Mastermind groups are everywhere these days. Nearly every coaching program has one, and every business community is building one. The format has become so common that the word itself has started to lose meaning.
Jay Abraham, executive coach and founder and CEO of the Abraham Group, says most mastermind groups are just social clubs in disguise.
On today’s episode of Strategic Edge, Abraham breaks down what separates a mastermind that compounds real business growth from one that just feels good to attend.
Why most masterminds miss the point
Walk into the average mastermind, and you’ll find two kinds of people, Abraham says. Half are there for the camaraderie. The other half are there to sell something. The real problem shows up after people leave.
"The problem with all training, seminar, conferences is … 85% don't do anything. The majority of people don't even look at their notes. 9% is all they retain. It's a joke."
Abraham points to retention numbers across all group learning formats. Most experiences are built to feel valuable without producing anything lasting.
Organizers have misinterpreted the function’s format. Getting people in a room is not the same as getting people to grow.
What a mastermind should actually do
A mastermind is not a place to feel inspired, Abraham says. It is a mechanism that forces people toward action they would not take on their own.
“I have always believed that a mastermind group should be a vehicle for benevolently forcing someone to embrace higher performing probabilities,” he says. “And then through this collaborative but public environment, getting them to confirm and commit to taking action that will be reported back to the group the next time they get together.”
Most business owners walk in aware of certain problems. A good mastermind surfaces the ones they didn’t know they had.
“There are two kinds of issues in your business, the ones you acknowledge and the ones that are not acknowledged,” he says.
Watching someone else get their problem dissected, he says, is often where the real value lives.
Getting the right people in the room
Most masterminds screen for money. Abraham screens for behavior. That distinction, he says, determines whether a group produces anything. A room full of people who write large checks is not the same as a room full of people who do the work.
“My criteria is, number one, you have a deep curiosity and an open-mindedness, and you’re not rigid in your mental paradigm. Number two, you have a prejudice towards action. Related to that, you’re a monster of execution. Third, you’re not wedded to tradition relative to your industry. Fourth, you are very directable and collaborative,” Abraham says.
Group composition matters beyond individual qualifications. A solopreneur and a founder running a $200 million company won’t get equal value from the same conversation. Abraham prefers diverse groups where members come from different industries but occupy roughly the same business stage.
How successful sessions should run
Before anyone arrives, Abraham has done his homework. Every member completes a 200-question business assessment. He reads each one, studies it, and sometimes researches their competitors.
Sessions run on hot seats. Members present their top problems, challenges, and opportunities in order of priority. Abraham pushes them to dig deeper.
“A lot of people are dealing with symptoms, not causes,” he says.
When someone says they need more leads, he digs into what they’re selling, how they’re selling it, and where the business is headed. The room moves through each member. A working solution typically surfaces within 10 to 15 minutes per seat, Abraham says.
At the end of each round, he runs a reversal. Every member reports back what they heard, and one breakthrough from someone else’s hot seat. Then the cycle repeats.
The accountability architecture
The last day is where most masterminds stop showing up. Abraham treats it as the most important part. Members summarize what they learned and rank it by priority. Commitments go into their calendars before they leave. Abraham frequently assigns a colleague as an accountability officer for each member.
“We ask them what they’re going to do when they go home and how they’re going to do it and how they’re going to be assured they’re going to do it because most people don’t do anything,” he says.
The follow-through gap is where most programs fail. Building accountability into the format itself is what closes it.
Don’t just attend, take action
Results don’t just happen from attending, Abraham says. Business owners have to act. He describes teaching his group a joint venture framework and walking each member through a specific application for their business. At the next meeting, most had done nothing. The ones who did reported substantial results.
“One of them 600% increased their business. The other added another, pardon me, $1.7 million to his 12, of EBITDA, not of revenue, to his $12 million SaaS company,” Abraham says.
The following month, more members acted. Abraham interviewed them in front of the group. He pulled out exactly what they did and how they pushed past the resistance. Seeing real results from peers inside the same room changes what people believe is possible.
Can’t find one? Build one
If the right mastermind doesn’t exist or isn’t affordable, build one, Abraham says.
The requirements are simpler than most assume. Find business owners of similar size across different industries. Meet virtually or locally. Keep the focus on problems, accountability, and reported results.
The format matters more than the venue. A well-run peer group in the same city will outperform an expensive experiential program that sends people home with nothing to act on.
“There’s no reason you couldn’t create your own mastermind. No matter where you live, no matter what business you’re in, you can find people in similar-sized businesses,” he says.
The standard Abraham applies is the same whether he’s running it or someone else is. People leave with specific commitments, report back on results, and the group builds on what it learns. Everything else is just networking with a higher price tag.
ASBN, from startup to success, we are your go-to resource for small business news, expert advice, information, and event coverage.
