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It seems like everyone is talking about "mastermind" groups these days. I guess the concept is actually 100 years old (coined by Napolean Hill). Basically, a group of people get together to talk about business issues and passions and helps one-another out with accountability and by answering questions. Cross-promotion and cheerleading can also be part of the groups. Have you found those type of meetings to be useful? How did you get involved? Did it cost you anything to join or participate? |
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Yes, I have found "mastermind" groups to be very useful and effective over the last two years ... by being surrounded with like-minded and similar-experienced others aiming for some shared purpose or even a specific goal. According to Napolean Hill, he defined the mastermind as a “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” After reading Hill's book in 2007, I formed my own very-informal mastermind group with former colleagues from a company I worked at and some newly-met peers with the primary goal to aid each other while navigating the job market: interviews, tips & tricks, networking contacts & events, experiences, and such. We agreed to meet once every week or twice a month, in the morning or brunch time, depending on the nature of topics and/or situations we each found ourselves in. The cost was either a round of golf (3 par, 9 hole = $10 with walking cart) and/or lunch, so fairly cheap for those currently without a job. I mention "very-informal" as there are more formal methods to establishing a mastermind group, but in the case of our group, we all had common respect for each other, like-minded goals, and candid openness with each other to start. Plus, as part of our first meeting, we discussed how we had been part of others groups in the past (while working at different corporations) which had failed to meet after the first three or four meetings and we attributed that to the formality of those groups, so we all agreed in solidarity that we wanted to take a more pragmatic approach to meetings. It worked out well. Slowly members couldn't attend as they were starting new jobs and everyone eventually found a job, so there's no more mid-week golf, nor lunches ... unfortunately in some perspectives. ;-) Our "mastermind" group had a defined purpose and, therefore, also had an expiration by its very nature. Here are some ideas of formation and more formal approaches: The agenda for a first Mastermind meeting How to Start and Run a MasterMind Group How to set up a mastermind group How to Create and Run a Mastermind Group |
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I first thought that I would just comment on your question (not answer it), because I haven't actually yet been to a meetings like these. I found the concept very intriguing. But then I realized - Duh! I think Gatejumper is a sort of a mastermind group itself. We all have something to do with building online businesses. Some of us already own a succesfull online biz and the others are working to get there (that's me, say cheese!) Wouldn't it be great to arrange Gatejumper live meeting (no, not talking about the MS office thing..) someday, somewhere? Just a thought :) |
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I get together at the pub the odd Sunday here and there, for beer & brunch with between 2 to 4 other fellow alumni friends from my graduating class. The gatherings are primarily social in nature, but since we're all in the same business (IT and software) and a few of us are entrepreneurial-minded, many of these pub get-togethers are actually a place were we discuss potential ideas we've had – and we're brutally honest with one another. Given the trust and honesty and experience present, I do think of these friends as part of my mastermind group – although some of them may not be familiar with the specific term. I only recently became acquainted with it after reading Think & Grow Rich myself. |
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