T&GRPPC

Last night we met at the Green Mill in Duluth... a farewell meeting of sorts, as Rod Johnson was moving South to the Twin Cities. We called ourselves the M5, which was code for the Five Million Dollar Men, what we believed we were worth to the companies we worked for. It was an interesting group that met every two or three weeks for seven years and then occasionally since that time.

Rod and I conceived the idea for the group over lunch in the Library, a restaurant on Tower Avenue in Superior. We'd each read Napolean Hill's Think & Grow Rich, and were both taken up with the idea in chapter nine of a Mastermind Group. The Mastermind Group concept is essentially based on the idea that when a group gets together with its various perspectives on a problem, ideas emerge that no individual would have conceived in isolation.

In affirming that we each liked the key point of the chapter, he blurted out, "Well, why don't we do it?" Thus we invited three others, and gave birth to the group. At the time we had no idea how this first step would impact all facets of our lives.

At one point we called ourselves a "portable board of directors." What professional has not had a wish for objective counsel outside oneself and outside the political environs of one's business or corporation? For most of the years we called ourselves the M5, but in the beginning, at our first meeting on January 24, 1997, we were the T&GRPPC. We all knew what the T&GR meant, but none of us in last night's dinner together could remember what the PPC stood for. We got a good laugh from that, too.

What follows is the Proposed First Meeting Agenda that Rod assembled, follow by some ground rules. The rules proved durable, as have the friendships. Dean now owns the company he worked for, John is president of a company in the energy field, Rod has several major projects in the works and I haven't done too bad myself either.

T&GRPPC

Proposed First Meeting Agenda

January 24, 1997

1) Introductions (rod to lead)

~ Meeting Guidelines
~ Review Think & Grow Rich Workbook issues

2) In the box

3) Skills Identification
~ Skill Area

~ Experience

4) Review what each person could benefit from the group

~ Ongoing

~ Project

~ Other??

5) Where to from here??

~ Do we want to meet?

~ How often?

~ Where/when/format/other??

Ground Rules

* Leave titles at the door

* What is said will stay in the room

* Everybody participates

* Taking risks is encouraged

* Humor is acceptable - (as long as it is identified as such)

* Time-out means stop

We also developed rules for the admission of others into the group. As it turned out, we never did add anyone and eventually lost one, but even these discussions as regards membership proved insightful. In the beginning we avoid religion, politics and some personal topics. Over time, there were no boundaries as mutual respect and trust developed and deepened.

Perhaps you're seeking a professional team of advisors who can help you gain clarity about your self and your career. This blog entry is intended to strongly encourage you to take the first step... you'll never know where it can lead till you make a move.