How many times have you set a goal and not achieved it? I know I have – many times. And yet, I consider myself to be a strategic thinker, someone who does push my business forward and who is constantly challenging herself to try new things and expand my horizons.
Napoleon Hill clearly identified in his book “Think and Grow Rich” that successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with business owners who help them explore their ideas AND who hold them accountable to making their ideas blossom. He called these groups Masterminds.
So what is it about Mastermind Groups that lead to improved success? What are the key elements that made these small groups of entrepreneurs out perform their business colleagues? Hill suggests it is two things: conversations that shift paradigms and accountability.
The first, conversations that shift paradigms, are a natural outcome of being part of group that discusses business and challenges our closely held beliefs. When we look at business problems through someone else’s experiential lens, we can see a broader perspective and catch nuances that we might have otherwise missed. These nuances can be instrumental in helping us better serve our market and ideal clients.
The second component that Hill found valuable about the Mastermind Groups, was the sense of accountability. The core concept of having to report back to a partner about what has been accomplished (or why it hasn’t been) puts increased pressure on each individual involved in the group. Suddenly, that activity that would have normally been pushed on to the back burner, becomes essential to get done NOW.
Accountability is a funny thing. You would think we’d be more accountable to ourselves; however, it’s human nature to find “excuses” as to why we can’t get things done. And it’s easy to accept these “excuses” when we are answering to ourselves. It is also more difficult to rationalize these “excuses” when we need to explain them to someone else. Go figure!?!
How do you hold yourself accountable? Please share your ideas below.