At the centre of the mastermind is the power of the collective. When two or more minds are united for the purpose of a common goal, their results are much greater than the sum of their individual efforts. It is like a drop of water falling on the leaf of a small plant. One drop will drip off and may not even wash the dust from the surface. But, four drops that are united as one will have a much greater force by which to clean the leaf and even alter its composition.
From a business perspective this aspect of the mastermind plays out in this way, every business venture requires certain tasks to be performed in order to become successful. The tasks fall into the major categories of 1) production, 2) finance and administration, 3) research and develop 4) sales and marketing. These tasks take time, skills and money.
When one individual begins a business without a mastermind they need the resources and/or skills to accomplish all of the major tasks necessary for business success. If an entrepreneur has the money, he or she can hire others with the skills to fulfill the necessary business tasks. Regardless, 90% of businesses will fail in the first 3-5 years of start-up. Although the research claims it’s due to financial reasons, it is not!
When we dissect the research we discover that most entrepreneurs failed, not because they didn’t have enough money – money can always be attracted to good opportunities. It is because the entrepreneur made bad decisions, often based on incomplete information or a lack of proper skills to make the proper decision. However, if 15 entrepreneurs join forces into a collective, whereby everyone has a vested interested they will combine their talents, knowledge, experience, creative ideas, access to assets and resources and even finances.
Collectively, such a mastermind group will make superior decisions, come up with superior opportunities for greater profits and work faster to bring the business to profitability. They will have all the expertise internally so that they don’t need to hire from the outside and use cash. In this way, they are unbeatable in the marketplace, especially with their greater innovation, speak and flexibility. In this way, the likelihood of failure is greatly reduced and now 90% of the ventures they start will succeed, rather than fail.
I’ve learned and experienced this phenomenon through 20 years of developing and applying an innovative mastermind prototype, which as helped make many entrepreneurs successful. However, most people are not prepared to commit to such a group, nor do they have the philosophy and understand the essence of masterminding to even realize the strength of the concept. They need to be educated. One of the biggest lessons to learn is that there is greater success in working as a group than in working as an individual. Those individuals that believe in taking a bigger piece of the pie, rather than a small piece of the bigger pie will not only fail in a mastermind group and masterminding in general, they will bring the group down with them. Therefore, it is important to only allow those into your mastermind group have the right attitude, beliefs and philosophy. I have found these considerations to be more important than an individuals net worth or skills.
Many individuals have tried to create a mastermind groups and have failed because they personally lack adequate proficiency in psychology of business, group dynamics, business acumen, analytical skills, clarity of thought, strength of leadership, well defined vision, personal character, integrity, proficiency, a well developed network of contacts, and a diversity of experience across industries and cultures. It takes a huge sacrifice and commitment on behalf of the mastermind leader to give birth to the group and to father it to success. The first few weeks are the most crucial.
So, the mastermind members should carefully consider who is going to start and lead their mastermind group. The best way to launch a successful mastermind group is with the assistance of a business professional, experienced in masterminding, group dynamics, business and with a breadth of general business skills. These groups can take the form of syndicates that can group quite complex and large.
Understand that the most effective types of mastermind groups are very sophisticated applications of Napoleon Hill’s mastermind concept. But, a mastermind could even be a group of individuals that meet regularly to support each other’s goals.
What kind of mastermind group do you have? If you don’t have a mastermind group, what do you think it will do to your success if you were to join one? You don’t have to struggle alone in your journey to success. The sooner you apply the mastermind concept in your life the sooner you will harvest the fruits of your decision. You will also add elements of community and relationships that many entrepreneurs suffer without.
Remember, working together will create greater success for everyone involved than working as individuals will.
by Baldo Baldassare Minaudo,B.A., B.A. (Hons.), M.B.A.
Tel: 416 754-1824, e-mail: baldo@metroactive.org
Baldo Baldassare Minaudo is available to help you form, manage and grow your mastermind group. He is a mastermind coach, keynote speaker, and author of ‘The Banker Who Saved His Soul’, with extensive experience in new venture formation and growth. His expertise includes networking, team building, and business financing.