This morning, I’m writing up bullet points from a Mastermind-style group I’m running for the automotive value chain, and preparing to run an online session this afternoon for organ transplant specialists. The latter isn’t a pure Mastermind as it does include some old-school training, but most of the session will use that approach. Add in my cross-sectoral group and I’m currently running three Mastermind Groups.

What do I mean by Mastermind?

I get practitioners from a number of organisations in the room and facilitate a discussion about a particular topic. No experts, no presentations, no sales pitches. Just peer-to-peer learning – lessons from the front line.

What are the advantages of this approach:

• Half a dozen brains working together to solve your problems is more powerful than any one ‘expert’
• The format actively forces people to think creatively, an antidote to the soporific effect of a PowerPoint presentation
• That active thinking opens minds to grasp opportunities rather than dreaming up excuses to do nothing
• There’s no grandstanding – you get the unvarnished truth
• You can deep dive where deep dives are required and pass over the merely banal
• Camaraderie – the wider feeling of ‘we’re all in it together’ helps motivate the individuals
• It’s fun and life should be fun

Challenges:

• Trust – I use the Chatham House Rule to protect individuals from any blowback from their honesty, but it still takes a session or two to build a trusting atmosphere
• Avoiding “I agree with Joe/Jo” syndrome and getting shyer people to put their personal views forward. I have developed a number of techniques to ensure everybody puts their thoughts forward rather than following the crowd
• There’s no qualification, certificate or CV points on offer, just value. It shouldn’t, but this puts some people off.

If you are a Sustainability professional working internally* in a medium size/large organisation, then the Corporate Sustainability Mastermind Group will help you turbocharge your performance. We currently have two seats available on the Group – contact me for details.

* We don’t accept consultants or business advisers in the Group to ensure everyone is working to the same objectives