrayed, you have to ensure that what you are interested in is in the common interest of your members too.

A lot of the time, I get people who are for themselves only, joining a mastermind group. That’s something that appears to be commonsensical to do. After all, you want to get more business, you push your products to your inner circle. Or do you?

The idea behind this is simple - all you want to do is to prevent misunderstanding. And if communication doesn’t flow, it’s going to be dangerous. Your motives should be set clear right from the get-go. Even if you have all agreed that you will listen to each other’s business plans and product ideas, the most important part of it is that you renew this trust by stating your intention when you bring it up. If the group is in agreement, and there is consensus, go ahead. If not, leave it out of the equation.

Also, don’t just build a group just for the sake of benefiting YOU. It has to benefit everyone. You need to look at others’ needs over and above your own.

#3 - Expecting To Be Spoonfed

I don’t know about you, but 99% of the world’s population is not trained in leadership. If you want to sit in a mastermind group, you must be a leader. You have to take on the responsibility of contributing, providing initiative, and offering sacrifices for the sake of the group. It’s almost like you’ve created your very own family.

Don’t expect this to be like in nursery school where the teacher would give you a candy when you are sulking, or to cajole you when you are hurt. Everyone has to have some sense of responsibility and initiative to get things done. For instance,  in the last meeting, you decided that member A needed certain things to be done. On your own initiative, you create simple ideas, solutions, or even buy reminders and gifts directly related to member A’s needs.

This level of creativity comes from the spirit of giving, not from the expectation of being given things. Think: how can you benefit your members? The more you can answer this question, the more you will have value to your group.

#4 - Delays

This one kills masterminds. If you don’t believe me, people who commit to do meetings all year round end up being able to break the inertia. However, delays and problems with attendance usually kill the group.

Never, ever delay your group meetings. If you have to cancel other things, cancel other things. Make sure that your family understands the importance of a mastermind group. You are as much a leader as a team member, and the level of commitment in others will show up if you show up.

One thing about a busy schedule is simply this: you cannot rely on just ideas alone. Manpower is very important and you must make sure that you constantly develop action plans and report on them. If you don’t have time, ALL THE MORE you have to be at a mastermind group meeting to sort it out.

Systems and creative implementation of ideas will help you get around the delay issue. One of my earlier posts related to overcoming inertia should give you an idea about what to do in order to avoid procrastinating and keep going. And once you have it, don’t stop until you achieve your goal.

Conclusion 

As much as I’d like to turn masterminding into a formal course of study, it’s still not well understood. There are basic philosophies behind a mastermind than is commonly understood by people in general. I hope you can continue to study this concept and apply it for the purpose of creating a strong network and solutions to a better life.

Tags

General, Masterminding, Team Productivity