The evolution of Masterminding
Mastermind groups have been around for centuries. Whilst shrouded in tales of legend, The Knights of the Round Table were a group of the most legendary warriors who would put their great minds together to ensure that the nation remained safe.
Franklyn D Roosevelt famously put together Brain Trusts where he would bring together the most brilliant minds to resolve complex and challenging issues of state.
JRR Tolkein and CS Lewis were part of the famous Inklings Mastermind group. They would meet with other successful writers at the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, where they would support each other in their writing.
And the place where most of us were introduced to the concept of Mastermind groups is through Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich which documents Andrew Carnegie’s use of Master Mind groups, in which he surrounded himself with the right people to ensure that he succeeded.
Why I love Masterminding
I have been to many, many, many networking groups over the years and there are thousands left for me to try. As a woman who relishes the company of other business women, it is one of the things that I encourage all of my clients to do. There is nothing more inspiring than spending time with other female entrepreneurs. Whether you work for a corporation or you run your own business you can’t beat a face to face connection to grow your network.
Whilst I still value networking, I started to feel like I needed some thing more. I felt that I wanted some thing that offered me something a little more substantial than a cup of coffee and an exchange of business cards. I wanted a group where I could learn and get support and spend valuable time with like minded women.
So over the last few years, I have actually set up three mastermind groups, for my own benefit, because I wanted to get a deeper connection. One of the groups I already knew all the members very well. I and another female entrepreneur approached this small group of women, who we knew were driven to take their businesses to the next level. We meet every couple of months, there are rules that everyone has agreed and committed to, it is a group of women who have the courage to set big goals and will push you to achieve yours.
Another group is an even smaller group of women. We meet once a month for breakfast, we make it special, go some where quite decadent and the purpose of the group is to mastermind sales, marketing and social media ideas and issues. With this group we, on occasion, invite other women to join so they can offer their expertise. Another group, again of inspiring women who want to take their businesses to the next level.
I can not express how much inspiration I get from these groups. How much value I get every time I attend one, how close I feel to these women and their businesses and how driven we all are to support and help each other achieve. Every time I have attended one I have received incredible ideas that have already significantly helped my business.
What is a mastermind group?
The concept is simple, it is about the bringing together of minds. The ethos is about support, contribution, challenge and accountability. A group of like minded women (in my case) come together, on common ground, with big goals in mind.
Groups can come together in many guises. You could have a group just for retailers, or designers or those in the Health and Fitness industry or you could mix the group and have a diverse group of businesses. What there must be, in common, is the objectives of the group.
The mastermind groups that I have founded and I join have the value of thinking big at the forefront of the objectives.
How they should work
A good mastermind will be well organised and have a Mastermind Agreement. The facilitator will ensure that the Mastermind group sticks to the agreement. The agreement centres around all members making a commitment to being fully supportive of each other, being open to offer ideas, share knowledge and experiences and be acceptable to challenges and being held accountable.
In order for a group to successfully run the group founder must ensure adherence to the rules of the agreement. Just the basics are the things that make the group work well and ensure all members get value from their investment. The rules can include, that all members must turn up to the group on time, they must stay the full length of the session, frequent absences means that the group may not be the right thing for them at that time and maybe the place could be offered to someone else.
The group will meet regularly at an agreed time, each member must have an equal opportunity to speak. Members can come to the group seeking help with challenges, support with ideas and for a an arse kicking if they have not completed actions they have agreed to.
Groups can meet face to face, they can be via Skype, they can meet weekly, monthly, quarterly. Whatever works and whatever you want to invest your time and money in.
Why join a group?
When I first started a mastermind group it was for my own benefit. I needed more than I was getting from networking. I wanted to talk through big ideas, I wanted to the support of like minded women and I couldn’t find what I needed so I set up my own one and invited the women I wanted to join.
It has been one of the single most important things I have done for myself and my business. The inspiration that I get from spending time with incredible women, with shared goals of achieving big is immeasurable.
The successes that I have seen now from members of my mastermind groups just fuels me to start more and give more women the opportunity to be part of these amazing forums.
These are just some of the successes
- One member niched her design business and quadrupled her profits. She now has so much business she has no more appointments left until April
- This particular member took one piece of advice, executed it and now gets 80% of her business via Facebook, before the mastermind group it was zero. From another piece of advice, she doubled her profits after one meeting.
- This amazing member achieved her goal of landing a £5 million client
- One member achieved the amazing feat of getting her new skin care products into several high end stores and when she came to the last meeting we had to set her new goals because she achieved all she had set herself.
If I had my own way, all women would join a mastermind group. They should replace a class at school and run mastermind groups in its place. If you have reached a point where you need to step up and step out of your comfort zone. If networking doesn’t do it for you anymore, if you just need to surround yourself with like minded women, if you have big goals but those you spend time with don’t seem to support you, then make an investment in yourself, your business and join a group.
How do I join?
Pat Flynn who runs a very successful business call Smart Passive Income talks about the weekly, one hour, phone call mastermind group he belongs to. Jayson Gaignard founded Mastermind Talks to bring brilliant and influential people together in one place at certain points of the year. Women who understand the importance of investing in themselves and their business understand the importance and power of mastermind groups. I personally know women who have invested upwards of between £4000 – £25,000, women who regularly fly to different countries to meet with their mastermind groups (I am not just talking a hop and a skip from England to Scotland, I am talking transatlantic flights), women who take time away from their families because they recognise that the investment will come back to them tenfold in both profits and business success.
There are groups of all levels for all women. You need to do your research and look around and find a group that you think fits your needs. Also, you don’t just need to be a member of one. You can join a paid group and then set up one yourself. Just know what you want from the group and make sure that is the case for all members.
Make sure you are always growing?
Your personal development is so important and you need to always make sure that you are always growing. When it comes to masterminding don’t be afraid to move on. There may come a time when you outgrow your group and you have created more income to be able to invest in a more advanced group.
I have shut down some of my mastermind groups because some people were not as committed, or I thought it had served its purpose or I had changed direction and needed something a little different.
What I wanted to say is don’t be afraid to know when you need to move on but make sure you move on to something bigger and better.
Always be masterminding.
