Why a Master Mind?

Posted on December 09, 2012 by David Bryant Mitchell, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

Why a Master Mind?

It’s lonely being an entrepreneur. You have the vision, the drive and the concept to make something great of your passion. The good news: we are only limited by ourselves. The bad news: we are limited by ourselves.

Napoleon Hill, in his book Think and Grow Rich, found that many of the most successful people of his time – Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Andrew Carnegie to name a few – discovered the same weakness in themselves. They knew they could not possibly know everything. They therefore surrounded themselves with other like-minded business people. These groups provided them the support and resources they needed to move their business beyond just themselves. Mr. Hill called this group a “Master Mind”.

Napoleon Hill stated that when two minds come together to collaborate, a third and invisible force is created that can be likened to a third mind. By bringing business goals, ideas and challenges to a group of serious business leaders, you get their combined experience, knowledge and talents to work together at making your business successful.

With as many as five committed business leaders providing their feedback to your business, you will better see through the fog of distraction. Once the goal, idea or challenge is clearly defined and a solution created, you will be better able to determine the exact steps to make it happen.

Having better clarity in the steps to move you beyond your plateaus is critical. Just as important is the need to eliminate tasks that do not contribute to your end goal. By eliminating these things or knowing which can be delegated, you bring balance to your life.

Sometimes it isn’t about knowing what you should be doing – it’s more important to put it into action. Here are a few statistics from the American Society of Training & Development regarding your probability of completing a goal:

Hear an idea: 10%
Decide when: 40%
Plan how: 50%
Commit to Someone: 65%
Specific Accountability Appointment: 95%

A mastermind group is as much about getting the right questions answered as increasing the probability that you will complete it.

Let’s face it. Sometimes our family and friends “don’t get it.” Unless they are entrepreneurially minded, much of the internal struggle, passion, heartache and sleepless nights are abstract concepts. By surrounding yourself with individuals who walk in your shoes every day, they will be able to build you up and provide you the sense of community you need to forge ahead.

How Does a Master Mind Work?

We’ve seen that sometimes just getting a small group together can result in many tandem conversations, conflict, gossip and disinterest. In order to keep a positive momentum going, some basic guidelines are in place. Here is what we are doing to make sure group members get the most out of their participation:

In order to ensure that everyone gets adequate input from the group and that all members have their opportunity to contribute their thoughts, the group size will be limited to 5.

The Bible speaks of partners that are “unequally yoked.” This analogy applies to Master Mind groups as well. Membership is determined on the following:

We do not establish a “feel-good committee.” While one of the aims is to uplift and encourage each other, every participant must contribute openly and honestly. Holding back because you don’t want to offend someone does not help the group avoid pitfalls and catastrophes. Likewise, holding back problems or challenges you face will not get you the results you want from the group.

Every meeting will have a set of action items that may include educational assignments, research, or strategy implementation. It is the responsibility of every member to complete with their commitments.

Because the health of the relationships within the group is established on trust, strict confidentiality within the group is an absolute must. Members should feel comfortable sharing potentially damaging information. Financials, strategies, and occasionally life challenges are potential subjects for discussion. You will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

6. Structured Meeting Agendas
We all get distracted by a great new concept or idea. The meeting agenda will help the group stay on task and provide everyone an opportunity to participate.

The group will initially meet once a month. However, there is too much time between meetings for accountability to be effective. As part of helping each member avoid procrastination or falling behind, accountability partners will be decided at each meeting. Partners are to meet at least once (by phone, Skype, or in person) to provide additional support and accountability.

The group moderator will carefully monitor the stages of team development with the intent of keeping all group members engaged and building lasting relationships. Open, honest communication will build a safe haven for members to participate and trust their best interest is at heart.

These are the “Rules of Engagement”. Anytime you get more than a few people in a room, there will be disagreement and conflict of ideas. How ideas are voiced, conflicts resolved and disagreements moderated will be determined by the group during the first meeting.

If you are interested in a master mind, sign up at http://www.boommybusiness.com/accountability_partners.html Sign up form is at the bottom of the page.