Talking Points:

What is a Mastermind Group? Started with Benjamin Franklin’s Junto and then was recently popularized by some New Age Gurus. But you don’t need to be a New Ager to benefit from a Mastermind Group.
Benefits of a Mastermind Group

Encouragement
Wisdom - Learn from the mistakes and success of others.
Networking -
Accountability -
Marketing Support & Advice

How Our Author Marketing Mastermind Group Works
Paid Vs. Free Mastermind Groups

Paid Masterminds tend to be organized by a facilitator and comprise people who probably don’t already know each other. The benefits of these kinds of mastermind groups is that they are not only good for networking but they can be an inexpensive way to get access to a guru. People tend to be more committed to paid Masterminds.
Free Masterminds - Typically start as a group of friends who also tend to be peers. Unpaid gurus tend to lose interest.

Mastermind Technology from best to worst (Our Mastermind is actually a combination of all of these):

In Person
Google+ Video Hangout
Phone Conference
Email & Facebook

Our Mastermind Format

Intros
Hot Seat / Teaching
Prayer

Franklin’s Junto Format

Discussion Questions:

Has any citizen in your knowledge failed in his business lately, and what have you heard of the cause?
Have you lately heard of any citizen’s thriving well, and by what means?

Each person brings an essay to read to the group and then discuss.

Classic Format

Everyone bring a question
Everyone brings a tip or resource

Tips on Starting your Own Mastermind

Set expectations up front. Identify the goal.
Explain how a mastermind works. Consider sending them a link to this episode.
Start small. Two people can be enough.
Pick a format. Some MM meet weekly. Ours meets biweekly with an annual retreat. Some MM meet monthly for 6 hours.
Set the rules. Are you going to require everyone to sign a nondisclosure?
Be picky on who you add. One bad apple can spoil the batch and uninviting someone can be awkward. Our group is invite only and we require unanimous consent to add someone to the group.
Pick people who have something unique to add to the conversation. A little bit of diversity here can really help.
Pick people who can benefit from the group as well. If they feel like they don’t need the group they won’t make coming a priority.
Set an agenda and take notes. We use Google Docs for both of these activities.