I find it difficult to get that kind of “mastermind” group where I am right now. So, I actually wanted to be part of this group so that I can learn from others, listen to others.
Everyone in the group can be very, very objective, as there’s no emotional connection or attachment to your company. So, we can say something, and it’s up to the other person to actually accept it, or not take it. But the point is, everybody respected the views within the group I might have said something controversial, but they were like, okay, I get where you’re coming from.
So that objectivity was something I found very impactful, at least for me, and while there were certain challenges within the group, everybody in that group was also very, very positive and supportive in helping you to constructively deal with them. Many times, you’ll be like thinking, oh, my, I have the weight of the world, you know on my shoulders, but it’s every single person in that group has that same weight. They’re taking on the same weight. And it’s interesting how they would approach it.
In terms of tangible changes in my company.
In the first few classes, we had a vision, mission refresh which is all standard. Doing those exercises allowed me in two months to change my website to a completely new website, more aligned to our direction and with really on point messaging.
I also realised that one of the business units we had will not be profitable anymore. And it was also it was a decision that I took to just cut that unit, and reallocate the resources. The group and the teaching content encouraged quick decision making rather than procrastinating. And the team was actually quite shocked I did that. When I did that decision, some people were shocked, but I think some of the others were like, wow, that’s the way to take a decision. Don’t wait.
I personally was having profitability issues. I decided that I don’t want to be at a single digit % kind of profitability, I want a good double digit profitability, which is in excess of 30%. I started making business decisions (like cutting units, focusing on higher margin clients, focusing on high margin work) that aligned with this goal.
There was a session about how to communicate with others. And there was this technique of, hey, here’s what I observed, feeling, expectation. Those three steps in that framework, which now we have implemented into our appraisal system as well, had an immediate and profound impact on the team. I did that I had a little bit of an issue with some people which got addressed. And the team also understood where I was coming from better. And and the good thing for me was that they not only they accepted that feedback, but I saw some clear changes in behavior in the team.
I would definitely recommend the mastermind – in fact, I will be joining the next cohort too! If you’re giving repeat business, which I am, then you know that someone’s great.
I would recommend it to anyone who’s in top management, and upwards. In the C-Suite. Definitely, people who want to listen to others. It can be a big company, it can be a medium sized company, or even a small sized company. I think the lessons can be learned from everywhere. So if you’re a large company, you might be missing out on certain nimbleness.
Watch the video testimonial.