Do You Mastermind?

I am a big believer that “2 heads are better than 1″ and that collaborating with the right folks can be a life changer.  Now that I am a full-time entrepreneur, now more than ever do I look towards innovators, experts and trailblazers in my industry – or complementary fields – for inspiration and constructive feedback.  The truth is, “it takes a village.”  Too many cliches already?

Listen to some of the most successful business owners out there and they will almost always tell you that they had an amazing mentor or peer group that impacted their career trajectory in a major way.  I’m only in the very early stages of my empire-building game and  I am extremely thankful for key people that have served as mentors to me thus far – receiving guidance or perspective from someone on the outside looking in is wonderfully helpful when trying to make a tough decision.

So when I recently was invited by a local entrepreneur to be part of the founding circle of a Mastermind Group, I was excited at the opportunity.  Being an entrepreneur can be tremendously isolating (think: late nights alone with a laptop!) and being that I’m a social person by nature, the idea of a group like this is so appealing.

So What IS a Mastermind Group?

At its core, it’s a peer group where individuals can come together to brainstorm, provide support, push one another towards established goals and hold each other accountable.

A Few Guidelines

When starting up a group of this sort, it’s so important that a few basic ground rules are adhered to for increased chances for success:

• the members should share a similar interest, skill and success level
• the members should have a similar level of ambition and drive (no dead weight here!)
• the members should be serious about lending support and receiving it where needed
• there should no more than 8 members
• there should be a “leader”
• there should be a purpose statements and operating guidelines…in writing

2 Great Resources I’ve Seen

1. The Success Alliance.  Provides resources to help you start your own mastermind group and also allows you to find and connect with an existing one.
2. Inc.com’s 10 Rules for Modern Mastermind Groups.  Gives a brief history of the origination of mastermind groups and shares 10 clear strategies to get started.

If you have experience with a mastermind group, I’d love to hear about it!