I wanted to surround myself as much as possible with people that I thought might be sharing similar experiences to me, or had experience that I could draw upon, because they are or have been in similar situations to me, in terms of growing a business, working with co-founders, and all of the trials and tribulations associated with that. So the idea behind it, behind me joining it was to surround myself, with like-minded people that I could learn from and share experiences with.

Just knowing that there are others that have faced the same challenges was quite reassuring to me. And I felt less alone, as a result.

I had spent a long time wishing that people and the world around me were a certain way. And as a result, was quite frustrated in various situations I found myself in. But actually, the change that I want to see in the world around me and in the people around me starts with me. And the responsibility to make that change falls on my shoulders, and I should change my, the way I communicate and my actions, rather than wishing the world was different. So that was one of the major things for me. And it did positively change the people and situations that I found frustrating. They changed naturally, in response to me.

And also the importance of coaching as part of communication. So how effective coaching can be and asking the right questions at the right time, versus trying to sort of tell people I want certain things in a certain way, actually helping them through questioning and coaching to come to the right conclusion themselves. Whereas previously, I was, I didn’t realise actually how effective coaching and questioning were in reaching common ground with people. 

I’ve also noticed my conversations with customers now are much more effective, and they lead to much better outcomes in general.

So what I mean by that to be specific is the way I communicate with customers now, we tend to find common ground a lot quicker than we did. And I get the impression that customers also feel like I understand them better. And I understand their issues better. Because now, the coaching and questioning is also as important with customers as it is internally in our organization. And by employing that kind of coaching mindset, and also better questioning with customers, we get to the heart of their issues and challenges faster. And I find that they open up quicker as well.

Prior to this, our sales calls would follow a broad framework of questions, but they never really got to the heart of the issue, which was, in our world, the visceral pain that our prospects feel. We never really got to that level. Now we do.

And this change I see internally within my team as well. We communicate much better.
I think having a peer network of other founders around you is absolutely key. As I mentioned earlier, it makes you feel less alone, but also it’s reassurance that the issues you are experiencing aren’t only reserved for you as an individual, but actually others as well. So I think founders, entrepreneurs, leaders, actually anybody in a team who wants an outside perspective on what they’re doing from someone who has either been in that situation or is going through that situation now, I think would really benefit from being part of this mastermind group.

Watch the video testimonial.