Masterminding for success

Jon Cooper - Mastermind Groups ensure you are not alone.

Life in business is necessarily tough; if it wasn’t, everyone would be doing it!

And yet one of the biggest challenges to success often comes from your own isolation as the boss. Quite simply, you have no-one to discuss ideas and voice concerns with. In that environment, judgement and motivation can desert you just when you need it most.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could meet regularly with a group of like-minded individuals, who could share experiences, skills and support?

This is the basis of Mastermind Groups, a concept first penned by the legendary Napoleon Hill in 1937.

He said that "No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind [the master mind]."

There are such groups now across the globe, spanning every sector of commerce and human interests.

One of my clients runs a successful Financial Advice firm, and has put together his own Mastermind Group to develop and promote industry best practice for its five members. This is what he does to make it work –

1: Meets regularly, every week or month.
2: Selects members with similar success and experience levels.
3: Ensures members are not direct competitors who may not be comfortable opening up to the Group.
4: Insists on commitment to meeting schedules and effective participation.
5: Develops a spirit of harmony, trust and respect. Eliminates argument; instead fosters constructive discussion.
6: Agrees a Group objective that this year is going to be the best ever for all members.
7: Accepts and gives honest feedback on himself and others.
8: Encourages each member to make his or her own plan, with defined goals for which the Group then holds them accountable.
9: Brings in guest speakers to inspire and educate.
10: Provides an immediate and perpetual support network.

The way to set up your own Mastermind Group is simple; pick up the phone to half-a-dozen or so of your peers and invite them to join with you.

Incidentally, the concept works equally well if you are work colleagues employed by an organisation, or if you want to form a group of participants in your sport, leisure or recreational activity.

Have a question you'd like Jon Cooper to address? You can submit it by either adding a comment to this post online or by e-mailing it to jon@jupiterdawn.com

Do something mad today!

Do something mad today!

The businesses which are surviving and thriving in these challenging times are often those with an innovative approach to selling fairly ordinary products or services.

Here’s some of the striking and effective things my clients are doing to get themselves noticed –

Turbocharge your voicemail – Everyone one hates leaving messages, and yet most of us record the same dreary “I’m either out of the office or in a meeting…blah-blah-blah” for our callers to listen to. If you call a certain Birmingham IFA you will hear “This is Dave’s son Luke. Dad’s out earning money to pay my school fees. I really like my school, so leave a message and I’ll make sure he calls you back” The kid’s 8, and Dave gets everyone leaving messages, mostly good humoured too. He reckons it’s improved his business.

Call your bank and ask for marketing ideas – A client in the property business did just that, last month. The bank suggested he set up a programme of seminars for the New Year, using advice from their resident expert in that field, and with an extended overdraft to fund the project. Although they won’t always make it obvious, your bank has a vested interest in making your business successful.

Ask your customers for advice – Next time you meet, or call a client, ask him “What could I do to make my products/services even more appealing to you?” or “Who else do you know who could benefit from my products/services?”, or “If you were running my business, what markets/products/opportunities would you be looking at for the future?” Everyone is flattered when you ask for their advice, and you’ll get some surprisingly useful answers.

Develop a 30 second personal ad – This is a concise, comprehensive and entertaining description of what you do, given verbally every time you hand out a business card. Designed to express precisely why your customers do business with you, it needs to be learned by heart and used consistently without variation. A client of mine in the IT industry reports a 100% increase in actual business connections from handing over a card since he started doing this.

If you try any of the above, I’d be keen to hear from you with your experiences!

Jon Cooper is the founder of JupiterDawn.com - business consulting that works!
Email jon@jupiterdawn.com with feedback and business strategy queries.