What is a Mastermind Group?
I received my group facilitation training and early experience as a Vistage Chair. Vistage positioned itself as a “CEO Peer Based Advisory Group.” I noticed on a recent Google search for mastermind groups that Vistage is now positioning itself as mastermind groups.
So, what is a mastermind group? In early 2022 I set out to find the answer to that question. As most of us have heard, the term originated with Napoleon Hill and is best known from his book Think & Grow Rich. Over the years, I have studied Hill’s work in both Think & Grow Rich and The Law of Success. His concept is that whenever two or more minds focus on an issue their combined energy forms a “third mind” (the master mind) that finds solutions the individuals could not have conceived. His work centered around Andrew Carnegie and he worked with most of the prominent businessmen of his era teaching them his philosophy. He was the precursor of Tony Robbins, though not as vibrant a presenter.
I decided the best way for me to learn what is considered a mastermind group in today’s business world would be to take a class from the mastermind group guru, Karyn Greenstreet of The Success Alliance. It was a wonderful, enlightening experience. Karyn is a true professional.
The Success Alliance provides facilitator training for mastermind groups. I found mastermind groups come in all shapes and sizes, with all kinds of objectives, members, and duration. Some groups meet regularly for short periods of time (often 6 to 8 weeks), some have very specific membership requirements and are on-going for years. The common denominator is there is a meeting facilitator who keeps the group on target and makes sure everyone gets a chance to be heard. There is no focus on the “third mind” rather on the strength of having more than one viewpoint on an issue.
The facilitator role is critical to a mastermind group. The facilitator assures the group achieves its purpose for the meeting. As I mentioned, mastermind groups can form for a wide variety of purposes. The facilitator is not to function as a coach to the group (unless that is the focus of that particular group). Most groups identify specific target members and know it is important to have the right members in the group in order to achieve that group’s objective. Facilitators build and monitor the groups and are paid for their role.
So, are Ritamac groups mastermind groups? We are mastermind groups in the way we “work member issues” in our meetings, and this is a part of the Ritamac Method (visit our website at www.ritamac.com) to learn more about The Ritamac Method. Ritamac meetings are virtual, last 3 hours, are held on a consistent schedule, follow an established process, and are focused on helping business owners with revenues under $1 Million be more profitable by working as a group to master using financial statements to create the strategies to achieve success. Everything discussed in the meeting is confidential and it is a safe place for small business owners to take advantage of the mastermind concept.
Unique to our meeting format is our emphasis on the financial side of the member’s small business. To be sure we are all “speaking the same financial language” all new members receive a complimentary copy of the Ritamac Financial Statements Review Toolkit. Brief training sessions are presented at the meetings when appropriate. Ritamac members stay in their group as long as it provides value to them.
The chances are there is a mastermind group for whatever issue (personal or professional) where you want help. My suggestion is that you are clear about what help you want from the group, how much that help is worth to you in time and money, then do your search and check out what is available for you. Interview the facilitator to be sure it will meet your needs.
Bottom line: What is a Mastermind Group? Ideally it is a safe place for you to meet with people with similar issues to get fresh ideas on how to resolve your issue. It allows you a space to help others with your knowledge and experience, and it helps with the sense of isolation so many experience today.