Mastermind Groups

Category: Coaching Notes

Coaching notes What Is a "Mastermind Group"?

Simply put, a Mastermind Group is a meeting of minds that establishes powerful ongoing relationships, providing members with opportunities to collaboratively grow and sustain their businesses.

Napoleon Hill might not have coined the term ‘Mastermind’, but he was definitely the first author to write so extensively and eloquently about it in clearly defined text and popularised it. In the process of writing his transcripts which would eventually form the all-time mega bestseller Think and Grow Rich, he observed the lives of over 513 of the world’s wealthiest men for some 20 years, and discovered that they all belonged to a mastermind group. Each had a group of peers with whom they received support, encouragement, contacts, knowledge and advice. Each one of them acknowledged the power and absolute necessity of the mastermind group for their immense success in life, as Napoleon claimed.

Henry Ford built his business utilizing the power of the mastermind. He used it to change his thinking and move him out of poverty, illiteracy and ignorance to create one of the most successful businesses of all time. He aligned himself with some of the best thinkers of his day and met regularly in a facilitated group to discuss long-range plans as well as immediate opportunities.

In the words of Hill, "No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible, intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind."

"The process of mind-blending, here described as a Master Mind, may be likened to the act of one who connects many electric batteries to a single transmission wire, thereby 'stepping up' the power flowing over that line. Each mind, through the principle of mind chemistry, stimulates all the other minds in the group, until the mind energy thus becomes so great that it penetrates to and connects with the universal energy known as ether, which, in turn, touches every atom of the entire universe.” - Napoleon Hill

Hill spent his life teaching people that two minds are better than one -- and 10 minds can yield electrifying results.

The most effective Mastermind Groups have no more than 20 members, all with similar levels of experience and success. Small groups allow everyone to participate and get value from brainstorming sessions.

And by only accepting like-minded members who are truly "equals" in success, everyone feels comfortable sharing and brainstorming... and everyone gets value from the meetings and is therefore motivated to continue participating.

Hill joined a mastermind group meeting with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone during a retreat in the woods to find out for himself, “When these guys are not masterminding and working together, do they still get together at other times, and what do they do?”

So what did they do? They went hunting in the woods, talking and laughing along the way. Significantly, Hill noted that not once during the hunting trip did they ever mention ‘business’. Business was business and recreation was… recreation. But when it came down to business, they were already so ‘into’ one another’s personalities, characters and temperaments that whatever was communicated, whether consciously or unconsciously, by accident or design, they had blended their minds in such a way that the mind of each had been supplemented by a super-conscious power known as a ‘Mastermind’.

In their meetings, members share successes and failures – and collectively brainstorm solutions to their biggest challenges:

Each member is expected to contribute details of exactly what's working for them right now. What strategies have been extremely profitable? What techniques are improving their business?

Then, each person presents their greatest challenges... and here's the best part: Each of their problems is then "workshopped" in a round-table collaboration to help find a winning solution.

Issue presentation is a key activity in a good Mastermind Group. In the best cases, this is a three-step process. First, a member presents an issue to the group, next is the discovery phase where members ask questions to clarify the issue. Finally, the members present solutions to the member who has presented the issue. If this is done right, everyone benefits.

Members walk away with the tools they need to multiply their wealth: With the feedback received from peers... the new possibilities exposed... the tremendous insight gained... and the intense motivation that is the inevitable result of such a collaboration, they can't help but walk away the potential to become more successful and wealthier!

USEFUL LINKS