LTM - 13. The Value of a Mastermind Team

13. The Value of a Mastermind Team

The concept of a mastermind group was first introduced by Napoleon Hill

in the 1900s. In his timeless classic, Think and Grow Rich, he described

the mastermind principle as follows:

No two minds ever come together without thereby creating

a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to

a third mind. . . . When a group of individual minds are

coordinated and function in harmony, the increased

energy created through that alliance becomes available to

every individual in the group.

Over the last 20 years I have been honored to serve on boards of multiple

companies. Some of my fellow board members were younger than I and

some were older. Some were men and some were women. Some

represented the United States and some represented other countries.

Everyone brought something special and different to the table.

I discovered that what seemed logical to me might not be logical to

others, and I learned to respect the differences. The value that comes

from bringing together a diverse group of people to discuss ideas, set

goals, and make decisions became evident, and I have become a firm

believer in the synergistic power inherent in the mastermind principle.

Launching the Little Things Matter blog is a perfect example. Here’s a

glimpse of my mastermind team and the process we implemented.

Step 1. Know the purpose and plan.

Before forming this team, I put together a document with all my

thoughts, ideas, and goals. It was important that I clearly

understood and articulated what I wanted to accomplish before

involving others in the process. After selecting my team

members, I scheduled our first meeting and put together an

agenda.

Step 2. Lay the foundation.

During the first meeting I reviewed my goals and plan with the

team and sought their feedback on each point. This allowed me

to gather the views from each person as I walked through the

key components of my strategy.

 

Step 3. Work in harmony.

In the two subsequent meetings we reviewed the goals and plan

for the website design. This included the sample design layouts

that my son-in-law Josh gathered. We then reviewed the

marketing brief my son Gerrid designed, the identity package

my daughter-in-law Jessica created, the Podcast plan my

daughter Hannah helped design, and finally the roll-out plan I

proposed.

Step 4. Continue consulting the team.

I continue to confer with my team members on a regular basis,

and I am confident that the success of my blog

(littlethingsmatter.com) is truly a result of the collaborative

effort of my mastermind team.

LTM Challenge

Now it’s your turn. The next time you have a project or business concept

that could benefit from diverse points of view and experiences, I

encourage you to form a mastermind team. The collaborative effort of the

team will empower you to make better decisions, expand your horizons,

produce a better project, perform above par, and succeed beyond your

expectations. While you will seek feedback from the team, remember that

you are the leader and you must be the one to run the plays.

If you want to improve your decision-making,

you would be wise to put your ego on the shelf

and seek counsel from those you respect.