The Power of the Mastermind...

Yesterday I focused mostly on the benefits of having a great
business coach that can help you unlock the potential within
you and your practice. When you consider that even the world's
BEST at what they do have at least one coach...and that their
performance almost immediately suffers when they try to let go
of their coach (see Tiger Woods)...the mere question of whether
or not to have a coach is brain dead easy to answer.

Today I'll expand on the Mastermind concept, and how it can
transform your business and your life through its application.

Napoleon Hill wrote extensively about the Mastermind concept in
his must-read book, "Think And Grow Rich". Here's a quote:

"No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a
third - a third invisible, intangible force that may be likened
to a third mind. You may have noticed many times that by
discussing something with another person you suddenly get
good ideas as a result of the discussion, ideas you would
not have gotten without this association. Well, the same
thing happens to the other person. A lot of good ideas have
been born in individual minds as a result of having met in
committee.

Associating with your mastermind alliance is not meant as a
means of letting others do your thinking for you, far from it.
It is meant to stimulate your own thinking through the association
with other minds. No one knows everything."

That THIRD MIND is the holy grail of the Mastermind. It's worth
far more than the sum of its parts. It's where big BREAKTHROUGHS
are spawned, and it's the reason for investing the time and
money required to become a part of one.

That said, I must emphasize how important it is for each great
mastermind group to have a solid LEADER who acts as the "coach"
of the group...or sometimes the "referee"! When big ideas are
flying around and passionate people are involved, it can get
pretty intense. Not the place for thin-skinned or whiny people.

Mastermind leaders must bring unique skills to the table
that benefit the entire group. In a professional niche like
dentistry, a balance of knowledge and experience in dental practice,
coupled with an understanding of business and marketing and
interpersonal relations concepts from outside the profession,
would be ideal.

Such experience is also beneficial in avoiding the most
common problem with poorly planned, ad hoc Mastermind groups:
the "DOPELER EFFECT". Unlike the Doppler effect, the DOPELER
effect occurs when bad ideas start sounding better as they
come at you faster and faster!! Nothing's worse than the whole
room agreeing to a bad idea...and a good mastermind leader
brings the proper perspective to prevent that from happening.

The Mastermind is a perfect environment for true business
leaders who want to maximize their effectiveness and harness
the powerful ideas of others. Finding the right group with
which to associate can be challenging, however. You want to
make sure you're spending your valuable time with individuals
that share your desires not only for growth and success, but
also for helping others do the same. Givers, not takers.

That's all for today. Tomorrow, I'm going to address the
burning question: "Which is better, coaching or masterminding?"

All my best,
Chris

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance