team | David M Masters

How to Start a Mastermind

If you’ve been thinking about starting your mastermind group and are about to take action, here’s a brief idea of what you need to do if you’ve been wondering how to start a mastermind group.

First, you need to have a good idea of what your mastermind will be for. Is it going to be to get better grades, be focused on effectively raising teenagers, improve personal performance/athleticism, make your community (or world) a better place, invest, start or build a business, or some other reason? The purpose of your mastermind should be specific, and it’s not uncommon to have more than one mastermind, but start with one.

Once you know what your mastermind will focus on, you’ll need to establish some ground rules for participation, like maintaining a high level of confidence among members and showing up prepared and on time. It’s also a good idea to establish exit procedures in the event someone wants to withdraw or needs to be asked to resign.

A mastermind could also have a specific lifespan. For instance, if the mastermind is focused on a particular event, following the conclusion and clean-up, it would disband. Otherwise, your mastermind will be perpetual, allowing for growth and change of the mastermind.

Regarding how many participants you will have in your mastermind, you can start with one other person and interview respective potential members. I think the best, most practical number to manage is five or six members, but we can all agree that you should never have more than 12 other members. It just makes it problematic to effectively deliver the mastermind results to each participant (plus, it calls for an all-day-long affair).

Selecting your mastermind members is a process. You want to find people who are similar to you in social stature and share similar—but different—aspirations. For instance, if your mastermind is focused on building a business, you would want to have several business people in different stages of varied businesses who have particular skill sets.

When reviewing skills, be certain not to shop for what your business needs. Look instead for someone who is like-minded, has a business or interest that they want to see grow, is creative and ambitious, and desires to take their business and lifestyle to the next level. Don’t invite a bookkeeper because your business needs a better accounting system (this is a common mistake). Look for individuals who are likely to bring their own unique perspective with them.

Have regular mastermind meetings, either in person or virtual. Depending on what you desire to accomplish and at what rate, you might want to meet once a week or once a month. Once a week is typical for virtual masterminds, once every six months, or annual face-to-face live masterminds. Live masterminds usually start out once a week for the novices, then settle down into once-a-month masterminds.

Know how your meeting is going to go and set appropriate parameters, such as allowing each participant to have 20 minutes to update and share, 10 minutes for the mastermind feedback, and then onto the next person. Have someone designated to take notes (this task can alternate, or you can have one person designated), and one (could be the same person) to keep track of the time. Allow another 10-minute closing segment to wrap up, bring up any new business, and confirm the next mastermind session.

Your mastermind participation can be paid or non-paid, like membership dues. Paid raises the members’ accountability and gives you a reserve expense account if you want to schedule a special guest or event for your mastermind. Either way, a periodic guest or event will help to invigorate your group if appropriately conducted.

Since you’re seeking to start a mastermind, then you probably already know what to expect; the most effective way to create exponential growth is by meeting with several other people in a mastermind, which creates a virtual additional personality/entity (the mastermind), which feeds the group with inspiration, ideas, solutions, and creative possibilities—far surpassing the sum of the participants of the group.

But you probably already knew that.

Assemble Your Dream Team

Ideally, you would surround yourself with a team of superstars; individuals who are the best I their field, at the top of their game and respected as leaders in their respective field.

A skilled orchestrator will have the ability to ferret out these powerful people and persuade them to join your team. While you could go it alone with any project of idea you may have with the particulars of your otherwise ingenious idea hidden under a bushel, a team can help you get from where you are to where you want to be. The most effective team will rocket launch your project faster and farther than you might have imagined.

Surrounding yourself with the brightest and most amazing people means

You Should be the Least Qualified Member of Your Team

It’s a generous serving of humble pie for some, though if you’re ready to think and take action like the greats, surrounding yourself with people who are better than you at their area of specialization is not only prudent but necessary if you desire stellar success.

This applies to all areas of life, whether in business, education or in one’s quest for higher meaning and purpose in life.

When assembling such a team, you can avoid potential pitfalls by

Know the Basics

You must have enough of an understanding of the skill set you’re looking to add to your team to keep you from getting ripped off. Industries are plagued by swarms of powerful marketers and stealthy conmen poised to drain you and your organization of your precious resources.

Having a sense of what to look for, checks and balances to ensure performance and effectiveness will keep you from inviting a black hole to join your team. If you are cautious and prepared, you can make adjustments accordingly without compromising – or allowing too much damage – to your project or the rest of the team.

Don’t assume everyone is out to get you. This is not an invitation to instill fear, only to be aware there are wolves in sheep’s clothing in all professions. You don’t need to be an expert in every field but you should know enough about each field to keep your teammates accountable.

Allow for Diversity

While there are different strokes for different folks, don’t overlook the diamond in the rough with the potential stroke of genius disguised as an introvert. You will have all types of cats on your team and they will all have their particular strengths and weaknesses. Not all of the most valuable team members will be highly driven A-type personalities, some will be meek and mild Clark Kents delivering Superman-like results if properly acknowledged and supported. Expect and promote personality diversity within your team and manage it effectively.

Manage and Mediate

Having such a diverse team, will lend itself to a certain degree of discourse. It’s up to you (or your designee, though this will play-out better with you performing this function while supporting your helmsmanship) to guide the team, while encouraging all members to fully contribute and minimizing dysfunction.

That said, occasionally members of your team will passionately disagree. Do not allow endless debate or disrespectful arguing. You need to be willing and able to allow all ideas to be expressed and understood with as little conflict as possible, while keeping in mind that you are in charge and ultimately have the power of veto.

Recognize and Reward

When your teams helps to accomplish a major coup, make certain that the team knows that you are deeply grateful by recognizing their effort as a group, but also key individual contributions. Recognizing and rewarding an individual’s performance will raise the bar for other members of your team, who might like to be recognized accordingly.

Celebrate

Celebrate the team wins as a group to show your appreciation and thereby fostering cohesiveness among teammates. Celebratory events need not be expensive but should promote camaraderie.

Don’t Overdo It

Don’t look for excuses to recognize, reward or celebrate. Doing so will create a sense of entitlement and will devalue earned rewards. Keep it honorable, real, integrous and an effective representation of your respect and gratitude for a job well done.

Is It Time for TEAM?

I work with people on the move, movers and shakers that are dominating markets and having a significant impact on society and the future… And they are NOT doing it alone.

I know lots of people with a dream. They are aware of the work that I do and know about the kinds of people that I work with. It’s not uncommon for one of them to come up to me with an idea and say something like, “Here’s this great idea. Give it to one of your clients – or do it yourself – and give me half the money.”

While I do work with people who have – and do – develop products; they are in the business of bringing their dreams to life, not the dreams of others. I am aware of licensing agents who are looking for product ideas, but getting in front of one (that is qualified and will actually do the work – not just be a money-sucking machine) takes work in preparation and some expenses related to getting an audience.

My work is conducted with individuals who take personal responsibility for their own projects and are fully entrenched in the operations (possibly not the day-to-day details) of the production, promotions and creating the results they desire.

Now, if you’re one of those people, you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and make your dreams come true. We can talk. One of the first questions I am going to ask you is, “Who is your team?” and I am going to want you to tell me about them.

If you don’t have a team, you’re not ready, yet. If you have a team, you need a super-hero mastermind group. In some cases, your mastermind group could double as your team in the beginning. A part of what I do, is mastermind facilitation (assist others assemble, learn how to manage their mastermind group and maximize it’s efficacy).

What is a mastermind group?

A mastermind group is made up of several (four to six) individuals, usually with different backgrounds and industries (the more diverse the better) who are committed one-to-the-other to offer their resources and special abilities to the other members of the group to move their interests to a higher level.

Many authors and researchers have attempted to define the magic that happens in a mastermind group. Suffice it to say that an effective mastermind group combines the minds of all the members and the combination thereof creates an extra mind (or force, a master-mind) that pulls thoughts and ideas from the universe making them accessible to members of the group.

That is my brief, over-simplified woo-woo version that might seem somewhat outside the box for some. Regardless of how uncomfortable embracing the idea of creating your own mastermind group sounds, the fact remains: The most successful innovators and entrepreneurs in the world attribute much of their success to their mastermind group.

If you are considering embracing your innate superpowers and launching your own brand of world domination in a particular market, talk is cheap.

You can start taking steps to realize your dream, if you assemble a supportive team and/or mastermind group, meeting regularly, brainstorming, planning, while to build your faith in yourself and your vision.

But remember, “Faith without works is dead.”*

That is to say, no matter how much you believe in your project or idea, if you don’t take personal responsibility for taking action and doing the work to make your dream a reality, your chances for success are bleak at best.

* = swiped from James 2:14-26