You're smart. You have great ideas and incredibly valuable insights. What if you could be smarter and your ideas could be more complete and impactful? Even better, what if all of that could be accomplished while you built deeper and more powerful relationships?

That's exactly what a mastermind group is all about. If you've been part of a group like this then you already have a sense of just how big of a difference the collective intelligence of some of your own trusted advisers can be. If not keep reading. Hopefully this will inspire you to experiment with your own group.

Over the years I've built and been part of several different very intentional groups like this. Just this last week I benefited from one of the single best mastermind sessions I've experienced in years. It's amazing what can be accomplished when people come together with a common purpose.

Building a mastermind group of your own doesn't need to be complicated. In fact we offer a small taste of what these groups can be like in our monthly NetStorming events. Some will assemble a board of advisers for themselves or their companies while others choose to build a more cooperative model designed to benefit all members of the group (these tend to be more typical in networking circles).

There's a great book out there that I read a few years ago by Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler called Meet and Grow Rich. Not only is this a good book on the power and process of mastermind groups. It's a fun read if you're in Austin since much of the book was written based on real world experiences with groups based in Austin and Wimberely. You may even recognize some of the other participants named in the book.

As with virtually everything I write about on this blog, just reading about a networking strategy, technique or idea won't actually do anything for you. You've got to try it. The only real way to learn this stuff is through personal experience.

You can experiment with a Mastermind group with as few as 2 other people. Call a couple of friends that always seem full of great ideas and invite them to join you for a long lunch/mastermind group experiment. I think you'll find that you'll almost never be turned down with this type of request.

Happy Networking!