What is a Mastermind Group?
Historic Roots
Leaders like Walt Disney, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Edison all shared one secret that propelled them to success: each person was a member of a Mastermind Group. Yet, Mastermind Groups met long before 1937, the year Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, coined the term. In fact, he wrote down this formula for success using information shared by business magnate Andrew Carnegie, who became one of the world’s richest men during the early 1900s.
In Think and Grow Rich, Hill describes a Mastermind as the “Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” He says that when a group of minds come together, they essentially create an unseen, powerful force—a Mastermind.
Masterminds are led by a facilitator who starts the group as a way of helping people achieve a specific, common purpose. For instance, the leader directing the Mastermind might want to help people scale a business. The facilitator must pinpoint the exact reason the group exists, otherwise, it is not a mastermind.
Typically, successful Mastermind Groups are between 8 and 16 people. This ensures everyone gets a chance to truly develop and grow as individuals, while also connecting with peers. Yet, larger masterminds do exist and can work extremely well for their members. For instance, Carnegie’s group consisted of around 50 people. Even still, there are some meetings that facilitate well over 100 people.
It’s important to note that masterminds are not networking events, one-on-one executive coaching, or group coaching. This is because there’s no singular authority figure in the group. While there is a leader, that person’s role is to facilitate community-building among the group. For this reason, business Masterminds operate based on the premise of group participation. Whether it’s brainstorming, giving feedback, or holding one another accountable, the group members stimulate, provoke, and elevate thinking to a higher level.
Top 3 Benefits of Joining a Mastermind Group
Decreases Chances of Business Failure
Decreases Chances of Business Failure
Decreases Chances of Business Failure
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 20 percent of businesses fail during their first year. This increases to 50 percent after operating for five years. Nevertheless, entrepreneurs don’t need statistics to know the first few years of owning your own company are incredibly difficult. The whole concept of a Mastermind Group for entrepreneurs is to tap into the strength of a group. Think about it this way: Imagine brainstorming a serious issue plaguing your company. When you’re a part of a mastermind, your problem-solving capabilities instantly get 10x’ed. This happens because there’s a team supporting you, yes, your personal board. By offering great feedback, suggestions, solutions, and their own experience with the issue, solving what’s hurting the business becomes clearer.
Additionally, because group members are your peers and not employees, they can be more honest with you about what’s causing your problems. For example, maybe there’s a limiting belief or mindset block that’s preventing you from taking the company or your life to the next level. By identifying and working through these issues, mastermind groups for entrepreneurs create the space for massive breakthroughs that lead to more personal and professional success.
Increases Goal Achievement
Decreases Chances of Business Failure
Decreases Chances of Business Failure
Goal setting is an annual tradition at Rocket Masterminds, covering short- and long-term business, personal, life and health goals.ls when they commit to another person. This number increases to 95 percent when there’s regular communication with an accountability partner to discuss progress being made. For this reason, Mastermind Groups are a great way of ensuring you reach the goals you set.
More importantly, when you’re a high achiever, the goals you set are likely not easy ones. As you work toward the things you want most in life, you have a group of people cheering you on and providing help along the way. This type of support system makes you stronger, more dedicated, and resilient.
Goalsetting is an annual tradition at Rocket Masterminds, covering short- and long-term business, personal, life and health goals.
In addition to annual goals setting, members set monthly goals and the group and its facilitator will hold each other accountable in meeting those goals.
Adds Instant Value to Your Network
Decreases Chances of Business Failure
Adds Instant Value to Your Network
There’s some truth to the old adage, “You are the company you keep.” In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy says that research from Harvard social psychologist Dr. David McClelland shows, “[the people you habitually associate with] determine as much as 95 percent of your success or failure in life.”
When you make the decision to surround yourself with people who are passionate, dedicated, and determined to succeed, this energy becomes infectious. It’s the strong, positive force Hill speaks about in Think and Grow Rich. This is what makes the group so powerful and able to fulfill its collective purpose.
In addition to this, although the purpose of masterminds aren’t networking, they can be a great way to meet other ambitious entrepreneurs. Having these relationships can result in potential collaborations, introductions to important business connections, and partnership or investment opportunities.
Lastly, because the groups are diverse in every way and member businesses and their leaders find themselves at very different stages of their life cycle, there is plenty of "cross-pollination" of great ideas and advice shared.