Is your business and career heading in the right direction? Do you want to raise your income or increase sales and boost profits? Do you want to work fewer, more productive hours? Do you have the right team in place? A Master Mind will help you achieve all of these and more!

In his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill furthered the concept of the Master Mind. A Master Mind is group executive coaching at its best.

As defined by Hill, “Master Mind is the coordination of knowledge and effort in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” 

Does it work? One need not look further than Master Mind participants Andrew Carnegie or Henry Ford from Hill's era, or more recently at Andy Grove or Ross Perot as referenced in the revised edition of the book. By harnessing the collective intelligence of your Master Mind group, you'll learn to:

• Leverage the experience, strength and hope of your fellow business owners and peers for achieving your biggest goals, dreams, desires and successes.
• Develop and implement your vision for the future and then focus almost exclusively on your S.M.A.R.T. Goals - Specific, Measurable, Aligned with Your Values, Realistic and Time-Bounded.
• Become more effective while doing it better, faster and cheaper.
• Improve the quality of your NETWORK and networking skills.
• Deal with those tough customer and employee issues.

Listen in as Napoleon Hill personally shares his thoughts on the subject: 

But remember, not all Master Mind groups are created equal. In fact, the primary reason people drop out of a Master Mind group is probably because the group lacks a professional and efficient structure. Without a facilitator and structure (and probably a monetary investment of some sort), many group members will not take their commitment seriously and will attend haphazardly and still other group members will tend to monopolize the conversation.

On the other hand, a successfully run Master Mind group will run like a well-oiled machine, fast and clean. They start on time, they run on time, and they CREATE MORE TIME to grow your business and career and enjoy living your ideal life!

Here are some suggestions to increase the success of your group:

1. A best practice is to create homogeneous groups of similar business people. For instance, a group might consist of all business owners or a group of all C-level executives. This should help to improve discussion of similar challenges, goals, etc.
2. To promote open discussion, it's best to limit the group to non-competing businesses.
3. Though Carnegie is said to have had 50 members in his group, I would recommend a group of 4-8 people. Over a 2 hour period, this provides each person with at least 15 minutes of talk time.
4. Meet regularly, probably no less than twice per month, and at the same time. This way, people can permanently set the appointment on their calendar.
5. Always have an agenda.
6. Though members might need to "blow off steam" occasionally, strive to always keep the tone positive.
7. Share ideas, opinions and personal experiences openly.
8. Ask lots of questions to ensure the group is getting to the "root" of a problem and providing the best advice.
9. Be respectful and allow each member a chance to speak.
10. Establish a "confidentiality" clause.
11. Consider some type of penalty or fine for not attending.
12. Remember the group is advisory only. Always recommend members speak to professionals (attorney, CPA, etc.) when appropriate.

Like this idea, then set a date to begin your group. Decide who you would like to participate with and invite them to join. Happy Master Minding!