Mastermind Alliance

A mastermind alliance is having access to a body of knowledge and/or resources in human form that you can consult when the need arises. Learn five steps for building an effective mastermind alliance.

Henry Ford, auto industry billionaire, began his business career under the handicaps of poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance.  Knowing his own weaknesses and understanding one of the key principles of success, Mr. Ford allied himself with Thomas Edison, whom he knew could help him achieve his desired goals and objectives.  However, Mr. Ford's most outstanding achievements began from the time he allied himself with the great minds of Harvey Firestone, John Burroughs and Luther Burbank.  Together, these men would form the mastermind alliance behind the Ford Motor Company, which was responsible for bringing affordable automobiles to the masses.

A mastermind alliance is having access to a body of knowledge and/or resources in human form that you can consult when the need arises.  Many great businesses are started and run with a mastermind alliance.  These masterminds consist of two or more people with varying talents, skills, and resources who work together toward a common objective.  In fact, forming a mastermind could be seen as one of the key steps in the goal setting exercise - it is another way of identifying the people who can help you achieve success.

Very often, the achievement of success requires the cooperation of others.  When you form a mastermind, you ideally choose members that compensate for your lack of skills or resources needed to reach your common objective.

Henry Ford was once on trial and was unable to answer a fairly simple question about history.  In response to the interrogating attorney, Ford said,  "Now, will you kindly tell me, why I should clutter up my mind with general knowledge, for the purpose of being able to answer questions when I have men around me who can supply any knowledge I require?"  This question posed by Ford not only restored his credibility to the court, but demonstrated to many how brilliant he really was.

A mastermind, like any good team, consists of members who have different perspectives.  These different perspectives are useful when it comes to problem solving.  Problem solving is often like putting together a puzzle where the possible solutions are like the puzzle pieces; it takes several different pieces to complete the puzzle.

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of a mastermind is synergy.  Synergy is the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.  In mathematical terms, it is 1+1=3.  In scientific terms, it is like mixing two or more substances to create a completely different substance.  This type of synergism is the driving force behind many successes.

Before you can assemble a mastermind alliance, you must have a clear objective in mind.  An objective is often synonymous with a goal, but an objective is more often a goal shared between two or more people.  With a clear objective in mind, you can proceed with the following five steps for building an effective mastermind alliance.

1. Identify and build.  Begin the creation of your mastermind alliance by identifying and seeking the types of people needed to help reach your objective.  Seek members who are self-motivated, enthusiastic, success oriented, trustworthy, responsible and most of all, who possess the skills and resources needed to help reach the objective.  Resources can be in the form of financial aid, contacts, time, or other forms of contribution.  It is important to choose members whom you can work with and who can work with each other; however, do not choose members based solely on this criteria.
2. Understand objective.  As the creator of your mastermind, it is your responsibility to make sure that each member clearly understands the objective.  In addition, each member must believe in the group and have faith in its ability to achieve the objective.  The more passionate about reaching the objective each group member is, the better success the mastermind will have.
3. Understand compensation.  Make sure each member of the mastermind understands what his or her rewards will be for accomplishing the objective.  Remember that rewards do not always have to be all financial.  Refer back to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs and associate the achievement of the objective with the fulfillment of as many desires as possible.  Motivate and energize the members of your mastermind alliance.
4. Give clear direction.  It is essential that each member of the mastermind know what they need to do.  Direction is meant to be general, not specific like a list of "to do" items.  Leaders provide direction and managers generally provide specific action steps.  Be a leader to your mastermind team members, not a manager.
5. Set meeting times and frequency.  How will your mastermind communicate?  By phone, e-mail, face-to-face meetings?  How often and at what times?  Make sure that the communication is frequent enough so that the members are kept focused, but not too frequent where the members are distracted from taking action toward the achievement of the objective.

A well-formed mastermind alliance can be your greatest asset for achieving any objective.  You can form several masterminds, each with the purpose of accomplishing a different objective.  Do your best when choosing members for your mastermind and remember that the overall success of the group is based on the contribution of each of the members.  Don't waste any of your valuable time by postponing success while you work on your shortcomings.  Compensate for your shortcomings by building a mastermind alliance and by beginning your journey to success right away.

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