  Mastermind
Alliances Are Helpful In Turbulent Times
Ed
Rigsbee, CSP
(1177
words)
When
the economy goes south and you are looking for answers on how to adjust, to whom
do you turn? When times are turbulent, you need counsel and encouragement from
people in whom you believe and trust. This is the time when the value of your
confidential mastermind group is most noticeable. Alliances are mutually
beneficial relationships. Relationships are the corner stone of a successful
business and Outrageously Successful Relationships (OSRs) are what
mastermind alliances are about.
In
1963 John F. Kennedy said, "Lofty words cannot construct an alliance or
maintain it; only concrete deeds do that." Similarly, to make your
mastermind alliance work, all involved need to make Relationship Bank
Deposits (RBD) before attempting to receive withdrawals. This is the
challenge.
Throughout
my adult life, in order to have what I want, numerous people have recommended to
me that I work harder. In contrast, a few have suggested I work smarter. My
choice is some of the former and more of the latter. Business is more complex
than ever before and a soft economy amplifies this complexity. As you
continually seek solutions to your business challenges, why not access the
synergy of additional views. Partnering with other business leaders to create a
mastermind alliance is an answer to the idea of working smarter.
Over
a decade ago, I started a mastermind alliance of professional speakers and
consultants that are geographically close to me in the Northern Los Angeles
area. Over the years we have evolved and grown together. Today, we call
ourselves the Gold Coast Speakers and you can check us out at
www.GoldCoastSpeakers.com.
We
started meeting early in 1989 and continue to get together about once a month or
so. While many of us are competitors, this is a confidential environment where
each can share their gifts and receive counsel on important business, career and
personal issues. I do not believe I would have survived in my speaking career
without this relationship. The members, about a dozen, of my mastermind alliance
are some very special and giving people. Because we are geographically close,
this allows us to get together regularly. We rotate from home to home, each
member having the opportunity to host a meeting and make it simple by ordering
delivered pizza.
Another
mastermind alliance success story is the Downtown Palm Springs, California
breakfast club. A few years ago I interviewed Tim Ellis, then general manager at
the Riveria Resort & Racquet Club in Palm Springs. The interview was for an
article about Palm Springs strategic alliance with other California cities to
draw tourists to the state. He told me about his downtown Palm Springs
mastermind alliance. It consisted of general managers from seven other deluxe
hotels, the convention center director and the owner of the aerial tram. They
meet every Wednesday and rotate member locations weekly. They discuss issues
uniquely important to the hospitality business in downtown Palm Springs.
I
recently spoke with Tim. He is no longer at the Riveria. He started his own
company, Lathom Hotels. Tim bought one hotel and leased another. The hotels both
feature suites with full kitchens. He started his company to serve a neglected
niche in town, long-term retired guests. He told me that much of his success
comes from the networking relationships in the breakfast club. He said that he
could not have picked up and done the same thing in another town. And yes, he
still belongs to the alliance.
Your
trade or professional association, when properly executing its charge, acts as a
funnel for mastermind relationships. While there are some limitations such as
confidentiality issues, discussion limitations based on anti-trust issues, many
associations do facilitate smaller specialty groups that function similar to
mastermind alliances. Additionally, in your area you can join established
commercial (for profit) mastermind alliances such at The Executive Committee
(TEC) or Young Presidents Organization (YPO). The downside of groups like TEC
and YPO is that there are many limitations on membership and regulations to
follow. The up side is you have a paid leader running things for you.
There
are five personal core values that I believe are necessary for your mastermind
alliance members to possess:
- Trust
- Tolerance/
understanding
- Cooperation/growth
- Caring/commitment
- Synergy/mutuality
Use
these values as your guide when making member selections. Too often I've heard
people talking marriage but really acting one-night stand. This behavior is what
I call cotton candy partnering. Like cotton candy, it looks good and tastes
great but disappears in seconds. These are definitely not concrete deeds and not
the type of members you'll want in your mastermind alliance. In contrast,
integrity partnering is what allows synergistic solutions, the concrete deeds.
Use
your group as a sounding board for ideas you might have missed, to uncover
unnoticed pitfalls in your plans and various other important areas that offer
you value. In the group of which I am a member, we spent an entire year
dedicating each meeting to individual members for dealing with their specific
issues. Wow! It was powerful to have several people focus their energy and
attention to a single member's issues. Giving energy, can be as powerful as
receiving it. I learn when I am being helped with my issues and when others are
helped with theirs.
To
make this kind of alliance relationship valuable for all involved, the giving or
Relationship Bank Deposits must be frequent. Additionally, all the members of
the alliance must be committed to the alliance itself. When this happens the
alliance becomes a living entity and begins to evolve in it's own direction.
While this might seem odd, I have regularly found it to be true.
Inherent
while building mastermind alliances, you will notice both benefits and pitfalls.
The benefits of alliance relationships usually outweigh the pitfalls. Be careful
and methodical in your search for mastermind alliance members and in the
elements of which the alliance will operate, as the road to a successful
alliance has roadblocks, land mines and quicksand pits. Knowing how to select
the right alliance partners and making good selections is truly a concrete deed,
of which Kennedy spoke. Make your Relationship Bank Deposits and you will surely
develop Outrageously Successful Relationships with your mastermind alliance
group members.
Ten
Tips to Developing Outrageously Successful Relationships:
- Behave
toward your alliance partner the way you want them to behave toward you.
- It
is more important to be a good alliance partner and get things done, then to
obsess on the importance of being right.
- Make
relationship bank deposits before you try to make a withdrawal.
- Regularly
share relationship value updates with your alliance partner.
- Know
what your partner needs.
- Be
clear on what you want from your alliance relationship and what you are
willing to do to make it successful.
- Be
committed, confident and passionate toward your alliance.
- Do
more for your alliance partner than you promised—exceed their
expectations.
- Resolve
conflict immediately.
- You
cannot partner with an organization or individual who does not want to be a
good Partner.
To
access helpful additional information from Ed Rigsbee at no charge,
please visit www.rigsbee.com/downloadaccess.htm.
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Adapted
from PartnerShift-How to Profit from the Partnering Trend by Ed Rigsbee,
CSP, published by John Wiley & Sons, New York, October 2000. Ask for PartnerShift
at your local bookstore. All of Rigsbee’s books are available from Amazon.com.
Ed
Rigsbee, CSP is the author of PartnerShift,
Developing Strategic Alliances and
The Art of Partnering. He has over 1,000 published business articles and is a
regular keynote presenter for corporation and association meetings across North
America. Contact him at 800-839-1520 or EdRigsbee@aol.com.
Visit his Partnering University Web Site at www.Rigsbee.com.
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