A Successful Mastermind Group is Interactive
If you’re like me you are continually trying to puzzle out what works in a given situation or application.
Then when you find that someone else has done so as well you see what’s relevant about the way they’re doing it and make it part of your solution too.
A few months ago I found just such a resource, sort of, a book entitled “How To Make Meetings Work”, by Michael Doyle and David Straus.
The book was first published in 1973 after much research into the process that guaranteed successful meetings. The copy I bought on Amazon.com was the 1993 edition – updated with even more results.
I said, sort of, because How To Make Meetings Work deals almost exclusively with face-to-face meetings, but the principles are those that I had been using in my over the phone peer group calls.
I sincerely urge you to buy a copy of their excellent work for several reasons, not the least of which is that what you’ll pick up will help make your peer groups more effective – but also because all those hours you will be spending in meetings in the future will be far more productive.
When I began developing the 21st Century Peer Group model, it was trial and error from the very beginning. I knew the principle worked because Napoleon Hill had said so and because I had been in traditional face-to-face peer groups for years.
In the traditional group meeting, when someone begins to take over and do all the talking, a stern look or caustic comment will get them to sit back and let others talk.
This isn’t possible in a virtual environment where one person can so dominate the call that the rest of us tune out and eventually drop out.
That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the dominant person, they are generally unaware of their effect on others. It’s really a function of meeting facilitation.
Someone must be in charge of the agenda for that call.
When meeting face-to-face, most groups rotate the location from one person’s office to the next. The host takes care of the details and performs the function of leader.
How could this be translated into 21st Century where the meetings are being held over the phone?
How could all the chores of the host be handled in an over the phone process?
When meeting on the phone, in my experience at least, effective groups have about 99% participation – on time every time.
Nevertheless, when people are missing, two things occur. Their input is absent and they are likely to lose the train of thought of the meeting that took place in their absence.
The mechanics
This is the heart of what makes the 21st Century Peer Group process possible.
On the interactive tools page you’ll finda detailed description of a a revolutionary combination of conference calls for your group that includes an instant recording of the event for a member unable to be on the call live.
In addition private instant messages can be sent to that week’s volunteer facilitator and if someone cannot easily call in (maybe they are on vacation out of the country) they can listen to the discussion live online.
www.FreeConference.com, also on the interactive tools page, is one of the many services around these days that allow everyone to set up our fee conference calls.
These services are called bridge lines, where everyone calls a single number, enters a pre-assigned code and is connected in a private crystal clear conference room.
They and the other providers are equipped to record the call if you wish. Each charges a few bucks for the recording service, but if a member is going to miss the call or if you have a special guest presenting information of value, this might be important to you.
And it can be set up with relatively short notice with each caller pays their own long distance charges, which, unless you have unlimited long distance services, average $4 an hour.
It just doesn’t get any cheaper than that.
A Yahoo! group is the second most important element of the process. By the way, Google.com has a similar service, it’s your choice – they both seem to have the same features.
I’m not going to take you step by step through the sign up process since it would take longer to read my instructions that to actually set up your group.
In a nutshell, here are some ways that we are using our peer group’s Yahoo group:
- Each member signs up and opts to receive the email messages sent by the other members. That way one email gets to everybody keeping each person in the loop.
- You can schedule your upcoming meetings (date/time) on the group’s calendar, which allows the system to send reminder emails before the calls.
- In the files area you can post the MP3 files from your recorded meetings as well as other documents of value to everyone in the group.You will be able to add links to web sites, post the name of the upcoming group facilitator, special information about guest speakers – all sorts of things.
Once you set up your Yahoo (Google) group and begin to use it, you will see how it is indispensable to the maintenance and effectiveness of your peer group.
Setting the agenda is covered in the Sample Agenda Detailed, where I provide you with a sample agenda for your consideration.
It is important to note that my way of developing an agenda and how our meetings work is the right way for us.
In my interviews with almost 100 business owners, I think there were almost as many formats as there were groups.
The right format is the one that works for your group in keeping the conversation focused, the group engaged, and value received consistently by everyone.
Enhancing everyone’s capabilities
The key element of the Interaction Method (which you’ll learn more about in the book, How To Make Meetings Work) is that everyone shares the roles and the load equally.
The result is that an actual peer group is created, not Pat’s group, Kyle’s group, or Wayne’s group – which is vital for the process to maximize its relevance to everyone over the long haul.
As I said before, I know of groups that have been together for almost 15 years and that just won’t happen unless co-ownership is established right from the beginning.
Our strategy is to assign roles to one another so that everyone takes individual responsibility for one role or another on each call.
We agree on the roles well in advance and post them on our Yahoo group.
If for any reason someone can’t fulfill their role, it is their responsibility to get one of the others of us to handle it well in advance of the meeting.
You can see here just how valuable the Yahoo group email can be.
We keep it simple. One of us is the facilitator and another is the timekeeper.
The facilitator, in addition to running the call, is also the “master of ceremonies” so to speak.
If someone wants the call recorded, it’s their responsibility to let the meeting facilitator know far enough in advance so they can arrange for it with the conference call service, or do it themselves if that’s something they can do.
If there is s guest speaker, it is the responsibility of the person who invited them to make sure the facilitator knows about it in advance, so they can arrange the recording and so they have a chance to modify the agenda before the call.
During the call, the facilitator is generally invisible unless they need to interject themselves in the dialogue to keep the call focused and moving forward.
The role of the facilitator can be intense and time consuming, that’s why we rotate it with a different person on every call.
Those of you who like facilitating will take over the entire group; and the rest of us will sit back and let you do so – until we get tired of you – and then we’ll quit because we never learned how to facilitate the meeting ourselves.
That is not the outcome anyone is after. So, like it or not, everybody gets to put on the facilitator’s hat in rotation.
The timekeeper is a simple but critical role. As the meeting moves along you will watch the clock and announce when it’s time for the next member to participate.
This will be clearer when you look at an actual agenda layout.
Each of us has a little bell or something to signal times up. I use one of those Staples Easy Buttons, which is both effective and humorous – making the point without being pushy.
Facilitation: professional, semi-professional, or volunteer?
Professional peer group facilitation is without a doubt the most efficient alternative.
The professional facilitator and their staff will arrange everything. All you and your fellow members will have to do is show up on time for the call.
When you combine the time efficiencies of the virtual meeting environment and the professional facilitator’s presence, this “turnkey” process is perfect!
Semi-professional peer group facilitation may be more in line with your budget and with the “learning/doing/teaching” strategy of a DIY process.
With this approach, one or more of the members of the group becomes trained in the art and science of facilitating virtual groups and meetings.
This can be very helpful to the group and the cost is minimal.
I participated in the inaugural “facilitating at a distance” teleclass. The time and the small amount of the investment were well worth it. As I told the organizer, Steve Davis, “the resources alone were worth the price of admission”.
Volunteer facilitation is the final option – learning the process on the fly. This is the starting place for everyone, which may end up being the perfect way for you and your group.
From what I’ve observed every group takes a different tack, gradually getting better – learning more and in some cases deciding that the professionally facilitated solution is right for them.
In any case, you’ll be fine with just the normal social skills you and your fellow members already have.
There are no new techniques to learn in order to have a successful experience.
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