Being part of a group for personal and professional growth hinges on being part of a goal-oriented group. It’s not a new concept. It’s been proven time and again in lots of spaces. Weight Watchers and other weight loss companies incorporate peer group power. Parents of Murdered Children (pomc.org) and other groups who share a common heartbreak leverage goal-oriented groups for healing and support. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA.org) and other addiction maladies help individuals overcome and manage their affliction with the power of goal-oriented groups. From health and disease to recreational pursuits like running marathons, to overcoming grief caused by violent crime – people have long found participation in a goal-oriented group rewarding. Even life-saving. 
A goal-oriented group is not some random group of folks who assemble to kick the verbal ball around. The neighborhood book club might consist of men and women who love to read novels. Their goal may be as simple as reading the same book at the same time, then coming together each month to discuss the book. The members may find it enjoyable to share the experience – the same experience of reading the same book – with neighborhood friends. It’s a simple goal, but no less rewarding for the members. The Parents of Murdered Children have a shared experience, a strong tie that binds them together. They’ve all lost children to murder. They may come together to heal and deal successfully with the loss and pain. Their goal isn’t recreational, but mere survival (and helping each other move forward after a devastating loss). Even so, members find relief and energy to move forward. In both cases, these goal-oriented groups exist for a straightforward purpose. Their goals aren’t hard to see. 
Our first relationships are with the family. We learn how to interact with our parents and any siblings. Then we expand that to interact with other relatives. These people are in our life because of who they are. We didn’t intentionally surround ourselves with these people. We’re family so we have to figure out these relationships and personalities. When it goes well, we figure out that we’re loved by these people and we love them in return. Our family provides support and safety. They provide us the opportunity to learn and grow.
From there we encounter neighborhood friends and school friends. Now we’re able to make some selections for the first time. We gravitate to some people and we avoid others. Attraction may be based on what we like, what we hate, what we most enjoy and what we least enjoy. Our friends probably tend to be like us. If we love football, so do they. If we enjoy video games, they do, too. We laugh at the same stuff. There are connection points we establish with our friends because they’re most like us. We likely avoid the people who seem the least like us. 
Very little changes as we grow up. We like what we like. We hate what we hate. Our worldview likely gets established relatively early in life. It’s hard to leave that zone we establish – the zone where we’re surrounded by people similar to us. These aren’t goal-oriented groups necessarily, but fundamentally they are. The goal is simply to have people in our lives who are congruent with our point of view and how we see the world. 
If we find ourselves getting out of shape we may be willing to take action by getting professional help through an organization like Weight Watchers. Suddenly, perhaps for the first time, we’re in a group that isn’t assembled because we all share likes and dislikes. We’re not in this room because we laugh at the same jokes or watch the same TV programs. We’re here because we’re all overweight and trying to do something about it. The tie that binds has nothing to do with our worldview,