Masterminds in Organizations 

Defining a Mastermind:

A Mastermind serves as an informal board of directors, helping its members maximize their opportunities by brainstorming options, developing solutions, supplying contacts and cultivating camaraderie.  Because a Mastermind group is based upon the premise that its sum is greater than its parts, all members benefit from the ideas and perceptions of everyone involved.

While no two meetings are alike, they are sure to be fast-paced, confidential, congenial, confrontational and never dull.  Members get to know each other very well.  They become trusted friends whose sound, truthful advice and key contacts are invaluable to their mutual success.

Each Mastermind is unique because it sets its own mission, goals and agenda. However, some typical topics include:

– Increasing revenue/profits and decreased costs

– Identifying and implementing best practices

– Solving problems that impact multiple operations

– Enhancing communications among departments or between the corporate office and the field

– Improving processes or systems

– Soliciting focus-group feedback and opinion leader buy-in on important corporate initiatives

– Building camaraderie and trust

– Recruiting, retaining, mentoring and promoting employees

– Marketing products and services

– Motivating employees in tough times

– Developing an employee-friendly workplace

– Downsizing, combining divisions and restructuring

The length and frequency of meetings is dependant upon the scope of the group. Masterminds often meet monthly or quarterly.

Career Dimensions contacts all the members in advance to ascertain what issues they want to discuss. Each meeting is facilitated to make sure everyone goes back to the office with practical answers to his or her concerns.

Developing a Mastermind:

The first steps to start a Mastermind are to determine the group's mission, format and members. Career Dimensions will collaborate with your organization to set the first agenda, time and place.

After the first meeting, Career Dimensions will:

– Develop future agendas for meetings and conference calls based upon member suggestions

– Inform participants of the meeting/call dates, locations and agenda topics

– Facilitate all meetings to ensure the group addresses its entire agenda and the sponsor and participants get the maximum value from the experience

– Communicate with members between meetings

The sponsoring organization will:

– Coordinate the logistics including meeting venue, meals and travel arrangements

– Take and transcribe the meeting minutes

– Encourage attendance

– Pay Career Dimensions' fees and travel expenses, as well as the costs for the meeting.